Therefore, students in grades K-12 throughout the Graves County Schools will complete assignments their teachers provide them in advance for this occasion. Most students, many with parental assistance, will complete their assignments via technology, including the internet and e-mail. Students without ready access to such technology may complete their assignments through packets they will receive in advance.
Teachers will be available to interact with students and parents throughout the regular school day hours. They will clarify assignments, answer questions, and provide feedback to students and parents concerning those assignments.
"We based this request on both health and safety concerns," said Graves County Superintendent Kim Dublin. "While the total solar eclipse provides some wonderful learning opportunities, the unique, unfamiliar nature of the day greatly escalates the very real potential for serious problems. The fact that the northern Graves County communities of Lowes and Symsonia lie directly within the path of total solar eclipse compounds the negative possibilities exponentially."
The school district's letter requesting approval for the NTI (non-traditional instruction) day from KDE states in part, "Extensive worldwide media publicity virtually guarantees that this extremely rural county very likely will attract an unprecedented number of visitors that day. Additionally, the relative ease through which a child or adult could damage his or her eyes permanently brings with it great responsibility we believe families and private caregivers are better equipped to address."
The unprecedented nature of an eclipse of this magnitude leaves a wide range of questions unanswered. Foremost is how many visitors it will attract to the region, seeking the best possible view. One certainty is the mid-afternoon time of the eclipse would coincide directly with the release of students from the school day, potentially resulting in issues related to unusually heavy traffic.
"The eclipse traffic would be extremely likely to overlap with crucial busing times, when far more than 4,000 Graves County students and staff members will travel to their homes," Dublin said. "Many parents come to school each day to drive their children home, adding to the number of people affected."
In the district's letter to KDE, school officials concluded, "Clearly, the Graves County School District, as a public education entity, manages safety concerns and risk on a daily, if not constant basis. Still, the singularity of this celestial event and the accompanying people and publicity it brings, inspires our administrative leadership team to request your committee's authorization to use Monday, Aug. 21, as a Non-Traditional Instruction Day. Doing so would maximize safety and learning, while minimizing problems and potentially permanent damage to the health of a portion of our students and staff. Thank you for your consideration of this highly important matter."
