While its meeting was held electronically Monday, the Jonathan Alder Local School Board was able to take written comments from the public.
“Have you considered asking the seniors what their first choice of options would be?” one commenter asked. “They have had to give up so many special events this year and I think they would value a chance to share their opinion.”
District officials said they have been committed to getting their thoughts. He said seniors are members of the community and will soon be out on their own.
“We have to give them respect,” Superintendent Gary Chapman said.
The superintendent said graduation has been at the forefront of the mind for “every senior student in the state.”
Chapman said the commencement ceremony is “the pinnacle of public education.”
He said the district has sent letters to every senior to “basically give them some options moving forward.” Additionally, district administrators have met with this year’s honor winners and will continue to communicate and gather input through small groups, video conferencing and a survey.
“The overarching goal and our objective is to ensure that we have a traditional commencement ceremony,” Chapman said.
He questioned even if the district is able to have a traditional graduation, “What would the restrictions be on that?”
The superintendent told board members the district has flexibility because the ceremony would be held at a school facility.
“It sure would be nice if we could hold that ceremony on May 24 as planned, following social distancing,” Chapman said.
He said that is the most favorable option, though other options include moving it into June or even July.
“I think our worst-case scenario would be some type of modified ceremony,” Chapman said, outlining a combination of virtual and traditional ceremonies.
Board member Steve Votaw said he would “hate to see them not have that opportunity to walk across the stage.”
“We have to give them something. They have lost everything this spring,” board member Mary Jo Boyd said. “If we can provide some type of normalcy to at least graduation, I think we at least need to try that.”
Board member Bill McCartney questioned if there is a timeframe for making the decision.
Chapman said there is a balancing act. He said the district wants to allow families as much time as possible to plan, but does not want to rush and make “a rash decision.” While the governor has said schools could resume May 1, Chapman said that could change.
“I think we are going to know well in advance of that May 1 date where we are going to be as far as the academic year,” Chapman said.
Officials said that once they hear from the governor about the return to school, they will be in a better position to make decisions.
Officials said that not only has the situation impacted graduation, it is impacting how districts and students get there.
Assistant Superintendent Misty Swanger said the district is moving away from traditional letter grades for the second semester. She said students in grades five through 12 will receive either a pass or an incomplete grade.
“If they receive an incomplete, they will be put on an intervention plan where we have until the beginning of next school year to get them to a passing grade,” Swanger said.
She said the plan is “pretty consistent with what a lot of school districts are doing in the area.”
Swanger said the state, the NCAA, OHSAA and other organizations have also approved the plan.
She students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade are different anyway. She those students are graded on their mastery of standards.
“It is going to be really difficult to assess that,” Swanger said.
She said teachers instead “will report in a narrative format.” She said the teachers will give strengths and areas for improvement. Additionally, Swanger said the teachers will report to teachers in the next grade level.
“We feel this is fair for our students. It is fair for our teachers because we know this is difficult for families, difficult for students,” Swanger said. “It is not normal. We are not living in normal situations.”
Treasurer Aaron Johnson said he usually offers a five-year forecast in April, but this year it will be delayed.
“I need a little bit more time to see how these things are going to play out,” Johnson said.
He said the pandemic will likely impact both income tax and property tax collections.
“Obviously, there is some financial impact to the forecast from the recent events,” Johnson said. “It is hard to know exactly what the impact is going to be. Obviously, it is going to depend on a lot of factors.”