“When we talk about traditional education, what our children go through, the instruction is very different than you and I had,” said Beavercreek City Schools Superintendent Paul Otten. “But the model has been the same for hundreds of years. We find ourselves now, within months, saying you have to find a new model.”
In a survey of about 4,000 families that the district sent out in June, 89.5% of families said they wanted their kids to return to school, in-person, and 10.5% said they preferred some kind of remote learning. Otten said the district recognizes that parents might change their opinions as weeks progress.
Staff’s responses to the same question varied by just 1%, Otten said.
Otten worked with the eight other superintendents in Greene County to prepare the proposed restart plan presented at the meeting. Early next week, Beavercreek parents will receive a packet where they will be able to review the options and make their decision by the end of July.
If families choose to return their kids to in-person class, students with last names that begin in A through K will return to buildings on August 13. Students with last names L through Z will return on the 14th.
“I do not see these days as instructional days on educational content,” Otten said. “These are instructional days on how you’re going to navigate the building, how you’re going to take care of yourself, how you’re going to take care of others and what the expectations are under our new guidelines for each building.”
Among the many changes to in-person instruction is that awards for perfect attendance are a thing of the past.
“We are still bound by our attendance rules but I will tell our families right now, if you have a concern about the well-being of your child not feeling well, keep your child at home (because) we will not be pursuing you if you believe your child is not feeling well,” Otten said.
Parents will need to sign commitments agreeing to monitor their children daily, as the district will not check daily temperatures to avoid “a bottleneck line” as students enter buildings.
The plan involves numerous new sanitation measures, plans if students or staff test positive for COVID-19, mask guidelines, school lunches with assigned seating, changes to recess, pick-up and drop-off procedures and more.
Face coverings are required for all staff, with exceptions when at the front of the class and socially distanced, however students will only be strongly encouraged to wear face coverings. Masks are required on the bus.
If families choose to commit to a semester of remote learning, district resources will still be available. However, grades K through 5th will be taught by the online program Lincoln Learning Solutions. Grades 6th through 12th will be taught by the online program Courseware Curriculum.
Both programs are aligned to state standards, the district said.
Thursday’s complete board meeting can be watched on the Beavercreek City School District Facebook page.
“We are truly trying do the very best we can through this process,” Otten said, “trying to get some kind of school year for our students and our staff.”
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