Toledo area school districts share their plans.
As the new school year quickly approaches, many local schools are coming up with plans to keep students and staff safe during the coronavirus pandemic. While not all schools have shared their plans for the 2020-2021 school year, the districts below have released preliminary information. Please note that these plans are not necessarily finalized and will change as the schools meet with the Lucas County Health Department this month.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Anthony Wayne Local Schools
Anthony Wayne has three possible schedules for the 2020-2021 school year. These schedules are based on Lucas County’s COVID Risk Level. In the case of a Level 1, the school will meet in person with social distancing and hygiene protocols. In the case of a Level 2 or 3, the school district will utilize a hybrid schedule in which students will come to school twice a week and then use online learning the remaining three days. Students with the last name beginning with A-L would come on Tuesday/Wednesday and then M-Z would come Thursday/Friday. If the county goes to a Level 4, then all students and staff will work from home.
Protocols for in the building include frequent hand washing, using face coverings, and staying home if displaying COVID symptoms or having a temperature of 100 degrees or higher. Temperatures will be screened as students enter the building. Social distancing will also be very important, and the school plans to space students out by six feet in the cafeteria and restroom breaks will also be staggered and monitored. To also help with social distancing, teachers may take classes outside for learning depending on the weather. Lockers will not be used and students will carry book bags throughout the day instead. Masks will be required for staff. For Pre-K-2nd grade students, masks will need to be worn while on the bus, entering or leaving school, during transition times, and while working in small groups or with individual instruction with the teacher. For grades 3-12 students are to wear masks at all times except at lunch.
When learning from home, students will utilize Google Classroom for their learning. All communication will be delivered through that database. Co-curricular activities may be suspended if the school goes to a complete remote schedule. Additional information on the reopening plan can be found here.
Maumee City Schools
Maumee City Schools will be offering two options this year for students. The first is in-person learning. This would be just like last year with the same hours and meeting in school Monday-Friday. Students who choose this plan will return in August and will follow health and safety precautions. If a COVID-19 outbreak were to occur, these students and the teachers would move to remote learning.
The online option would be a commitment for the entire trimester/quarter, and students would not be able to move in and out of the choice. The online learning would be overseen by a Maumee staff member, but might not be asynchronous or following the live classes. Online Learning at Home students will still be able to participate in extracurricular activities. Those interested in this option are asked to fill out the survey that Maumee families were sent. Upon completion of the survey and selecting the online option, families will receive more information.
To help keep the school district safe, families are asked to pledge their support in reporting children’s illnesses and keeping children home when necessary. The district will also start the year on a staggered start which will allow smaller groups to meet to learn new protocols. Temperatures should be checked at home, but will also be checked at school each day. Students are required to wear masks throughout the school day and while riding the bus. Also before riding the bus, students will have their temperature taken and use hand sanitizer. Siblings will sit together and two students will sit per seat. Busses will load from back to front.
In the building all surfaces will be cleaned every evening as students and staff leave. Hand sanitizing stations will also be installed throughout the building. Lunch will require students to be spaced out and sit in assigned seats. Lunch choices might be limited and some students might eat in the classroom. Drinking fountains will be turned off, so students are encouraged to bring a refillable water bottle. Refill stations will be installed in the buildings.
More information on the reopening plan can be found here.
Oregon City Schools
Oregon City Schools recently released information that the school could be looking at a hybrid opening for fall 2020. The school had intended all summer to start back to school in-person, but as Lucas County is now in the red and seeing an increase in cases, the school is strongly considering opening with their hybrid approach. This approach would have students come to the building twice a week and then learn online for the remaining three days. This would allow for more spacing in the classroom between students, and it would allow for less students to be in the building at a time. The school will not announce for sure how it will begin the school year until closer to the opening day.
Ottawa Hills Local Schools
Ottawa Hills has put together a large draft that they then shared with their community. The school is planning on opening with in-person learning this fall. Prevention, social distancing, and hygiene/cleaning are the three areas that Ottawa Hills Local Schools addresses.
To help prevent a spread of COVID-19, the school is asking parents to take their child’s temperature before each school day, and then the school will also take temperatures as students arrive. If a student comes to school with a temperature of 100.4 or higher, they will be sent home. Masks will be used during transition times but will not be required during the class for students. Teachers will be wearing masks or face shields at all times. Hand sanitizing stations will also be set up throughout the building. At the start of the year, there will be no visitors allowed unless approved by the principal, and visitors will have to wear a mask at all times. The lunch program will be delayed until the end of September, so students will be required to pack a lunch. Students will still eat in the cafeteria, but they will likely eat in shifts by class.
