Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
On Thursday, July 2, Governor Mike DeWine announced back to school health and safety guidelines for all school districts across Ohio. Grandview Heights Schools is currently reviewing those guidelines in its plan to return to school on August 13, 2020. We are waiting for a second document for schools from the Ohio Department of Health that will provide additional guidelines. Here is the link to the guidance that he shared today: Reset-Restart-Full.PDF
Governor DeWine also shared a new Ohio Public Health Advisory System for Ohio counties. Each week, the state will report out on the status of all 88 counties in the state. These alerts range from Level 1 (yellow) to Level 4 (purple). As a county’s alert level increases, precautionary measures should increase. Franklin County is currently at a Level 3 (red) and approaching a Level 4 (purple).
We have outlined and communicated a three phase process to help us shape our final decision: 1) Data and Research; 2) Design and Planning; and 3) Decision. We surveyed our staff, our students, and families as part of the data and research phase and this information is helping us formulate and shape our “Grandview Heights Schools Philosophy and Planning for Learning 2020-2021” document. This document was shared at our board work session for the board's feedback on Thursday, June 18. We will be following up with another Board Work Session on Wednesday, July 8, 2020, to further garner additional feedback from the Board of Education regarding what school will look like this Fall. A final decision will be made later this month. We are working on a date for that meeting.
We owe it to our students, staff, and families to be fully prepared for all three possible scenarios outlined below. Even if we are back to school in a “traditional” setting this Fall, for example, it is possible that we will be forced to transition to a hybrid model or distance learning for a period of time based on the spread of COVID 19. Please know that we will, should we be in either a traditional or a hybrid model for schooling, provide distance learning (we are evaluating live streaming capabilities and distance learning cohorts for students based on numbers) for those students and families that are not comfortable returning to school.
These pathways include:
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Traditional School Setting with significant mitigating safety protocols;
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Hybrid Model of Traditional and Distance Learning (currently K-12 AM/PM day rotation by last name 5 days a week); or
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Enhanced Distance Learning
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Online pathway for any student or family that is not comfortable returning (if that’s what Grandview Heights Schools decides)
By planning and preparing for 4 pathways, we can pivot from one pathway to another if needed. Once we thoroughly review the guidelines from the state, the Ohio Department of Health, and meet with Franklin County health officials, we will be able to share more details regarding our plan for school this Fall. We will be sharing the 4 pathways with our entire community after our July 8th Board of Education meeting.
Our goal is to make sure that our reopening plan aligns with our commitment to maximize and personalize every student’s learning in the safest way possible.
Sincerely,
Andy Culp, Superintendent