To our Sylvania Schools Community

The members of our Reset and Restart Task Force continue to work diligently on deciding how best to reopen school. You can be assured we will be ready, as we are designing plans that include the necessary precautions to support the safety and health of all of our students and staff. In addition, we will remain as flexible and as responsive as possible to meet the needs of our families.

Our framework for returning to school is directed by guidelines set by local, state, and federal governments and public health officials. Please note, State Superintendent Paolo DeMaria, advised school superintendents to “Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and be prepared to pivot on a dime.” To that end, we have been working through multiple scenarios as related to the reopening of the school district.

The release of Governor DeWine’s guidance document has allowed us to further refine our district’s plan for the 2020-2021 school year. As you may already know, our goal is to have all of our students back on our school campuses while also providing a virtual learning option for students whose parents desire remote learning experience during this ongoing pandemic.

 Transportation
School buses are confined spaces that require a particular focus on social distancing during COVID-19. For the health and safety of our students and bus drivers, we are reducing the number of student riders per bus (two per seat and/or three siblings sitting together).

The results from the Transportation Commitment Form sent on July 7th indicate that months into the pandemic, we still have a significant number of families requesting busing for the coming year. At this
time, we have far more students requesting busing than we are able to accommodate with the guidance of social distancing that must be adhered to on each bus.

As the number of buses required for each school’s morning and afternoon routes has now increased due to lower rider capacity, we are considering how to transport as many of our students as possible with our bus fleet. Unfortunately, with the pandemic we are forced to consider alternatives we would not have otherwise pursued. One option that is being considered is to suspend busing for high school students for the 2020-2021 school year. Please note, we are carefully weighing this option as the timing for available buses could necessitate a shift to the start time for several buildings. Another option would be to widely enlarge the radius for those not eligible for transportation based on distance from school. Safety, along with the varying ages and number of students affected, makes this less favorable. It is important that our families and community know that we are considering the many variables and factors in making decisions about transportation. Communication will continue to be sent as we make decisions and our goal is to have a final decision in place by the end of next week.

 Learning 
Our Task Force communicated three (3) options for delivering instruction. We will continue to share details as we refine the protocols with the health department. At this time, here some key elements for each plan.

Green: Traditional, in person, on campus every day, all-day
●  Mask or shield for students using district transportation
●  Assessing symptoms on a daily basis, including temperature check (must be under 100.4)
●  Students in grades 3-12 will be required to wear a mask or shield (exceptions will be made when appropriate due to special circumstances/needs)
●  All staff members will be required to wear a mask or shield
●  Increased hand washing and use of hand sanitizer
●  Increased cleaning protocols in place for each building
●  Strive to meet social distancing recommendations
●  Lunch will be provided in a grab and go style
●  Elementary students will have recess each day
●  Field Trips will be temporarily suspended until further notice
●  Parent/Teacher Conferences, Open Houses, etc, may be held virtually

Please note, we are working with the health department on protocols that will be in place if any students or staff present symptoms while in a school building.

Yellow: Hybrid of on-campus and remote learning
At this time, we are not planning to implement this learning model as we begin the school year. The purpose of the stoplight system is to give families an expectation for the school schedules that are
possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we spent time working through the alternatives for Yellow, we recognized that moving to and from Yellow would cause a considerable scheduling shift for our families, teacher lesson plans, and transportation. We have decided to focus our efforts so that buildings are
entirely in school (Green) or remote (Red).

Please note that in the event that a school needs to go to Red based on the health department’s recommendation, it is possible that other buildings could remain Green.

Red: Remote Learning
●  If required to close a school(s) due to Governor’s or Health Department’s directive or due to a need to quarantine
●  Students will receive 100% of their daily instruction in a virtual environment instructed by our
Sylvania teachers
●  Increased expectations for student attendance, class participation, rigor of assignments and assessments along with traditional grading
●  Increased expectations for live sessions for each class each week
●  Improved digital support with a new and more robust learning management system
●  Daily grab and go lunches provided at a satellite location
●  Parent/Teacher Conferences, Open Houses, etc, to be held virtually

We recognize the schedule change for families to shift to Red can be significant. Any decisions to go to
Red will be for the health and safety of our students, staff, and greater community. While we are hopeful
we will remain Green, if necessary, we would make a decision in conjunction with the health department to go Red. If that occurs, we would communicate through email, text notification, social media, local media, and add an alert to our website.

Orange: Sylvania Alternative Learning Academy (SALA)
●  Parent option which requires a one-year commitment to online instruction
●  Students will receive 100% of their instruction via Edgenuity curriculum in a virtual environment, supported and guided by a Sylvania Teacher
●  Increased expectations for student attendance, class participation, the rigor of assignments and assessments along with traditional grading
●  Daily grab and go lunches provided at a satellite location
●  Parent/Teacher Conferences, Open Houses, etc, to be held virtually
●   SALA  FAQs

Coming Up before School Begins:
During the summer, Sylvania students retain access to a number of digital resources that can provide support in preventing gaps in education from one academic year to the next. This Summer  Boost 
 website  provides guidance on accessing and using those resources. Students may use these resources for additional practice and review of the previous year's learning standards.

Our Back-to-School kickoffs will look different this year. Traditionally, this is a time for students and families to visit the buildings prior to the start of school for school pictures, set up or add money to lunch accounts, receive class assignments/schedules, and more. Look for communication in the coming weeks about how kickoff will be handled virtually this year.

Thank you for your partnership, support, and voice as we develop our district’s plan for the
reopening of school. We will continue to keep you informed as well as update our website as we have more details to share.