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An Important Message from Superintendent Stephen McCauley

Released 3/13/2020 at 5:00pm

March 13, 2020

Dear Paris Independent Families,

The past few days in our community, state, nation and world have created a sense of uncertainty that hasn’t been felt in many years.  I commend our students, staff and families for remaining calm and keeping the focus on providing a safe and happy learning environment for our students.  The outpouring of support and offers to help from members of our community has been amazing!  I am so proud to be here at Paris Independent Schools and I am confident that we will come through this situation involving the Coronavirus (COVID-19) stronger and more united than ever.  
 
As many of you heard last night, Governor Andy Beshear recommended that schools across the Commonwealth close for two weeks beginning Monday March 16th through March 27th.  We will be following his recommendation and closing Paris Independent Schools from March 16th through March 27th.  This two week period will all be Non-Traditional Instruction days.  Students will utilize the resources that were sent home earlier this week in preparation for an extended break to continue learning.  Additionally, each school will be delivering packets (paper copies or digital) early next week with more instructional materials and supports in order to continue learning during the days that we are not in session.
 
I am also pleased to report that we will be providing both breakfast and lunch during Non-Traditional Instruction days.  From Monday, March 16th through Wednesday March 18th, we will be offering pick up breakfast and lunch service in the Fine Arts Cafeteria (310 West 7th St.) for anyone under the age of 19.  Breakfast will be ready for pick up from 7:15-8:15 and Lunch will be ready from 11:15-12:15.  Beginning on Thursday March 19th, we will begin delivering meals via our bus routes.  Buses will be loaded with breakfast at 8:30 each morning and lunch at 11:00, then our drivers will drive their normal routes through our district making regular stops to deliver meals.  If at any point throughout this process you would like a meal delivered to your home, please contact our central office at 859-987-2160.  
 
We are also suspending all extra curricular activities throughout this school closure.  This means that there will be no practices, games or meetings with coaches during this time.  We should treat this much like the KHSAA “dead period” each summer.  This was a difficult decision as clubs and athletics are such an important part of our educational experience here at Paris Independent but ultimately, the safety of our students, staff and families is our top priority.    
 
We will continue to monitor the progress of this pandemic and remain in constant contact with our state and local officials including the Governor’s office, Kentucky Department of Education, Bourbon County Health Department and follow the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control to determine if, in fact, we will return to school on March 30th or not.  This situation continues to be very fluid so, while we are closing schools for two weeks, I encourage you to make plans for a longer period of school closure should it be determined that we cannot return to school at that time.
 
We will also continue to communicate with all of our stakeholders throughout this process via, school messenger phone calls, emails, social media and on our website at www.paris.kyschools.us.  We thank you for your continued patience as we work with officials to ensure that we are doing all that we can to protect students, staff, families and community at large.  As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly at 859-987-2160 or by email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Stephen McCauley

Posted Friday, March 13, 2020