January 8, 2021
Dear Independence Local Schools’ Families,
I hope that your student(s) first day back this week was a great one! It’s not hard to see the smiles and positive attitudes in our students and staff, even with masks. I also know our I-Pride Academy lessons and engagement opportunities have been meaningful for our all-virtual learners. Needless to say, we are very excited to have all of our students back on Monday!
For our in-person learners, I want to thank you for your help with our health assessments these first days back. Thank you for your patience with the app glitches, as the very important part of this process is that each student and staff member that enters our buildings has their temperature taken and is asked about symptoms each day. Catching symptoms very early and staying home unless you are very healthy makes a significant impact in our ability to keep our schools open. Please know that many students and staff members have had absences due to symptoms and illness this year, and this year more than any, we will work with you and help keep you current when absent.
I also want to let you know that we will be following the updated quarantine guidelines from the Ohio Department of Health and Cuyahoga County Board of Health. If students are “close contacts” of someone who tested positive for Covid-19, and were in a classroom or bus setting and wearing masks, they are allowed to attend school as long as they are not showing symptoms. They will be held out of unmasked activities, like sports, during the close contact monitoring period. This update was based on state-wide data showing limited to no transfer when students were masked. Our local data supports this protocol change as well.
More than anything, I hope all of our school community can stay healthy and focus on what is most important as we continue to work through the Covid-19 pandemic. I believe having our students in school and involved as possible is important for their overall well-being. We know so many of our students and family members are experiencing previously unknown levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Many of us have had traumatic years and many of us have experienced loss. Our school family’s loss of another student has broken so many of our hearts. We have stressed the idea that connections are more important than content, especially in this pandemic year. Our staff members are, and will continue to work, to connect, to be there, and to build relationships with our students. We also want to acknowledge the trauma and struggles we all may be working through this year and continue to improve in how we recognize and respond to our students’ well-being needs. Please know that we are here to help, support, and when needed, connect you or your child to resources to help in any way possible.
Our Crisis Response Team has a strong partnership with the Cornerstone of Hope, who will help us in providing an informational meeting for parents and caregivers on depression and grief. This will be an opportunity for you to learn more about grief and suicide, and how to help your children navigate the grief process. We will also share with you some signs to look for that a child or young adult may be experiencing depression and resources for help and guidance. We believe this information is important for all parents and caregivers, even if your child(ren) is not showing signs of grief at this time. This meeting will be held Tuesday, January 12 at 6 p.m. in a socially distanced setting in the Independence Middle School auditorium. If you would prefer to participate virtually, you may use the zoom link:
Sincerely,
Ben Hegedish
Superintendent
