Williamson County Schools continues to evaluate and adjust COVID-19 procedures in our schools. Based on updated guidance from the CDC, local health authorities and WCS data, some safety protocol changes are being made at elementary and secondary schools in WCS with most elementary schools implementing these beginning April 5, 2021. Individual school administrators will communicate specific information with their school communities. 

There are no changes for staff. Masks, social distancing as much as possible, hand washing, and monitoring for signs of illness are still required inside the classroom and when moving through the building.

Individual schools will reach out to their families with specific details. Students will be able to remove their masks during outside recess if they choose to do so. There are no changes for staff members. This is being adjusted after review of multiple scientific studies on how the virus is transmitted from one individual to another individual and the impact of sunlight, heat, humidity and being outdoors along with CDC guidance on outdoor recess.

Specific information will be shared by your school administrator. Students will begin leaving their classrooms and moving to special area classrooms. They will be expected to continue to wear masks when moving from class to class and during the class period. Students will be required to wash their hands before and after the special area class.

Adjustments to lunch procedures will be reviewed after TCAP testing.

Individual school administrations will create a plan for promotion ceremonies due to limited seating capacity at some venues. Staff and students will be required to wear masks unless they can maintain a six-foot distance from one another.  All attendees will also be required to wear masks and remain six feet apart. Family units and social groups who gather regularly do not have to maintain the six-foot distancing. 

At the secondary level, there are no changes to day-to-day operations. Masks are still required for students and staff. Masks, social distancing as much as possible, hand washing and monitoring for signs of illness are still required inside the classroom and when moving through the building. 

Individual school administrations will create a plan for promotion ceremonies due to limited seating capacity at some venues. Staff and students will be required to wear masks unless they can maintain a six-foot distance from one another.  All attendees will also be required to wear masks and keep six feet apart. Family units and social groups who gather regularly do not have to maintain the six-foot distancing. 

Students who attend prom will be required to wear masks at all times except when eating or having pictures taken. Due to the nature of proms, social distancing cannot be guaranteed and therefore students and parents need to be aware that closer contact may occur. Details about the proms will be made available by the schools. 

As announced earlier, graduation ceremonies at our traditional high schools will take place outside, weather permitting. The number of guests invited to graduations will be increased and individual schools will share those details. With the new guidance, masks are not mandated for participants in the graduation ceremony while outdoors since they will be seated six feet apart. When less than six feet apart, participants will not be together for greater than 15 minutes. Attendees will also have the option of not wearing a face mask. Persons who want to wear a face mask and socially distance should check with the school administration for guidance. Family units and social groups who gather regularly do not have to maintain the six-foot distancing. If inclement weather forces the ceremony to be held indoors, attendance may be decreased.

High schools will continue to follow TSSAA guidelines for athletic events. 

Parents were notified via email that based on the CDC’s recommendation and the district’s COVID Response Teams advice in consultation with medical professionals, WCS will no longer be conducting temperature checks before entering school each morning after spring break.

It is still recommended that parents/guardians check their child’s temperature before leaving home for school each day. WCS will still be utilizing temperature scanning devices for all in-school special events and will continue to follow the guidance issued by TSSAA for all sporting events.

Williamson County Schools will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and the State Health Department and require students, staff and visitors to wear face coverings inside school buildings and at school events. The State Health Department and CDC are still quarantining those exposed to a positive case, and we will continue with our mitigation strategies in our efforts to keep students on campus, knowing that we can’t fully keep students socially distanced from each other. While the mandate expired, Williamson County Government still requires masks in its county buildings.

The March 23 deadline for the 2021-22 school year is needed so appropriate staffing and scheduling can be in place for the start of school for both traditional, on-campus learning and the WCS Online Program. Our plan for on-campus learning will be to continue to follow the health authorities' recommendations as much as possible. WCS Online will remain available for those families who, whether based on need, concern or any other reason, want to learn from home. Due to ongoing changes, it would be premature for the district to establish COVID protocols for the next school year at this time.

Yes. However, we have been told that individuals who have had both doses of the vaccine may not be quarantined after close contact with a positive case.

Williamson County Schools will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and the State Health Department and require students, staff and visitors to wear cloth face coverings inside school buildings and at school events. At this time, we have no indication of any change.  We cannot make a prediction at this time when that guidance will change, but we continue to communicate with the local health department and modify our safety measures when we can.

Williamson County Schools will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and the State Health Department and require students, staff and visitors to wear face coverings inside school buildings and at school events. At this time, we do not have any additional guidance from those agencies regarding the return to school in the fall. It is premature for us to announce masks are required next year, but we continue to hope that many of these safety measures will lift as health authorities continue to work on addressing the pandemic. We will announce changes as we can.