Reopening Schools Safely – Bishops’ Letter to Governor Beshear

On August 12, the bishops of Kentucky sent the following letter to Governor Beshear to share with him the current plans for reopening Catholic schools for the new academic year. For more details about individual schools, please look for communication from your local diocese and school.

A PDF version of the letter may be found here.

Dear Governor Beshear,

Thank you again for your leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we have worked together these past several months to keep Kentuckians safe, we have appreciated your leadership and the regular communication you have provided to the public and to civic and community leaders.

Reopening schools for the new academic year in a responsible way involves many difficult decisions and a great deal of consultation and work, as you well know. We appreciate the diversity of situations in which individual schools find themselves and the challenge of balancing all of the risks involved. We write to inform you of the diligent work that has been done by the administrators, teachers, parents, and others throughout our Catholic school community, and our plans for safely reopening Kentucky’s Catholic schools.

We plan to begin reopening our schools for the fall semester next week, with some schools having start dates later in the month. All of our schools have developed models to begin the school year.

We have considered several factors in making this decision. First, our school leaders have been working diligently to ensure a safe environment for all of our students, teachers, and other personnel. We are confident we can provide a safe environment and be ready to respond when there are positive cases of COVID-19 among our students, faculty, or staff.

Second, we are concerned for the welfare of our students and their spiritual, social, emotional, and academic progress. We are mindful of the challenges parents face as they strive to balance family life, work, and the need to support their families with the needs of children who are trying to participate in non-traditional instruction.

Third, our school leaders have developed excellent working relationships with public health officials, particularly our local health departments, and this will enable us to respond effectively to problems as they arise.

Finally, we understand the pandemic is very much a fluid situation and things can change very quickly. We will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments, either system-wide or at individual schools, as needed. In addition, during the week of September 6, all four dioceses of the Commonwealth will conduct an evaluation of our experience to date and will make any needed changes.

We look forward to continuing communication with yourself and your office in the weeks and months ahead as we continue to navigate this crisis. Please be assured of our constant prayers for yourself, your staff, and all of our public health officials.

Sincerely,

Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville

Most Reverend Roger J. Foys, Bishop of Covington

Most Reverend William F. Medley, Bishop of Owensboro

Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop of Lexington