For the first time since the second week of March, Clinton County students walked into school with the intent of having classes.

At 7 a.m. Monday morning, students reported to classes with an abundance of staff waiting at the doors to take temperatures and pass out hand sanitizer.

“I’m so proud of how hard our teachers are working and the mindset they have, and everybody across our district, to work together through this year,” Superintendent Dr. Tim Parson said in an email interview Monday. “Teachers are hard-wired to love and care about students. Being able to give our students what they need and deserve excites our staff. We are all excited to meet the needs of every student in Clinton County.”

With the cases in Kentucky going up everyday, Parson said there are two areas where he has to look in order to keep kids in school.

“As long as the case count in Clinton County stays relatively consistent with where it’s been throughout this COVID-19 season, I’m confident we can keep schools open. My biggest concerns with staying open have to do with two primary areas,” Parson said. “1). Does the Kentucky Department of Public Health consider Clinton County at a Critical Spread according to the dashboard? 2). Does the amount of staff in quarantine exceed the number of available substitutes? Those are the two questions we have to have the right answer for in order to stay in school.”

The school district has implemented a guideline or math equation that will be the model for this year, which has several factors built in to establish a number to show the risk factor.

The equation is as follows: [0.2(x)+0.5(y)+0.3(z)]*KDPH Incidence Rate

• x=active cases in Clinton County minus those who would be in school for in-person instruction (students or staff)

• y=active cases in school district

• z=#of staff quarantined due to positive contact

KDPH incidence rate (https://kygeonet.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/543ac64bc40445918cf8bc34dc40e334)

• Green=0.75 multiplier

• Yellow=1.0 multiplier

• Orange=1.25 multiplier

• Red=1.5 multiplier

In the equation, x=active cases in Clinton County minus those who would be in school for in-person instruction (students or staff), y=active cases in school district, and z= number of staff quarantined due to positive contact and keep the Incidence Rate.

When all that is put together and calculated, the final number will be a factor in the decision to pull back and go virtual. Parson said it is just a guide and one of the factors that will decide if schools will continue or not.

District wide, with around 1,500 students enrolled this year, somewhere around 70 percent have chose to attend school.

“It’s a little less than that at CCHS, and a little higher than that at AES and ECC,” Parson said.

While many parents have decided to either go virtual or have decided to completely go the “home school” route, many parent are excited to be able to send their children back to school.

“I think parents want their children to receive the best education they can get, and do it in as normal a way as possible,” Parson said. “Many are very grateful to be sending them back. I believe all parents appreciate having a choice to do either. As taxpayers, I think they have that right.”

Clinton County’s original first day of school to start in-person classes on August 12, but was modified to start with virtual instead.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced a recommendation of starting in-person classes on September 28, but Clinton County decided to go with the August 31 in-person start date.

District Athletic Director Brandon Pharis was on hand Monday morning checking student’s temperatures before allowing students to enter the high school. Every student was checked and required to wear a mask before entering the building.