The district is going to do their best to social distance by keeping desks six feet apart in the classroom. For elementary class specials (music, art, physical education) will be brought to the classroom rather than have students move to a new room. High school students won’t be allowed to congregate in the hallway and will be encouraged to eat their lunch outdoors or in the multipurpose room. They will not be able to eat off campus. Field trips and assemblies will not take place. Changes to this draft may be made, and some of these regulations may become more or less stringest throughout the year depending on the need.
Springfield Schools
Springfield Schools recently released that the school will be splitting students into two cohorts. Each cohort will attend school in-person twice a week and then will participate in remote learning the remaining three days. More information about the cohorts will be announced soon. By creating these two cohorts, the school will be able to better socially distance. Hand washing and sanitizing will be of utmost importance as the school starts, and masks will be required on buses and in the classrooms. As the pandemic’s effect changes each day, the school is also preparing to move to 100% remote learning in the event that the school can not be safely opened. The district also announced that bussing will only be for students K-8, and the high school students will not be provided transportation at the start of the year. Two students will be assigned a seat on the buses. The district has released a Transportation Survey for parents that are opting out of transportation for their K-8 child/children. An Online Schooling Survey was also released for families interested in online education for the entirety of the year. Families should know that choosing the online option would be for the full-year with little opportunity to transition back into the classroom during 2020-2021. A link to the released letter and the surveys can be found here.
Sylvania Schools
Sylvania Schools plan to begin the school year with a hybrid model (or the yellow learning plan) as was updated on July 15th. This will be a combination of in-person classes and online classes. incorporating safety precautions as they are released by the Ohio Department of Education and the Lucas County Department of Health. The district is also implementing a stoplight system which will identify alternative options to education if needed:
Green: Learning environment is on-campus.
Yellow: Hybrid model of on-campus and remote learning.
Red: Learning environment is completely through remote learning.
Additionally the school is offering a completely online-only option called Sylvania Alternative Learning Academy for students and families who may not feel comfortable returning to in-person instruction this year. This is designated by the color orange. The deadline to enroll in the online school is July 26th.
Toledo Public Schools
On July 30, Toledo Public Schools released the new plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to the worsening conditions in Lucas County, TPS will begin online for all students on Tuesday September 8th. The school is implementing a color system to indicate where the district stands during the pandemic.
If the school goes into a green light status, then school would be in full session as it has been in previous years, but a virtual learning option would be available.
In a yellow status, the school would meet on an A/B schedule. Students will be divided into a group (A or B). Group A students will attend on Monday and Thursday in-person and then online Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Group B students will attend in-person on Tuesday and Friday and then online Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This is to limit the number of people in the buildings, and allows for cleaning and sanitizing to take place on Wednesdays.
In both the green and yellow status, the district will thoroughly clean and sanitize the school environment to help prevent spread of COVID. Hand sanitizer will be provided at the school, and students will be encouraged to wash hands often. Classrooms are being rearranged to help with social distancing. To also help with social distancing, the district will not have any field trips and will limit visitors. Students or staff who show signs of illness will be asked to stay home. Students who show symptoms at school will be quarantined until they are picked up by a parent/guardian.
However, to start this year, the school will be in the red light status which means the district will only be operating using the virtual learning option. Students will have access to learning resources and will be provided a device and Wi-Fi if needed. TPS educators will teach live every day.
Washington Local Schools
Washington Local Schools recently released their back to school plans. The plan is to use a hybrid option that will change slightly as the school year continues. K-2 might be attending every day depending on staffing, and 3rd-12th grade will return on an A/B schedule. If the schools shut down again, Washington Local will go to a fully remote learning option. Additionally, the district will offer WLS Panther Virtual Academy for students that choose not return to in-person school this year.
The year will start on August 31st, so that teachers have extended time to prepare for the possibly chaotic year. The first wave of the hybrid plan is a slow rolling start where only 25% of students will be in school at a time. Each student will be scheduled a specific day to attend for the first two weeks of school based on their last name. Then the second wave of the hybrid schedule will either be weekly or split week. This means that students may either attend a full week of school in-person and then a week online while another group attends in-person, or they will attend part of the week each week and all students would spend Wednesdays working from home.
