Summer is half over the students, parents, and school staff are all unsure about the start of the 2020-2021 school year. COVID-19 has turned the world upside down and every day more news comes out about taking precautions to stay safe. So the North Union Local School Board of Education approved a plan at Monday night’s regular meeting.
Using guidelines from Governor Mike DeWine and the Director of Health, North Union School Superintendent Rich Baird has created his “Reset and Restart Proposal. He stated there are four learning levels for the students, depending on the level the county is in during the pandemic.
Learning Level 1 (lowest risk level) – follow health and safety guidance, include all social emotional personnel and services, track exposure if a student has been exposed or contracts the virus (100% of students in the building), full food service for students in school, grab and go lunches for students leaving or not on campus, grades and attendance taken daily, staff reports to buildings with safe practices and two students per seat on school bus wearing masks.
Learning Level 2 (blended learning within recommended protections and guidelines) – smaller groups of students (50% of students in the building), in school at least two days per week with online learning the other three days, opportunities for activities (academic and nonacademic) throughout the week, full food service, grab and go lunches for students leaving school, grades and attendance taken daily, one student per seat on school bus with masks.
Learning Level 3 (second highest risk level -remove learning from home) – A public emergency would require all learning from home, include all social and emotional personnel and services,all classes at each building will be fully remote, grades and attendance taken daily, grab and go lunches for students not on school grounds.
Learning Level 4 (highest risk level – remote learning from home) – A public emergency would require all learning from home, including social and emotional personnel and services, grades and attendance taken daily, staff would work from home unless essential to provide services within buildings.
The board approved the starting date of the 2020-2021 school year as Tuesday, Sept. 8. The original Aug. 19 date to Sept. 1, will be used as professional development days. The staff will set a plan as to how the elementary, middle school and high school will operate. The staff will practice the plan and see if there are any areas that need changed.
Elementary teachers may be teaching all subjects to the same core students in their classroom, so they won’t have much exposure in changing classrooms with others. In middle school, there will be some classroom changes, on a minimal level. The high school is where more exposure will be possible.
Baird is asking that the school and the parents form a partnership. Each day, it is hoped that the parents will take their child’s temperature, make sure that they don’t have any flu symptoms or feel ill. If the child does, the parents are asked to keep them at home for their safety and others.
The board also approved the district to host a parent/student education plan for several evenings. The district will invite parents and students to come to their respective schools to find out the plan how school will be held, help reduce the anxiety of students and parents and to ask questions. Those dates will be announced. The board will also develop a police for face coverings.
Baird said that the students will have 166 days of school for the school year, ending June 3.
Also in the Reset and Restart Proposal will be the North Union Digital Academy – all students will have the opportunity to declare the need for remote learning through our online school. This is an option for families with particular concerns about safety and health. This will be all day, every day from home. Grab and go lunches will be available for K-12 at the high school cafeteria, students and families would require at least a one-semester (half-year) commitment if this is the choice, which families will have until Sept. 4, 2020 to select this option, K-8 students will need a caregiver with the student at home for daily support, online connectivity is a requirement, this will be teacher supported and the online model will be more rigorous than the remote experience in the spring of 2020.
Other details regarding social distancing, transportation, food, field trips, sanitization, etc. are also explained in the Reset and Restart Proposal, which is available for reading on the schools website.
In other business, the board;
•Set the next regular meeting for Monday, Aug. 17, 6:30 p.m. at the administrative offices.
•Approve authorization for North Union to participate in the State of Ohio Cooperative Purchasing Program.
•Hired Jamie Blair on a one-year limited expiring certificated contract MA, step 5, effective the 2020-2021 school year as middle school and high school choir director.
•Approve the middle and elementary school fees at $30.00 for the school year.
•Hired Wendy Wilson on a two-year non-certificated limited contract as a school bus driver.