Shelby County Schools to begin Aug. 13

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Shelby County Schools will begin their first semester on Thursday, Aug. 13, pushed back one week from the original start date of Aug. 6. 

Instead, there will be professional development days for teachers on Aug. 6-7, a half teacher workday and half professional development day on Aug. 10, a half day of summit meetings and half day of district meetings on Aug. 11. Aug. 12 will be a teacher workday before the first semester begins on Aug. 13. 

During his superintendent's report, Dr. Lewis Brooks said he and his team have been working with school leaders and school admin on the reopening plan. 

“We [have been] working closely with the Alabama Department of Education and the Department of Public Health while things are finalized,” he said. “We know this year will not be like any other and know our people are very anxious to see and serve our students again.”

The board unanimously approved the 2020-21 revised school calendar and employee work schedules. The first semester will be 83 days, and the second semester 94 for a total of 177 student days and 187 teacher days. The last day of school will be May 27.

An email sent out Tuesday outlined the learning options: traditional on-campus learning and remote at-home learning. If a student has to be out due to quarantine, or if a campus has to temporarily close due to COVID-19, the student will switch to short-term eLearning and return to campus when healthy. For remote at-home learning, students will participate in all courses in a virtual format using ALSDE approved curriculum. 

Students will not be required to wear a mask, although it is recommended. Schools will not check temperatures daily, but are asking parents to monitor the health of their students. Remote learning students can still participate in extracurricular activities including band and football. 

If a case is confirmed at a school, the public health department will be responsible for contact tracing. Students with IEP plans will receive instructional learning accommodations in either learning environment. 

Also approved by the board was a policy to establish guidelines and procedures for students with a disability seeking to bring their service animal to school or school functions. The request must be submitted to the superintendent at least three weeks prior to the service animal’s presence at school. 

Part of the new guidelines read “Individuals with disabilities shall be permitted to bring their service animal into school buildings or on school grounds in accordance with, and subject to, this policy.”

The board also approved a new student insurance provider, K & K Insurance Company, which is underwritten by Nationwide Insurance, and for ARCpoint Labs to be the provider for the student drug testing program. ARCpoint is located in Shelby County and has been the school system’s provider for the past four years. 

In personnel news, Jessica Adams was approved as the new Assistant Principal at Chelsea Park Elementary. She has eight years experience in public education and was recently working as the administrative assistant at CPES. 

Jeremy Reed was also approved as the Assistant Principal at Montevallo High School. Reed has six years experience in public education and was recently serving as the Administrative  Assistant at Helena High School. 

The next of the Shelby County School board will be held July 23 at 5 p.m. at the at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center in Alabaster.