Anderson County and Clinton schools will be closed over safety concerns during the total solar eclipse that will cross the United States on Monday, August 21.
“After receiving feedback from teachers, staff, and concern over safety from the media, Anderson County Schools will be closed on Monday, (August) 21, Eclipse Day,” a notice posted by the county school system said.
“Due to the abundance of safety concerns being expressed, CCS (Clinton City Schools) will be closed on Monday, August 21, for the eclipse,” the city school system said in an online post. “This has been a difficult decision to make, but we want parents to have input on their child’s level of participation on this special day. We will be sending home eclipse glasses with each child on Friday afternoon. Please use these based on your personal discretion. Special activities will occur this week in classrooms to make this a meaningful learning experience for our students. We appreciate your understanding and support.”
In Oak Ridge, the school system will transport students and provide eclipse glasses for the solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people.
The path of totality for the solar eclipse cuts through Oak Ridge, according to information provided to the Oak Ridge Board of Education for a meeting on Monday, August 7.
Because the path of totality cuts through Oak Ridge, half of the city’s schools are in the path of totality and half are not, the information said.
“We believe that every Oak Ridge student should have the opportunity to learn about the eclipse and to experience the total eclipse,” the information said. “Therefore, we will be transporting students from the east side of Oak Ridge to the west side, with parental permission.
“On Monday, August 21, 2017, there will be a path of totality in which the moon will completely cover the sun,” the information said. “The path of totality is in a narrow band that crosses North America. The total solar eclipse has remarkable attributes that cannot be experienced during the partial eclipse, such as the sudden appearance of stars and planets, the solar corona becoming visible, and a temperature drop. Experiencing the solar eclipse is an incredible learning experience for students and adults alike.”
The partial eclipse will generally start in Oak Ridge at 1:04 p.m. August 21, and totality will take place at 2:33 p.m. It has been estimated that the total solar eclipse in Oak Ridge will last 27 to 31 seconds.
You can learn more about eye safety and other solar eclipse topics by visiting these websites: http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov and http://goseetheeclipse.com.
You can see our other stories on the solar eclipse here. Those stories include information on viewing sites that include the American Museum of Science and Energy, East Tennessee Technology Park, and University of Tennessee Arboretum.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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