General Frequently Asked Questions
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I need assistance. What resources are available?
Posted by:If you are in immediate need of shelter, water or food, call the Emergency Operations Center at 504-349-5360. Local, state, and federal agencies and organizations are providing resources, support, and information to those impacted by Hurricane Ida. We created this page to link to some of the resources and information available to employees and families as they recover from the storm. We will continue to update these and share on our various communication channels.
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Will JP School employees continue to get paid?
Posted by:Yes. The Jefferson Parish School Board met to declare a state of emergency, and therefore all regular salaried and hourly employees with a pay assignment will continue to be paid during the closure. Employees should follow the district's reopening tiers to return to work based on their position and tier. If any of our employees have extenuating circumstances, they should contact their supervisor directly. We will work with employees on a case-by-case basis to assist them based on their needs.
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If I am not set up for direct deposit, what should I do?
Posted by:If you are not set up for direct deposit, contact Stephen Hudak at stephen.hudak@jpschools.org to get set up for direct deposit.
Reopening Frequently Asked Questions
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Why are you opening schools on a rolling basis instead of all at once?
Posted by:Hurricane Ida’s impact on Jefferson Parish varied from community to community and across our 80 campuses. A tiered approach allows school to resume as soon as possible for as many children as possible. Our main goal has always been to safely reopen schools and as quickly as possible. Public schools are a cornerstone of a strong, well-functioning community. Our schools exist to provide children with the education they deserve to succeed in life and make our world a better place. At a more basic level, schools provide a sense of normalcy and a safe place for children during the day.
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How do I find the reopening tier for my school?
Posted by:A list of schools in each reopening tier can be found on our website.
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Why are the schools in Lafitte and Grand Isle not included in these tiers?
Posted by:Grand Isle School, Leo Kerner Elementary, and Fisher Middle-High will not be part of the general reopening tiers due to the significant impact of the storm in Grand Isle and Lafitte. We will directly communicate reopening plans with those employees and families prior to any public announcement.
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Why are Jefferson Parish charter schools not included in the tiers?
Posted by:Charter schools operate with additional autonomy and can make opening and closing decisions independently. Those schools will directly communicate individual reopening plans with their employees and families.
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Are schools safe for children and employees?
Posted by:When our buildings reopen, they will be safe for students and employees. Contractors will release schools to the district as they meet safety, environmental, and operational standards. At this time in our recovery, we are prioritizing safety. Our schools and classrooms may not look the same, but they will be safe for instruction. Please remember that the average age of our buildings is close to 60 years.
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What if an employee is unable to return to work based on their school’s tier?
Posted by:If any of our employees have extenuating circumstances, they should contact their supervisor directly. We will work with employees on a case-by-case basis to assist them based on their needs.
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Are you offering emotional support to employees?
Posted by:Yes. We recognize the significant impact that Hurricane Ida and the subsequent school closures are having on the emotional well-being of our staff. In order to provide emotional support and recovery resources, we have created a Confidential Emotional Support and Resource Line for all JP Schools employees.Certified mental health professionals will be available via telephone to provide support and additional resources to JP staff during these trying times. Staff members may call (504) 349-7629 Monday-Friday from 9am-7pm to speak with one of our trained mental health professionals.Please be advised that if staff members are in a life threatening situation, they should call 911 for immediate assistance. -
What if a family is unable to send their child to school at this time due to Hurricane Ida’s impact?
Posted by:If any of our families have extenuating circumstances, they should contact their school when buildings reopen. Contact information is available on our website.
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Will a virtual option be offered for families unable to return?
Posted by:Jefferson Parish Schools is a traditional PK-12 school system and will continue to focus on in-person instruction. We know students learn best from being in-person, so we are not offering virtual learning outside of our standalone virtual high school, Jefferson Virtual High School.
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Will transportation be impacted?
Posted by:We anticipate we may continue to face a shortage of bus drivers. While we hope that is not the case, families may still experience delays or disruptions to bus transportation as we work to resume normal operations as soon as possible.
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Will we have to make-up the missed days?
Posted by:Our goal is to ensure children receive the benefits of a complete academic year. While our academic calendar had additional instructional minutes built into it, the days we have missed due to Hurricane Ida have exceeded that cushion. The state mandates a minimum number of instructional minutes that school systems are required to meet each year. Any waiver of these minutes would have to be requested by the state and approved by the governor. We will be in touch soon about our academic calendar as we continue to evaluate options to make up the days missed due to Hurricane Ida.
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Will school start and end times be impacted?
Posted by:At this time we do not anticipate changes to school start or dismissal times. Any changes would be communicated to families and employees by the school and/or district.
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What COVID-19 precautions will students and employees follow when returning to school?
Posted by:Like we did prior to Hurricane Ida, we will continue to follow our Start Strong Jefferson protocols when we are back in schools.
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I’ve seen the reopening plan listed as “tentative.” Could it change?
Posted by:Yes. Contractors have assessed each campus, and recovery work is underway. Contractors will release school campuses back to us as those buildings meet safety, environmental, and operational standards. The contractors have shared their timeline with us, and we used this information to create a tentative reopening plan. These timelines are subject to change based on our buildings meeting safety standards.