9/24/20
District Update from Dr. Wagner
Dear Warrior Families, 

I am happy to share that Cuyahoga County has maintained a Level 2/Orange status on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System this week.  It appears that there will not be a spike from the Labor Day holiday weekend, as many anticipated. Given this information, the district is prepared to transition into a hybrid mode of instructional delivery starting Monday, October 5.  I will provide some broad, general information here, but know that families will receive detailed building-specific information tomorrow that should answer many of your questions.  However, should you need additional information, please reach out to the specific building principal to assist you.  

Our DAP Preschool students will return to school full days Monday through Thursday, as originally scheduled pre-pandemic.  Students in Kindergarten will be returning to school all five days, but in a half-day AM or PM only format. More information will follow from Ms. Moran tomorrow regarding which session each family will attend.  A few other programs serving our most intensive-need students will also be returning full days all week long.

Students in grades 1-12 will be using an alternate-day model.  All students will remain remote (at home) on Monday of each week, as they have been since the start of this school year, logging into Google Meet classes as scheduled.  For the remainder of the week, the students will be divided into two groups: Scarlet group (last name = A-K) and Gray group (last name = L-Z).  There will be minor adjustments to this alphabetical breakdown to keep classes balanced as much as possible -AND- to keep siblings attending school on the same day, in an effort to make things easier for families.  Scarlet group students will report to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Gray group students remain at home, working remotely.  Gray group students will report to school on Wednesdays and Fridays, with Scarlet group students remaining at home, working remotely.  Those students at home will be expected to follow the designated schedule and “check in” at the designated times (for grades 1-5) or at the beginning of their regularly-scheduled class (for grades 6-12).  During the “check in”, teachers will take attendance, provide instructions, and answer any questions the students may have.  The classroom teachers may then dismiss the at-home students to work on their own on the designated work until their next scheduled “check in” time.  More information regarding schedules will be provided tomorrow by the building principals.

If your family has a particular reason or need to be moved from one group to the other (Scarlet or Gray), please contact your building principal.

We will NOT be taking individual student temperatures prior to students entering the schools at Gilles-Sweet, Mayer MS or Fairview HS, in an effort to avoid students bunching up and to avoid delays to the start of classes. Protocols at the EEC will remain the same as they are now, including temperature checks prior to entering the building, including all kindergartners.  Once again, more information will follow tomorrow.  Parents, we ask that you conduct a wellness check with your children before sending them to school each morning.  Please assess the following things:

Is your child currently experiencing any of the following symptoms?

Fever (100.4°F?) YES or NO
Loss of Smell or Taste?  YES or NO
Significant Cough?  YES or NO
Muscle Aches?  YES or NO
Sore Throat?  YES or NO
Shortness of Breath?  YES or NO
Chills?  YES or NO
Headache?  YES or NO
Nausea/vomiting, diarrhea? YES or NO


If you’ve answered “YES” to any of the above questions, please keep your child home and contact the school to report the absence. 



REMOTE LEARNING OPTION
In previous District Updates, we have shared links for those who were interested in having their children remain learning at home when students return to school. These preliminary sign-ups were incredibly helpful to us as we needed to gauge the level of interest and identify the impact this program would have on our teaching corps, however, we know that some of you may have changed your mind, now that we are closer to actually returning to in-person attendance.  It is now time to OFFICIALLY sign up for the Remote Learning Option (RLO) if you would like your child(ren) to participate.  Click on THIS LINK to register.  One additional point for you to consider:  Since we will be only about a month from the end of the first quarter, those registering for the Remote Leaning Option will be expected to remain through the end of the first SEMESTER (January 29th). We have put a tremendous amount of work into providing this option for our parents, and are extremely happy to be able to offer it, but to maintain classroom and instructional consistency, we will not be able to honor any requests to change until the end of the semester.  Thank you for your understanding.





FACE Time - Parent Check-Ins on Zoom 
Join Carrie Sullivan, Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Coordinator, along with fellow parents for a "check-in" on how remote learning is going, and ask questions on preparing for hybrid.  


Gilles-Sweet Families 
Tuesday, Sept 29 at 7pm.
Passcode: 4MWNZY


Early Education Center Families (Kindergarten, Preschool, Daycare)
Thursday, October 1 at 7 pm
Passcode: xKFQ5L


Also as a reminder, the district encourages families to complete the National School Lunch Free or Reduced Application before October 1 to determine eligibility status for when the temporary lunch program ends. By filling out this application, regardless of eligibility, the information provided is crucial to ensure funding for many programs in the district. 

The application is located here. Or you may fill it out electronically here.

Thank you, and stay well.

Dr. Bill Wagner
Superintendent