Crockett County High School reopens with unique schedule

CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — Principal Bobby Mullins at Crockett County High School admits–nothing has been easy about reopening. But faculty and students at the high school are starting to settle in.

“What we’re doing today is different than what we’re doing tomorrow, and it’s definitely different than next week,” Mullins said. “I want to give a shout-out to our staff and our teachers, because this year, education is different than it’s ever been.”

“That’s part of school–building those relationships with the students. We miss seeing them every day. We miss seeing all of them every day,” said Lori Shelton, an English teacher at the high school.

Crockett County is using a different approach from other schools. They have a staggered schedule, but it means only one grade is in the building each day. So freshmen go on Mondays, sophomores on Tuesdays, and so on. On Friday, it’s strictly virtual.

“Some classes have online textbooks, so we’re making sure all kids know how to access that online textbook as well,” Shelton said.

“We will have that same schedule next week, and then towards the end of next week, we will determine what we’re going to do after that,” Mullins added.

They have roughly 18 percent of the student body in a totally virtual program.

Masks are required, and the school talks with the health department every day.

“Students have been doing really, really well wearing them. I haven’t been having to tell anybody to pull it up over their nose, so that’s always a plus,” said Ellary Brewster, an Algebra teacher at the high school.

While the school says they don’t know how things will turn out, they want to try, and they want to find the best way to still have in-person learning.

“We’re hoping that they’ll learn some responsibility, that they’ve got to take these assignments, and they’ve got to get them down without someone standing over us all the time,” Shelton said.

“The #1 thing we want to do is educate our young people and give them a place to come where they feel safe and enjoy being around each other,” Mullins said.