Metro Nashville Schools Returning to All-Virtual Learning After Thanksgiving

Due to the alarming increase in the spread of COVID-19 in the Nashville community, Metro Schools will be returning to all-virtual learning after the Thanksgiving break and for the remainder of the current semester, Director of Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle announced.

Students with exceptional needs and elementary school students who have been attending school in person should report to school Tuesday, Nov. 24, but will return to learning virtually from Monday, Nov. 30, until the holiday break begins Dec. 17.

“Our transmission rate, new cases per 100,000 residents, and 7-day positivity rate are at their highest points in months, and the situation may only be getting worse,” Dr. Battle said. “This is a serious and dramatic public health emergency that requires us all to renew our vigilance and take the safety precautions necessary to keep ourselves, our families, our friends, and those we may encounter safe through the wearing of masks, social distancing, and avoidance of large – especially indoor – gatherings whenever possible.”

MNPS also announced plans to survey families about their preferences for in-person or virtual learning in the second semester, which begins Jan. 7. Parents who want to change the decision they made in September will need to complete the survey, which will be available at mnps.org/decision-survey from Nov. 30-Dec. 4.

Parents who don’t want to change their previous decision do not need to do anything.

Once this survey window closes, all decisions for the remainder of the school year will be final so that school administrators can develop their schedules and align staff and students based on the in-person and virtual options. To provide stability to staff and students, the district is asking that families make any changes to their earlier decisions no later than Dec. 4.

Conditions in the city and in schools will inform the timeline for bringing students back to in-person learning, and schools may be required to remain closed or to close again after reopening, based on the spread of COVID-19.

While schools are operating remotely after Thanksgiving, students ages 5 to 12 and the children of Metro Schools employees can enroll in no-cost-with-verification YMCA Emergency Childcare, which will provide students with supervision and support for virtual learning Nov. 30-Dec. 30, with the exception of Dec. 24-25. Parents who used this option previously will not have to go through the verification process again but will have to register their students for the time slots available.

The Metro Schools locations for YMCA Emergency Childcare are:

• Buena Vista Enhanced Option: 1531 9th Ave. N, Nashville, TN 37208
• Gra-Mar Middle School: 575 Joyce Lane, Nashville, TN 37216
• Glencliff Elementary: 120 Antioch Pike, Nashville, TN 37211
• Gower Elementary: 650 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209
• Tusculum Elementary: 440 McMurray Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
• Andrew Jackson Elementary: 110 Shute Lane, Old Hickory, TN 37138
• Stanford Montessori: 2417 Maplecrest Drive, Nashville, TN 37214
• Carter-Lawrence Elementary: 1118 12th Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37203

For more information or to register, parents should visit https://ymcafunco.org/essential-worker-fall-care.

MNPS will continue to provide meals at no-cost for all children 18 and under at school sites and bus stops. More information can be found at mnps.org/nutrition.