ALERT - Knox County Public Schools to resume on Monday, Sept. 16

In a letter issued Friday, September 13, 2024, Knox County Public Schools Superintendent Jeremy Ledford announced the district's intentions to return to class on Monday, September 16.
Here is the letter in its entirety:


Dear Knox County Public Schools families and staff,

I would like to begin by thanking you for the support and understanding you have shown in this unprecedented situation. I can assure you there is nobody that has wanted to be in school more than me this past week. As the superintendent and father of four kids, two of which attend KCPS, I have complete trust in our school SROs, administrators, faculty, and staff as we begin the process of getting back to normalcy in school.

The safety of our students and staff is always the main priority of KCPS. After collaborating with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Barbourville City Police, and other regional and state law enforcement, KCPS has decided to resume school on Monday, September 16, 2024.

The district has worked diligently to ensure student safety with protocols and procedures. Over the past years, we have increased campus safety by including school resource officers, vestibules that require visitors to check in before accessing inside buildings, window coverings, monitoring of what can be brought on campus, and new camera systems in all the schools that have face recognition.

To ensure and help ease fears of returning on September 16, our SROs and local law enforcement will actively monitor our school grounds and have an increased presence. We are also making the following changes for the time being:

• All recess will occur indoors at elementary schools. Specials and wellness breaks will also be indoors.
• Consistent monitoring of exterior doors.
• All inside doors will be locked, teachers will answer any knocks/requests to enter the room.
• There will be no use of field houses or external buildings on the high school campuses during the school day.
• After school events will resume with an SRO present.

We appreciate the support of our local law enforcement year-round to ensure that the Knox County Public Schools are a safe place for students to learn and succeed.

We also thank our students and community for reporting safety concerns that have an impact on the Knox County Public Schools. Anytime you see or hear of possible situations that are unsafe, please report it immediately to law enforcement by dialing 911. Students may use the safety tip line safeschools@ky.gov to report and prevent safety issues at school anonymously.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Ledford
Superintendent, Knox County Public Schools