With one week before public school students return to class in Hamilton County, officials announced an opening schedule that aims to help everyone ease into an unprecedented year.

📚 The first (short) week

Officials announced the Safe Start, Great Start schedule so that everyone would have time to prepare and adjust to the new schedule.
Students have been divided into two cohorts — group A and group B.
The first week is a short week, with school starting on Wed., Aug. 12.
On Wednesday, group A will go to school in class while group B works remotely.
On Thursday, that switches, and group B goes to school while group A works remotely.
On Friday, both groups will work from home remotely.

📚 Week No. 2-3

For the first full week of school, which starts Aug. 17, group A will go to class on Monday and Tuesday, while group B works remotely.
Then both groups will take a remote learning day on Wednesday.
For Thursday and Friday, group B goes to school in person, while group A works remotely.
The second full week of school (Aug. 24-28), the same schedule as week No. 2 will be repeated.

📚 Starting Aug. 31

After the first few weeks of adjusting, schools will follow the phased approach outlined in this reentry plan, which changes depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the area. As of now, we are in Phase 3, which involves schools being open five days a week with a combo of in-person and remote learning.

If the number of cases rises, and schools move to phase 2, that means reduced days on campus for students.

ProTip: Families should contact individual schools to ensure all siblings will be grouped together on the same schedule, regardless of what school they attend.

📚 At-home learning help

If you’ve opted for remote-only learning this year, there’s more information here.
There’s going to be at-home help for students and parents. For example, the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga is working with some schools that need extra support.
The Urban League will be available to visit homes and help both students and parents with social + emotional support to reinforce academic learning.
In addition to helping families with school, the Urban League will also be able to help parents use the internet to do anything from job help to tax assistance.

Bonus: Everything else you need to know about going back to school, including details about masks, is here.

📚 Question