Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI)

Operation Snow School logo for KCPS with a snowflake in the middle of the word snow.

In response to the large number of snow days in recent years, the Kentucky Department of Education has authorized the Knox County Public Schools to participate in the non-traditional instruction initiative. When winter weather (or any other condition) forces the school district to close, students can continue to learn at home and receive credit for the school day.

How will students/families be notified of NTI days?

Knox County Public Schools will use all the methods for communicating a NTI day that are used to communicate a school day cancellation – including television news, radio, e-mail, district website, and social media. Official sources include the KCPS website (www.knoxkyschools.com), telephone hotline (606-277-2400), Facebook (knoxkyschools), and Twitter (@knoxkyschools)

How much time will students spend doing assignments on NTI days?

Students will be expected to spend around 4 hours doing school work on NTI days.

Will all of the assignments be online?

Our goal is to provide as much information as possible online to help communicate NTI assignments. The actual assignment will vary from teacher to teacher. Some teachers will post a printable worksheet for students to complete and also provide them a printed copy. Other teachers may elect to use an online resource for completing assignments (such as Edmodo, McGraw Hill, etc.)

Where can I find the NTI assignments online?

For each NTI day the school district will publish a special page on our website with the assignments for that day.   Assignments will be available beginning at 9am on the NTI day. Check the KCPS website (www.knoxkyschools.com) for the assignments.

When will students be required to return their work for each NTI day?

We understand that school cancellations may delay our students returning to school for several consecutive days. Students will have five school days to turn in assignments for grade. The five days does not include any school cancellation days that occur between the day of the NTI assignment and the fifth in-school day. The five school days will allow students time to ask questions about the assignment and receive support in the form of ESS/tutoring and the support of any resource teachers.

How will student work and participation on NTI days be monitored?

Teachers will be required to submit to the district overall participation for their classrooms. Based on the grading methods used by your child’s teacher and school, the NTI assignment may be used as a project grade, daily assignment, participation grade, etc. Each teacher may decide the grading category and percentage/points possible for NTI assignments.

What will happen if I don’t understand the assignment or if I need help?

Teachers will be required to be available for student/parent questions during a NTI day. To allow for documentation of correspondence, we encourage students and families to utilize KCPS e-mail for contacting teachers. Most teacher e-mails are in the form of firstname.lastname@knox.kyschools.us (example, Mary Smith would be mary.smith@knox.kyschools.us). You may also contact your principal if there are any unanswered or school-specific questions.