Strongsville Schools Unveil Preliminary Reopening Plan

STRONGSVILLE, OH — The Strongsville Schools unveiled their preliminary reopening plan for the 2020-2021 school year this week.

The school year will begin Aug. 24 in Strongsville, Superintendent Cameron Ryba announced Tuesday evening. That is a week later than last year's start and will give staff extra time to prepare for COVID-19-related changes.

All staff will be required to wear face coverings at all times, unless there is a medical reason preventing employees from wearing masks. Face coverings will not be required when staff are working alone in an assigned area.

The district will discuss face covering policies for students on July 29 at the board of education meeting.

All students and staff will be required to complete a health screening before coming to a school building. Anyone with any symptoms of COVID-19 should remain home. Schools will have designated areas to isolate students or staff who begin to show symptoms of the virus. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health will be called if someone tests positive for COVID-19.

The district is developing a protocol for notifying families about COVID-19 positive tests and possible exposure to the virus.

How Schools Will Reopen

Preschool and half-day kindergarten students will then in-school everyday. Ryba cited smaller class sizes as part of the decision to allow classes to resume as normal for those age groups.

Students in full-day kindergarten through 12th grade will attend school every other day as part of a blended education model. Ryba said a specific schedule for the opening two weeks of the school year will be sent to families by Aug. 4.

Students will be split into two groups (green and white) and will alternate in-class days. During at-home days, students will participate in remote education. A school calendar will be created designating green and white days. Principals should communicate with families about which group a student has been assigned to.

Currently, the district plans on having all students attend class every day starting Sept. 8. That decision could change based on Cuyahoga County's COVID-19 risk level.

• If Cuyahoga County is at a Level 1 or Level 2 risk level, there will be in-person education everyday.
• If Cuyahoga County is at a Level 3 risk level, the district will follow the blended learning model with students alternating between remote education and face-to-face classes.
• If Cuyahoga County is at a Level 4 risk level, the district will move to remote-only education.

The district could implement specific education models based on a classroom or building's COVID-19 risk or the return of positive COVID-19 tests in the building.

Going Solo

The Strongsville Schools will offer a remote education-only program for families who do not feel comfortable sending students to face-to-face classes. The program, called SOLO, requires families to have a working internet connection.

"Families who choose to enroll their child(ren) in SOLO must be able to provide internet service for their child(ren) to complete lessons. Students enrolled in SOLO will participate in virtual learning for a minimum of one semester," the district said.

Families should receive a survey seeking information about whether a student will enroll in SOLO. Virtual information meetings on the program will be held July 27. Here's the schedule for those meetings:

• Elementary: Monday, July 27th at 2:00 p.m.
• Middle/High school: Monday, July 27th at 3:30 p.m.

The deadline for registering for the SOLO program is July 31.

Additional information on school-by-school changes can be found in the district's presentation on reopening. The Strongsville Schools have also launched a website housing all restart information.