When school resumes on Jan. 6, Hamilton County Schools students in all grades will remain in total remote instruction due to the current level of COVID-19 cases in the area, according to a news release from the district.
Online learning will continue until at least Jan. 8. Administrators will update families on Tuesday, Jan. 5, as to which phase the district will be in the following week, Jan. 11-15, in accordance with its new plans to update phases on a weekly basis.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County Schools prepare for new semester as COVID-19 surges)
On Dec. 18 the district announced a new phase schedule for the new semester that calls for students in grades K-3 to engage in hybrid learning during Phase 1, rather than remote, and in Phase 2 younger students will be in person four days a week, rather than two.
Schedules for students in grades 4-12 will remain unchanged.
Despite these previously announced revisions, current trends and advice lean towards a gradual reopening at the start of the semester with all students beginning remote, rather than jumping straight to the revised schedule, the release states.
As of Wednesday, the school district's website stated that the county averaged 3,719 active COVID-19 cases in the past five days, and Phase 1 is designated by the HCS Reentry and Continuous Learning Plan as between 2,940 and 3,680 or more active cases.
--compiled by Tierra Hayes