August 7, 2020
Dear North Royalton Community,
On Wednesday evening, I sent an email to our community with information on our reopening plans that align with the guidance and recommendations of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. These recommendations included starting schools remotely and discontinuing all activities and athletics during the remote learning period. These are difficult decisions and ones that are not taken lightly.
As has been the case with this pandemic since March, things continuously change. Yesterday, we received from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health a review of their recommendations. They are still strongly recommending that all schools in Cuyahoga County begin school remotely as is our plan. However, they state that there are times when students need some in-person contact in order to deliver services for students with special needs, extracurriculars and other services. This guidance also states that these services and extracurriculars should be done in groups of less than 10, including the teacher, advisor or coach.
Based on this new information, we will allow our extracurricular activities to continue as we lead up to our first day of the school year on September 1. For athletics, we will return to a modified phase of our plan where no more than nine students and a coach can work together at any one time. We will also allow the equipment related to that sport to be part of this phase. For band, choir and other extracurricular activities, we will allow groups of no more than nine students and a director or advisor to be together at any one time. Our athletic director and our directors and advisors will be communicating the specific details to parents and students in the next few days.
Our reopening plans are designed with flexibility to allow us to move from remote to in-person learning and then, if needed, back again, without too much disruption. Part of those plans is to have our students be able to participate in activities that allow them to be engaged as much as possible with the teachers and with their classmates. We will continue to use the Cuyahoga County Board of Health guidelines as we make our decisions.
As I said, things continue to change and we do receive new information and guidance often. With our first day of school for students beginning September 1, there is always the possibility that changes will occur. I will continue to keep our community informed if anything changes.
Thank you,
Greg Gurka
Superintendent
