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March 13, 2020 

 

Dear CH-UH Community,

 

Since Governor DeWine’s announcement yesterday that schools must close for at least three weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19, my colleagues and I have been working around the clock to plan for the many uncertainties we now face. I address the current status of several of these issues below by topic.

 

The District has developed a draft plan for continuous learning. The plan is presented in three tiers based on different points in the planned closure. The Educational Services team is working on supplemental materials for each grade level; some are online and some are not. 

 

For online learning, we will utilize a variety of resources including Google Classroom and Google Hangouts. Chromebooks will be available for students in all grade levels to sign out (1 device limit per family). Pick-up is as follows:

A parent/guardian will need to sign for the device.

 

We ask that parents/guardians consider the following when making a decision to check out a Chromebook:

Spectrum and Comcast are running temporary free internet programs for qualifying households during the crisis.

 

On Monday, March 16, and Tuesday, March 17, educators, administrators and support staff will finalize these plans and timelines for online and at-home instruction and we will share the details at that time. 

 

Spring Break will still be observed March 23-27. The continuous learning plan will be paused during this time. The additional closure time is not considered to be part of Spring Break. In his press conference today, Governor DeWine clarified his misstep in using this term to describe the closure.

 

We are also working with nearby school districts to share ideas with one another. In this video, State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria mentions that creativity, cooperation, and innovation will be embedded into the decisions we make in the coming weeks; I couldn’t agree more.

 

All CH-UH students eat breakfast and lunch for free at school thanks to a federal grant. We understand that without this program, many of our children may face food insecurity. Our food service partner, AVI Food Systems, has created a plan for meal distribution similar to the summer meal program. Food pickup times and locations can be found on this flyer. The setup will be “grab and go” in school entrances to prevent patrons from congregating in the building. This food will be available for any child whether or not they are our students.

 

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank School Market will take place as scheduled at Oxford from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on March 17 but will be a “drive-through” setup.

 

Note: We have received many inquiries from families, staff and community members on how they can help be sure our children receive food. AVI, the Food Bank and our other vendors and partners are fully staffed and equipped to run these programs, but we greatly appreciate the generosity that our Tiger Nation community is showing during these difficult times. 

 

If your child has prescription medication in the school nurse’s office, these will be available for pickup through 3 p.m. on Monday, March 16.

 

While these school closures are meant to protect our physical health, there are very real mental health concerns that come along with such an abrupt change in schedule. Boredom, lack of routine, being away from friends, and general anxiety caused by the pandemic can be detrimental to students of all ages. We are working closely with our school counselors, social workers and psychologists on a plan to help address these issues. 

 

All school-sponsored travel that was originally scheduled to take place during the closure has been canceled. These groups have been notified by their trip organizers on the next steps. We encourage those who still plan to take spring break trips to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in and around their destination and keep a close eye out for signs and symptoms of the virus upon return. We also highly suggest monitoring the CDC’s travel advisories as these can change quickly. 

 

Canterbury, Fairfax, Gearity, and Delisle are still being utilized as polling locations on Election Day, March 17. District cleaning staff will thoroughly clean the buildings that night after voting ends.

 

Again, there will be no school for students for at least 3 weeks beginning on Monday, March 16.

 

Please keep an eye out early next week for another email with details as we move forward. Thank you for your continued support as we work through this challenging time, together.

 

Sincerely,

Superintendent Liz Kirby