School Board Introduces New Meal Distribution Plan, Extends School Closures

First, there will be no meal distribution tomorrow at Jefferson County School campuses. Meal distributions will resume on Friday, April 17 with the following changes.

1. All school campuses, including Patriot Academy, will serve as distribution sites.
   1. The only exceptions will be the main campus of JCHS and Jefferson Academy.
2. Meals will be provided daily from 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon at each of the sites.
3. All sites are available for meal pick-up, but students are encouraged to pick up meals at the school they currently attend. Parents that have children in multiple schools do not have to make multiple stops and should use the site most convenient.
4. Each day, children will receive 1 breakfast and 1 lunch.

While we understand the difficulty of picking up meals each day, our hope is that everyone can understand the strain placed on our cafeteria staffs by providing over 108,000 meals over the last three weeks. Additionally, due to the volume of meals being served we were experiencing inadequate space for proper food storage. By increasing the sites, it will also be easier to comply with CDC guidelines to keep everyone as safe as possible during the meal distributions. The meal distribution plan will be monitored and adjusted as needed based on government guidance and the efficiency of operation at each site.

Once again, there will be no meal distribution tomorrow in Jefferson County Schools and the next meal distribution will be Friday, April 17, 2020.

I also wanted to take a moment and share that earlier today Governor Bill Lee extended Tennessee’s “Stay at Home” order through April 30. Therefore, Jefferson County Schools will remain closed through Thursday, April 30, 2020.

Students are encouraged to continue to work on academic packets and teachers will continue to support instruction and educational progress by utilizing multiple methods of technology. Parents are reminded that in addition to classroom teachers, the district has provided a homework hotline and content specialists checking emails each day. Please check the Jefferson County Schools webpage or the district Facebook page for more information.

Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding in all matters associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.