NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford Local Schools passed a plan to return to school on August 20 at the Board of Education meeting Monday.
The school’s plan follows the Ohio COVID-19 Risk Level Guidelines for the public. Counties in yellow means there is active exposure and spread, orange is increased exposure and spread and individuals are to exercise high degree of caution, red constitutes very high exposure and spread and individuals are to limit activities as much as possible, and purple indicates severe exposure and spread and individuals are only to leave home for supplies and services.
During the school year, if the county is in either yellow or orange, students will attend school all day, every day and bus services will be provided, with face coverings mandatory for everyone on the bus. Each family is permitted one bus assignment with the same bus for pick-up and drop-off, and there will only be two students permitted per seat on buses.
Social distancing will be observed, and staff members will be required to wear face coverings, but it is only suggested for students. Field trips will be limited. There will be extra sanitizing of surfaces the entire school day, and there will be sanitizing between classes. Lunchroom spaces have expanded to other areas to accommodate social distancing. Parents are to assess their child’s health every day before school.
For red level, everything is the is the same as yellow and orange except that face coverings are required for all students, there will be restricted student movement, there are no visitors or volunteers permitted, no large student events, and athletics are to be announced.
If the level reaches red star, the student population will be split in half and there will be two days a week of in-person instruction and three days of remote learning. Students will be split into groups and group A will attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays, group B will attend school on Thursdays and Fridays, and Wednesdays will be cleaning days. Families will be informed which group their children fall into, and siblings will be kept together.
If purple level is reached, it would be remote learning exclusively and there would be no extra-curricular activities or programs.
The reopening plan is subject to change based on state, regional, or local factors related to the pandemic.
If parents prefer not to send their children to school, there is an online program that is affiliated with Colonel Crawford and students can still learn, but outside of the school’s staff. Parents are to contact the child’s building principal for more information.
The school will be posting information on the Colonel Crawford Local Schools Facebook page every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and information can also be found of the district’s website.
Families will be provided with masks and face shields for each of their students at registration on August 10 and 11, and it is strongly suggested each family attend registration to receive those items.
“This is something that we can’t control. We hope that we can teeter on the yellow and orange and go to school five days a week,” Superintendent Todd Martin said. “But there are going to be some things that are out of our control. This may become obsolete tomorrow, and that’s out of our control, but we’re going to make the best of it all.”