Under the hybrid plan, the other 80% would have been split into two groups, with each group attending school in-person two days a week, allowing for better social distancing, and learning from home the rest of the time.
At an in-person, socially distanced school board meeting Wednesday morning, school leaders discussed a wide variety of issues — how the schools would react to positive tests, how many teachers would not return in-person for safety reasons, how the schools would handle student social and mental health issues, and more. About 40 residents and school staff were in attendance.
Veteran board member David Roer, who is also a pediatrician, asked Henderson if he had to decide immediately, which model he would go with.
At that point, Henderson came back to safety, which he had earlier called his No. 1 priority.
“After the things that I have heard and read and am aware of across the county, I think the remote option is the best, safest option currently,” Henderson said. “I want our staff to feel good about coming back, and I want our students to be healthy when they come back. And more than anything, I want to open and stay open. I don’t want to open and close and open and close.”
Board members had said earlier in the meeting that Henderson would make the final decision. A majority of the board said they would support whichever path Henderson took. Board President John Doll pointed to the extensive communication Henderson had with Centerville staff, families, local and state health officials, and a wide variety of school districts.
Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County issued a recommendation Friday that all schools in the county should start the year with fully online classes.
Some parents have argued in-person school should continue because COVID-19 cases and spread are not as high in Centerville and Washington Twp. as in some other communities. Roer said it’s not just a local issue, as many school staff travel from other communities every day for work, just as many school parents travel into high-spread communities for their jobs.
Board member Allison Durnbaugh said since the majority of residents had chosen a model with some in-person school, the district should do its best to preserve that, suggesting it would be harder to transition back to in-person if school started online.
Board member Megan Sparks asked Henderson to pay close attention to student mental health needs if the district starts online. Henderson said staff will work hard to build those relationships, pointing out that this fall will be a different challenge on that front — at the March shutdown, teachers already had seven months of history with their students.
Board member Jeff Shroyer asked for the procedure if a student tests positive during in-person school. Henderson said public health officials would lead contact tracing and investigation, with students and staff potentially going into and out of quarantine.
School leaders said they’ve received a nonstop avalanche of questions, to the point that Henderson joked he only walks his dog after dark, with sunglasses on.
Henderson thanked residents and parents for caring enough to send those questions, but he said he doesn’t have a good answer to one frequent question — when can we go back to normal?
“It’s not going to be truly the way school used to be until there’s a cure or a vaccine, in my opinion. When I’m (considering) a snow day, I know what our staff can do. I know they can plow, I know they can salt, we’re going to get some melt, I can can anticipate refreeze. But this is hard. … We’re going to be dealing with this until there’s a cure. That’s the only thing that’s going to get us back to normal.”
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