Today is the first day of the 2020-2021 school year in Knoxville. This school year will be different in many ways, and will be the first in-class instruction in the district in five months. Superintendent Cassi Pearson says she is grateful for the community support of the mitigation strategies, and hopes those strategies, along with everyone’s cooperation, will make it a great school year.

“We’re hoping that all of the things that we’re doing, including requiring masks on school buses, on any transportation for school, in our classrooms and on our properties, that we will be able to keep our kids in school, keep our activities going, and our students won’t have to take time off for this virus again. We appreciate all the families who are positively supporting this. This is just one of the small things we have to do right now, hopefully it won’t last forever, and ultimately it’s going to keep you safer, healthier, and hopefully people will understand that and work with us, and we’ll end up having a great fall.”

Pearson adds that the district will make decisions based on the current data, and policies are always subject to change. To view the district’s Return to Learn Plans, click here.