COVID-19 Resources

Gestalt Community Schools is monitoring the rapidly evolving news on the spread of COVID-19 in the Memphis area. This webpage centralizes information and resources for our Village. Please check this page regularly for updates. The health and safety of our scholars and community remain our top priorities and drive our decision-making process.

As our reentry plans develop, we work to keep our Village closely apprised of updates. Since our start of school in August, we have learned so much from science and our colleagues – locally and nationally. With this knowledge in place, we are moving forward with the following reentry plans: 

Grades K-3 in-person school reentry

Due to the science that indicates lower community spread among the K-3 scholars; profound academic learning loss; and overall social emotional impact, we are launching first with our K-3 scholars. Our K-3 scholars will start Feb. 1. The K-3 entry will be based on social distance capacity, family choice, staffing capacity and CDC guidelines. Barring no state or local restrictions, we want 50% or less of our K-3 scholars in school by the beginning of February. We are not able to serve every scholar with in-person learning, which is why our quality virtual learning will continue. 

Grades 4-12 in-person school reentry

Grades 4-12 scholar reentry will be determined by our reentry threshold of an average composite of 5% or less positivity rates for two consecutive weeks. This is aligned to the SCS threshold. We don't have an exact date for the return of grades 4-12, but we do have a gradual reentry process over a five-week period. Once the positivity rates reach a 5% average or less, the following five-week plan will trigger.

We will provide free, on-site COVID-19 testing for all adults and children in our buildings. The testing will be done on campus by a medical personnel. Parents, we ask that you indicate your permission or not for testing. Our goal is to get over 75% of each school building engaged in weekly COVID-19 testing. You will indicate your preference in the family choice survey below. All COVID-19 results will remain confidential. 

Your safety comes first. Take a look at our safety video on procedures for on-campus learning. In addition, you will find further information on our plans for reentry by reading our Family Guide to School Reentry. Click here for the English version and click here for the Spanish version. 

Since May, our Gestalt team and a 22-member task force have been hard at work developing safe pathways for school reentry. Click here to view our phases of planning and implementation.

Gain help through our help desk ticket and our hotline. The hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please call 888-98-GCSHD (888-984-2743).

There are organizations and agencies in Memphis that are helping families. Please review the following resource list.

Gestalt Community Schools is committed to providing our scholars with the tools they need to be successful – including access to well-balanced meals. To fulfill that commitment, we're offering curbside meal pickup every Tuesday and Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at our PCA Elementary - Hickory Hill campus. Please have your scholar lunch I.D. ready. We can't wait to see you!

The Tennessee Department of Education approved the Gestalt Community Schools Continuous Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year. Please click here to see the approved plan for more details.