February 23, 2021
Dear North Royalton City Schools’ Community,
This school year has proven to be like no other year that I can remember, whether as a student or as an educator. While there have been agreements and disagreements with decisions that have been made, I know that we can all agree that we are glad that the tide is turning and there are brighter days ahead.
Governor DeWine’s decision to have school personnel be one of the first groups vaccinated will go a long way to assuring that we will be able to keep our staff in our classrooms and not have to return to remote learning due to lack of substitutes for classrooms. In addition, it also allows us to examine our master reopening plan and determine if any changes need to be made. As I have previously shared, our staff will receive their vaccinations on February 22 and March 15.
Therefore, I want to announce that beginning with the start of the fourth grading period on March 22, 2021, all students in grades 5 - 12 will join our K - 4 students and return to school full-time, five days a week. While I understand that this is a slight adjustment to our plan, the local data for our area has shown that we can do this safely for both students and staff. In addition, we have appropriate mitigation strategies in place, such as desk shields, cleaning protocols and mandatory mask wearing that will allow this to happen.
With this move to five day learning for grades 5 - 12, students will remain in the learning phase that they are in, whether that is the traditional in-person learning phase or the at-home remote learning phase. Due to class sizes and program setups, changes will not be able to be made at this time.
I know you will join me in the excitement of welcoming all of our students back to full time, in-person instruction. I appreciate your cooperation and assistance in ensuring that your children follow the guidelines, especially having the students bring and wear their masks on the school bus and in the buildings. Together, we will make this a great end to the school year.
In the coming weeks, your building principals will be sending any additional information that is needed in regards to this change. Just a reminder that due to the COVID-19 vaccination our staff members will be receiving, February 22, March 15 and March 16 will be asynchronous learning days.
Thank you for your support of our students and programs.
Sincerely,
Greg Gurka
Superintendent
