Foothills Review

McDowell County Schools issued the following announcement on Aug. 20. 

We are happy to provide important information for all students and families as we find ourselves on the eve of the first day for our traditional calendar schools. As we all know, COVID-19 is still a factor. Protocols remain in place for safety and to maintain the ability to have face to face instruction with as few disruptions as possible. The current county COVID-19 surge led to the reinstatement of face coverings for all students, staff, and visitors when inside our buildings to ensure that quarantines and isolations are minimized. Please make sure your student has a face covering when they get on the bus and when they enter their school. We will issue a mask to anyone who does not have one. Once again this year, there will be frequent mask breaks and the added opportunity to shed the face coverings when outside. This particular requirement will be revisited regularly to determine when we may be able to return to face coverings being optional. Finally, if a student has symptoms, please stay home until certain it is safe to return. Let's all be good neighbors and do what we can to keep school running.

As part of our efforts to have a more normal school year, McDowell County Schools returns to full capacity for students. We are also reinstating a regular instructional day, so I want to share the school times with you.

-All MCS elementary schools start at 7:50 and dismiss at 2:45. The buildings open to students at 7:30.

-East McDowell Middle School starts at 7:50 and dismisses at 3:05 for car riders and 3:25 for bus riders. The building opens to students at 7:15.

-Foothills Community School starts at 8:05 and dismisses at 2:50. The building opens to students at 7:20.

-West McDowell Middle School starts at 7:50 and dismisses at 3:10. The building opens to students at 7:15.

-McDowell High School starts at 8:00 and dismisses at 3:00. The building opens to students at 7:00.

Please do not line up any earlier than 15 minutes ahead of dismissal to pick up your student. We want to keep our students safe and driveways clear while the school day is in session. We also want to avoid traffic spilling over into public roads for any extended periods of time. Also, please be patient around campuses the first few days of school, as we all know it takes a little bit to get the traffic flow down pat.  The same goes for our bus routes taking a bit longer for a short time. Please watch out for them when they are out on the roads.

We appreciate everyone's patience, understanding, and support as we navigated last year. Now we are focused on the days ahead and invite you to do the same as our partners in education. We look forward to having all 15 schools operating in 2021-2022 and stand committed to making the year the best it can be.

Have a great night and an even greater school year!

Original source can be found here.