With only a few weeks before school begins in the North Union Local Schools, the Board of Education met Monday evening to determine how the school year will look.
A partnership with the state and county health departments, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, school districts in Union County and Educational Service Centers has released “Reset and Restart” guidelines.
North Union has put those guidelines into effect and will have a blended learning plan in place Sept. 8. Guidance counselors are working at all three buildings to match children in the same family to be able to attend two days a week in class, and three days learning remotely. At North Union Elementary, half of all kindergarten through fifth grades will attend school Mondays and Tuesdays, and get lessons online Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The other half of the students will have online learning on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and be in the classrooms on Thursdays and Fridays. Only 50 percent of the students will be in a building at a time.
School Superintendent Rich Baird stated that guidance counselors and teaching staff are working hard to get the two groups organized as to which days they will attend. Once the lists are completed, a letter will go out to parents/guardians informing them of their child/s schedule.
Currently, there are 210 students who have opted to attend the Digital Academy. They will be taught online with a designated teacher and assistants. They will also be provided with “grab and go” lunches and will be required to log in every day online.
A task force will meet Oct 5 to review how the system is working and also look at how the students can be brought back to school safely.
Baird said North Union, Fairbanks and Marysville, the three districts in Union County, will all receive the same data regarding safety guidelines from the health department, but they make different decisions regarding their own districts.
In the guidelines, it will be necessary for students to wear masks to protect themselves and others, along with following social distancing of six feet apart. In the elementary, several students may sit at a table. Now they will find portable barricades on that table separating each student’s space.
Baird said that flexibility will also be key in making changes, as the data regarding COVID-19 changes rapidly.
Cleaning and sanitizing are also an every day practice. Teachers will be given sanitizing spray to clean desks and surfaces. In the middle and high schools, as students travel from classroom to classroom, the practice of sanitizing will take place after every period.
The administration also knows that there may be some extra staff made available due to added stress and anxiety of teachers and students. Intense teacher development will take place to see that staff will be ready for any immediate changes that may take place. Board member Bradley DeCamp asked if there would be help available for anyone who shows signs of stress and Baird assured him that will be a priority.
Baird hopes that the district will be able to form a partnership with parents and guardians. He hopes that they will also take safety measures at home, such as watching for signs of sickness, take the child’s temperature and if they don’t feel well enough to attend school, be sure to keep them at home to protect themselves and others. Baird also hopes that if a parent sees their student is struggling with online learning, to contact their school and share their concerns to get some extra help.
If someone has been exposed for 15 minutes and within being six feet of another person, they will need to quarantine themselves for 14 days. If the student has been tested for COVID-19 and is positive, they must be quarantined for 10 days.
Wednesdays will be a day where no students will be on the school campus. This will be time for teachers to answer questions for parents regarding school work, and a chance for them to check online with their students.
In the elementary level, students will remain in the same classroom with the same teacher most of the day.
They may go to another room for music, physical education and art classes. Middle school and high school students will be going to different classrooms for different subjects.
Students will be required to go online to Google Classroom and check in daily for attendance purposes.
For more information, go to the school web page at n-union.k12.oh.us and click on the Reset and Restart icon to learn more.
Baird said that school superintendents were invited to attend online a meeting with Governor Mike DeWine regarding guidelines for athletic spectators. He will release the results of that meeting to the public at a later time.
In other business, the board:
•Accepted the resignations of Belinda Nauman, a kindergarten teacher for 34 years; Elise Yeager, a school bus driver and Scott Cox, elementary school sweeper/cleaner.
•Approved a list of certified substitute personnel to be called on an as-needed basis;
•Approved hiring Kevin Hillyard as a school bus driver.
•Hired Mitch Loomis as the high school head girls golf coach, Brittany Bigford as freshman volleyball coach and Sarah Scott as middle school cheer coach.
•Accepted Dan Miller and Connor Terrill as middle school boys basketball volunteers.
•Re-employed Angela Crumb as a bus driver.
•Approved the Remote Learning Plan for the 2020-2021 school year.
•Approved ESC of Central Ohio for Alternative Educational Placement.
•Approved the Face covering Policy EBEA.
The next regular board meeting will be held Monday, September 21, 6:30 p.m. at the North Union Administrative Offices.