November 13, 2020
Dear North Royalton City Schools' Community,
Last night, the Board of Education voted to endorse the revised reopening plan to bring students back to school in either a hybrid model or all-in model beginning on November 30, 2020, based on conditions in our area.
The plan our District developed this past summer relied solely on the State Health Advisory System and determined our instructional model based on the specific colors. Level 3 (red) and Level 4 (purple) were fully remote, with Level 2 (orange) being all-in for K-8 and blended at the high school and then Level 1 (yellow) allowing for an all-in person instruction K-12. As I have communicated with the community over the past several weeks, we all share the ultimate goal to safely bring students back into our school buildings five days a week. We have adjusted our Reopening Plan to reflect the conditions in our city, county and region and not be completely tied to the colored level system of the State Health Advisory System.
Revised Reopening Plan as of November 13, 2020
Our new plan will still use the State Health Advisory System as a guide to make decisions, but will not be the sole factor in all cases.
When the county is Level 4 (purple), North Royalton City Schools will continue to move to a remote learning phase for all students. Learning decisions for students with disabilities will be made on an individual basis during the remote phase. While under the purple designation, extracurricular activities that cannot be done virtually and athletics will be paused. Once the purple designation is lifted, activities may resume.
Level 3 (red) no longer will mean that the District will be in a total remote setting. We will use local zip code data, staff and student absenteeism rates, substitute availability and other area measures to determine if the District will be in a remote setting or if students will be in person for instruction.
- If area data allows for it, while the county is under Level 3 (red), we will have students in K-4 come to school five days a week for in-person instruction. This is due to the fact that we can isolate and cohort these students in their classrooms.
- At the same time, students in grades 5-12 will return to school in a blended setting with students with the last name A-K attending on Tuesday and Thursday and L-Z attending Wednesday and Friday.
- For grades 5-8, we will switch the blended learning delivery model to have middle school students log into the classes and follow the regular middle school bell schedule each day. Mondays will be a remote learning day, but unlike high school will be a synchronous learning day in which all students will log in and follow their regular bell schedule.
- As before, students at the high school level will log into their classrooms on the days they are not in attendance.
- For grades 9-12, Monday will continue to be an asynchronous learning day.
If the State Health Advisory System for our county drops to Level 2 (orange) or Level 1 (yellow), we will look at local data to determine if and when we bring all students K-12 back to school for five day in person instruction.
Our goal is to implement this plan on November 30, 2020. However, prior to any final decision being made, we must determine if conditions in our area will allow for in-person instruction to commence. We will update our parents as we move closer to that date but no later than Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
CLICK HERE to be directed to our COVID-19 website to review the Revised Reopening Plan. In addition to our plan, the website contains additional information and resources regarding COVID-19.
K-8 FAMILIES ONLY: MAKING CHANGES TO PARENTS’ CHOICES
Before the most recent return to full remote learning, we asked parents of students in grades K-8 to make a choice for their child's instructional delivery, giving an opportunity to switch from At Home Remote Learning to Traditional Learning if desired, or from Traditional Learning to At Home Learning. At this time, we will honor those choices and adjust classroom assignments for grades K-8 beginning November 30. To accommodate social distancing guidelines, class sizes, and staffing needs, students will stay in these assignments for the remainder of the school year. Only parents who indicated a change when asked in October will be contacted to confirm their choice. If you plan to have your child continue in their current learning plan, there is nothing you need to do. If you have any questions or wish to make a change for your student now, please contact your child’s principal by Tuesday, November 17, 2020.
9-12 FAMILIES ONLY: MAKING CHANGES TO PARENTS’ CHOICES
If you plan to have your child continue in their current learning plan, there is nothing you need to do. However, if you would like to change your choice that you made at the beginning of the year, please click here to complete the form by Tuesday, November 17, 2020. To accommodate social distancing guidelines, class sizes, and staffing needs, students will stay in these assignments for the remainder of the school year.
If you have any questions in regards to this change and how it affects your child, please contact your building principal directly to talk through that.
As a reminder, school is in session remotely during the week of Thanksgiving on Monday, November 23 and Tuesday, November 24. Students will log in for live instructional lessons with teachers on BOTH days that week. Monday will not be an asynchronous learning day for students. Principals and/or teachers will provide communication to families about this.
I know this has not been an easy time for our students, parents and staff. My goal is always to provide a safe and healthy environment for our students and staff. We will continue to face challenges as we move ahead. As the Governor has spoken about and as the data has shown, we are not over this yet. With that, we know we must make every effort to have our students in school. While doing this, it is also imperative to keep our staff healthy so they can continue to deliver instruction to our students. I know that no decision will work for every family and that opinions will differ on how to proceed. As a community, we need to stay unified and make sure we are wearing our masks, avoiding gatherings, taking all safety precautions, and staying the course so that we can safely bring back our students into our buildings.
Have a good day and thank you for your support of the North Royalton City School District.
Sincerely,
Greg Gurka
Superintendent
