Vestavia Superintendent Updates School Reopening Plan

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL — Students in Vestavia Hills schools can begin attending on-campus classes full time beginning Oct. 14, according to an announcement by superintendent Todd Freeman Monday.

Up until now, the school system's plan for in-person traditional instruction was developed based on the Jefferson County Department of Health’s recommendation of limited daily capacity on secondary campuses. Accordingly, the system implemented the "red and blue day schedule" for 6th-12th grade students to attend in-person every other school day through the first nine weeks.

"After several weeks working closely with the Jefferson County Department of Health to ensure our plans are within safety and health guidelines, traditional students at Liberty Park Middle, Louis Pizitz Middle, Vestavia Hills High School Freshman Campus, and Vestavia Hills High School will move to attending on campus each day of the school week beginning Wednesday, October 14," Freeman said.

"We will continue to utilize the enhanced procedures and precautions outlined in our reopening plan, including required face coverings. Classrooms will be set up to observe social distance guidelines to the greatest extent practical. In very limited cases where all students are not able to fit in a classroom during a period, we will have supervised learning spaces where some students periodically can work on their lesson virtually. We will also make any necessary adjustments to class transitions, lunch service, arrivals, and dismissals. Students participating in the traditional model may opt to move to the remote model at any time during the semester."

Freeman said students who are participating in the full-time remote instructional model will continue to do so through the end of the first semester. "Our entire team is working diligently to make the remote experience meaningful for those students," Freeman said. "As part of these efforts, parents will soon receive a survey requesting feedback on the remote instructional model. In November, you will also receive a survey to help us determine the number of students who want to return to traditional instruction at the beginning of second semester."

Since the beginning of the school year, approximately 1.25 percent of students in Vestavia Hills City Schools have had a positive COVID-19 diagnosis as reported by parents, and approximately 5.5 percent of students have had to quarantine at some point as a result of close contact at school with someone with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, Freeman said.