Carroll Academy faces uncertain future as pandemic continues

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A school, fighting for its future, says COVID-19 won’t slow them down.

At first glance, Carroll Academy in Huntingdon looks like other schools trying to stay open in the pandemic, with masks and social distancing in place.

Executive Director Randy Hatch says the pandemic has required a lot of resilience.

“Doing this? It’s trial by error every day. And it’s not a day by day thing, it’s an hour by hour thing,” he said.

Carroll Academy serves children who have entered the juvenile court system. The school closed down in March and reopened in August.

Hatch says they have yet to have a student test positive.

“You don’t talk unless you’re spoken to. You don’t congregate in the hallway. Those are just normal rules. There’s no physical contact. You don’t go down the hall and high-five somebody, there’s absolutely no contact. So those things are already in place,” Hatch said.

But despite the track record, COVID-19 has forced the school to confront other issues.

Hatch says the school’s two year contract with the state is up in June, and he’s hoping COVID-19 won’t force them to get cut from the budget.

The instability also affects staff retention.

“We’re hoping that the legislature and the governor and his staff will come to some conclusion to try and get this thing permanently funded. We’ve been going through this for…I’ve been here all 26 years. Some days, you just don’t know,” Hatch said.

Other issues include the basketball team.

The women’s team has been the subject of national attention for years, and is a rallying point for students.

This season, neither the men or women’s teams have played more than four games.

“Eight of our games got cancelled, and I think three of those teams, their whole season has been cancelled completely. We’re grateful for whatever we get. Whatever happens within the season, as long as we get to play a few, we’ll be happy,” said Hayley Ezell, Carroll Academy’s women’s basketball coach.

It might be hard to lift everyone’s spirits during this time, but the academy says they’re marching on and continuing their mission of helping at-risk teens.

“They all do extra things. If they couldn’t, we wouldn’t be here,” Hatch said.

“This experience, and what we’ve been through? We won’t take this for granted anymore,” Ezell said.

Hatch says COVID-19 has also resulted in lower enrollment numbers for this school semester.