As for transportation, the district will require all students to wear masks on buses. Two students will sit in a seat and siblings will sit together. All seats will be assigned and students will load back to front. Hand sanitizer will be used as the students enter the bus, and windows will be opened as long as weather permits.
As students enter the school they will have their temperatures checked. If a student has a temperature they will be isolated and a guardian will need to pick them up immediately. They will then not be allowed to return until fever free for ten days or unless they have a doctor’s note. The staff will also have their temperatures taken and recorded upon arriving at school. Hand sanitizing stations will be set up throughout the building. Masks will be required at all times in schools with the exception of K-2 students who can wear a face-shield provided by the school. The district will strive to implement social distancing. For grades K-6, the students will be in a cohort and will not leave the classroom, rather the teachers will move. Lunch will take place at the students’ desks. For grades 7-12, students will sanitize their own spaces at the end of each class, hallways will be divided and marked to help with distancing, and students will be required to wear a mask. Lunch might be adjusted to avoid too many students in one space.
Desks will have plexiglass installed where interactions would take place. Sanitizer will also be available throughout the building, and classrooms will have disinfecting wipes.
No field trips will take place until further notice, and all camps will be suspended until further notice. Sporting events are waiting until they receive word from OHSAA or the governor.
A PowerPoint of the plan can be found here.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Cardinal Stritch Catholic High School & Academy
Cardinal Stritch has released some tentative back to school plans for the 2020-2021 school year to help keep students and staff safe. The school will be taking student temperatures each morning as they arrive. Temperatures need to be below 100 degrees without any fever-reducing medication. Visitors will be limited to emergencies or scheduled appointments, and they will be required to wear masks. Students will be encouraged to wear masks when in common spaces, hallways, or entering/exiting the building. Social distancing measures will be put in place during class, Mass, or large school events. Students will be eating in their classrooms for lunch, and the school is working on implementing a cafeteria system where the meals are delivered to the students and paid electronically. To also help with the social distancing, teachers will rotate to the students as much as possible to help minimize student transitions.
In order to help with the overall health and safety of the students and staff, hand sanitizing stations will be installed throughout the building and in classrooms. The building will also be sanitized regularly, and water fountains will be replaced with hands-free water bottle filling stations.
Central Catholic High School
Central Catholic High School has yet to release information for the next school year, but they do plan to resume in-person classes in the fall. They plan to reopen following the guidelines by the state and the Diocese of Toledo.
Maumee Valley Country Day School
Maumee Valley plans to start school in-person on August 20th as originally planned; however, they are also prepared to be flexible as more information becomes available. Finalized plans will be sent out soon, but as of now the school is planning on six-foot distancing, masks for students and employees, extra sanitation, and symptom monitoring. The physical distancing changes are already being implemented, and for younger grades it appears that some furniture rearrangement will help create the recommended six-foot distancing. The high school, however, may require additional new spaces for learning. Outdoor learning spaces are also being discussed. Personal Protection Equipment such as masks, gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes have already been secured for this next school year.
St. Francis de Sales School
St. Francis has not yet released plans for the new school year; however, they did announce that to help with the unprecedented times that they were able to offer families some financial support and will be providing a $1,000 grant for all students enrolled in the next school year.
St. John’s Jesuit
St. John’s Jesuit is welcoming students back to campus on August 3rd for the first day of the 2020/2021 school year. Classes will take place in-person with modifications to help create a safe and healthy environment. One major modification is shifting from an eight-period day to a nine-period day in order to create smaller class sizes and an additional lunch period. This will help reduce the number of students who are interacting. For courses that have a large number of students, the classes will take place in the McQuade Theater to ensure social distancing. Teachers will also have the option to take their classes outside. Students who do not have a class until 2nd period will not need to come to school until that time, but they will be required to have their temperature taken prior to entering the building. Students who do not have a class during 9th period will be allowed to leave the school early. The school is encouraging students to go home as soon as they can at the end of the day; however the boys who do need to stay after school will report to the Commons where supervision for social distancing will take place until 6PM.
