At the July 13 Wadsworth City School District Board of Education meeting, the board discussed the recommendations from the 2020-2021 School Year Advisory Committee for the different scenarios the school district may need to use during the upcoming school year, based upon COVID-19.
“While we recognize that plans made now could change, depending on the pandemic, before our new school year begins, the board of education expressed a desire to move forward with attempting to start our new school year using the committee’s recommendations found in Scenario #1: students return to our buildings,” said Superintendent Dr. Andy Hill in an email to the district.
While additional information and details relating to Scenario #1 recommendations are being worked through, the main safety measures that are recommended include:
– The social distancing space between people in a classroom should be a minimum of three (3) feet, and more when possible.
– Face coverings should be worn by all students and staff in the classroom and in other shared spaces to begin the 2020-2021 school year unless a student has a documented health reason for not wearing one or a staff member provides written documentation for an exemption, as found in the Ohio Department of Health Order on face coverings (face covering guidelines will continue to be defined, particularly for students in pre-k through 2nd grade).
– For students eligible for transportation, two (2) per assigned seat while wearing a face covering; three (3) per seat while wearing a face covering, if the students are from the same family and they can fit safely into the seat.
– The placement of sanitation stations throughout each building, regular cleaning of high-touch surfaces throughout the school day and procedures to disinfect each building each night.
– Protocols based on health department recommendations for students or staff members who become ill or experience possible exposure.
“There are many other details involving the return of students to our buildings that need to be worked through (e.g., lunch, recess); as those decisions are made, we will communicate them with you,” said Dr. Hill.
For families that may not be comfortable having their child(ren) return to the physical school buildings under the scenario detailed above, Wadsworth will offer an online learning option that will include Wadsworth City School District teachers and curriculum, live and recorded lessons, the issuance of grades and personalization for student needs.
“The online option will be different than what you and your child experienced last spring through remote learning and is different than what is described in the All Students Remain in Remote Learning (Scenario #2) recommendations,” Dr. Hill explained in his email.
“Our current online option, the Grizzly Digital Academy, was developed six years ago and has only been available for a small number of students. We are in the process of overhauling the Grizzly Digital Academy to meet the needs of our students who will not return to our buildings. If you are interested in having your child learn from home through our online option, we ask that the initial commitment be for the first trimester (grades K-4) or the first quarter (grades 5-12) of the 2020-2021 school year. Once final details are available on the online option, we will share them with you,” Dr. Hill said.
To better help the district with planning for the new school year, Wadsworth parents/caretakers are asked to complete this survey by July 29.
