Christian County Public Schools will remain closed to in-person instruction on Friday, the district has announced.
“We chose to utilize another NTI (non-traditional instruction) day for tomorrow based on a few factors such as icy road conditions and staffing shortages caused by COVID,” CCPS Superintendent Chris Bentzel said in a news release Thursday afternoon. “Our top priority is to keep students, faculty and staff safe by assessing the current situation and adapting our resources to keep everyone healthy.
“We currently have 50% of our schools at critical staffing levels due to illness. This includes our teachers, bus drivers and school support staff. That said, we fully anticipate continuing in-person classroom instruction on Monday.”
As of Wednesday, the district was at about 85% attendance for both students and staff, according to a video message from Bentzel.
The district announced Wednesday that it would close on Thursday in response to the National Weather Service’s winter weather advisory and the prediction of a wintry mix that could make roads slick. The advisory is in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday.
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Each school will follow its non-traditional instruction procedures, according to a district news release.
“With the unpredictable winter weather, we want to give our student families as much time as possible to plan for NTI learning,” Superintendent Chris Bentzel said in the release. “Our inclement weather decisions are based on forecasts, actual weather conditions and recommendations from our district directors. The safety of our students and staff is our number one priority.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