The school will also be making modifications to the student service and the campus itself. The Food Court will ensure social distancing, but will still be open for students to purchase breakfast. Lunch, however, will be a little different with orders being placed the night before or in the morning and then picked up by students at the start of the lunch period. Occupancy limits will be put in place for all offices and restrooms. Hand sanitizing stations will be provided throughout the building and students and staff will be encouraged to use them. Additionally water bottle filling stations will be available so students can avoid using the water fountains. Students will be encouraged to bring their own water bottle. The traffic flow in the hallways will be set up to help with social distancing.
Some new policies are also being put in place such as the requirement of face coverings at all times other than lunch. These coverings must comply with the dress code. Parents who wish to have their son attend school online will have that option and should contact Kari Bonnell or Joe Carroll to make arrangements.
The daily arrival on campus will look a little different. Students can start entering at 7am, but must enter at designated entrances. Every person will have their temperature taken on arrival and anyone with a temperature of 100F is asked to go home and encouraged to be tested for COVID-19. If a student is riding the bus, they will have their temperature taken prior to entering the bus. Face coverings will need to be worn on the bus and families will be allowed to sit by each other, but everyone else will need to sit six feet away.
St. Ursula Academy
St. Ursula Academy used feedback from their students and parents to help create their plans for the new school year. As with many schools the plans are not yet finalized; however, the current plan is to have all students back on campus full time in August with a On-Campus Option. However, the school will also offer a Home-Learning Option which will include synchronous online learning with St. Ursula teachers. And if the schools are required to shut down again, then the school will switch to a Home Learning Mandate for All.
The On-Campus Option will be a five days a week plan with safety measures put in place. Masks will be required as a part of the uniform and SUA will provide one mask per student. Students make also bring their own masks to wear as long as they are school appropriate. Everyone will be required to wear masks except while eating lunch. Desks will be placed six-feet from one another in the classrooms. This may require some scheduling changes to reduce class sizes. Temperatures will be taken for everyone who enters the building and anyone with a 100F temperature or above will be isolated as they wait to be picked up from school. If a student does have COVID-19, they will not be allowed to return to school until they have met all requirements established by SUA, health professionals, and the health department. Attendance will still be recorded, even those who are attending in the Home Learning Option. Hand sanitizing will be required when anyone enters the building. There will also be hand sanitizers in every classroom which students will use as they enter the room. Additional sanitizing stations will be set up throughout the building. Desks and surfaces will be disinfected after each block, and SUA will use an electrostatic disinfecting practice after everyone has left the building in the evenings. The school also created an additional full-time maintenance position to help with daily cleaning. To help with social distancing, lockers will not be used during Term 1, although this policy could change later in the school year. Students will bring a book bag to carry their supplies throughout the day.
The Home Learning Option will be an option for girls who are being quarantined or are uncomfortable returning to school in-person. More information will be released for this option soon. If the schools are required by the state to shut down, the school will go to Home Learning Mandate for All which will require all students to participate in synchronous online learning with the SUA teachers. Students who are learning online will be required to follow expectations set before the school such as logging in on time to their classes at each block, calling in sick if the student is too ill to participate online, and turning in assignments on their required due dates.
Additional information about the calendar changes and counselor services can be found here.
Toledo Christian Schools
As of right now Toledo Christian Schools plans to have in-person instruction on campus without requiring masks. Masks will be optional for students, and at the time of their most recent update, masks were also optional for teachers and staff. However, with Governor DeWine’s recent regulations, this may change. A full breakdown of the Back to School Plan can be viewed on Eagle Access or by contacting the TC Admissions Director at [email protected].
West Side Montessori
In-person learning is the goal for West Side Montessori as they discuss their reopening plans. To help keep students and staff safe, Little House and Children’s House classrooms will be using plexiglass to divide the classrooms in half. The Little House groups will have a maximum of six children for a total of 12 per class and the Children’s House groups will have a maximum of nine children for a total of 18 per class. These groups will still make up a class, but the groups will not intermingle. Teachers will move between each group. Children in the Little House and Children’s House programs are not required to wear face coverings. Any child over age two who wishes to wear a mask may do so.
The Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School numbers will be based on classroom space. Classrooms will not mix with one another. Older students will be required to wear masks when arriving and leaving the building, in public spaces at school, in classrooms, and outdoors when physical distancing is not available. The school is also working on virtual learning plans in case they are needed and will release more information about those at a later date.
