(Loudonville, Ohio) – The Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village school district has released information regarding the plan for the 2020-2021 school year.
The following is the open letter addressed to district families. It was published to the district’s website following the school board meeting earlier this month.
Hello Everyone,
We write today to inform you about our plans to re-open school this coming fall. We appreciate and value everyone who has provided input, opinions, and suggestions. The entire community has been cooperative and patient through this entire process thus far-and we thank you all for that.
It is most important for everyone to know and understand that the priority of the district is to have 100% of the students in classes every day. I think we can all agree that it is best for all students to be in school every day, all day. Our “Redbird Reliable for 5” plan is a community effort to success. These plans have been developed in good faith to meet the needs of students as well as those of the community. The survey results sent a very clear message about how the community wants the schools to operate in the fall. However, we also have to align with the mandates and recommendations of the state departments. As you read through the following items, I am asking you to have an open mind and remember that we have made tough decisions. All of our decisions have been made with the health and safety of our students and staff in mind.
With that in mind, we have developed a leveled system to start school, green, yellow, red. The Redbird Reliable for 5- is a leveled system that should not be confused with the Ohio Public Health Advisory System.
In general, a GREEN start to school means we operate as normal as we can. There will be many precautions put in place- these are described in more detail below.
The YELLOW level is a hybrid of partially online and partially in class. When the district transitions to a Yellow status, we will communicate specific days and times to in and out of the buildings. This means that in addition to the precautions already in place for the Green level, there will be students in the buildings. All precautions listed below will remain in place.
The RED level will be when schools are closed to students and all learning is done online.
Before I get into the specific precautions that will be in place for Green and Yellow, I want to be very clear about the online learning that will take place in 2020-2021. This coming school year’s online learning will look very different from what was experienced this past school year. This past spring we had hours to prepare for an initial three-week closure–that turned into 10 weeks.
We did the best we could with what we had. However, this coming school year we have time to plan, train, and implement an online learning environment that is conducive to learning.
The following precautions will be in place at every school. There are instances where slight adjustments will be made according to the building.
• School Calendar: The district has developed two calendars based on the Green or
Yellow/Red start as described above. The Green Start date for students is August 26. In
the event the district must start on a Yellow/Red level, the student start date will be
September 8. These school calendars can be found on the website.
• Facial Coverings: Every student and staff member will be provided with a facial
covering to be worn every day. We are making it mandatory for all students and staff to
wear a face covering. The district will be providing ONE face shield to every staff
member and student. Every effort will be made to provide time for students to be mask-free while maintaining social distancing throughout the day. It is the responsibility of each family to remember to clean and ensure students get on the school bus with a face covering. I understand this is a difficult topic and people have very strong and mixed emotions about face coverings. However, it is the position of the district that wearing face coverings is in the best interest of everyone’s health and safety.
• Transportation: The CDC mandates for public transportation one person per seat on a
school bus (unless riders live in the same house). The district will only be transporting
students in grades Preschool through grade 8 and outside the two (2) mile minimum. That means high school students in grades 9-12 will not be provided with transportation.
Additionally, students who live within two miles of the school will not be transported to
school. All students riding school buses will be required to wear a facial covering when getting on the bus in the morning.
• Early Drop-Off: Due to the change in transportation, the district will be offering families
an Early Drop-Off program. The Early Drop-Off will be housed at either Budd or
McMullen and parents can sign up to drop their students off at school early. This Early
Drop-Off program will only be available to families who sign up through their building
principals. The drop of time is 7:15 AM. The district will have supervision from 7:15
AM to 8:00 am, at which time students will report to classrooms for school.
• Temperature Checks: Students who ride the bus will be temperature checked when they
get on the bus, per CDC public transportation requirements. Students who walk to school
or who are dropped off will be checked as they enter the building. Students will have a
midday temperature check as well. Students who present a temperature above 100 will go to a designated area to wait for a parent to pick them up. Students who show any
symptoms will go home immediately. It is imperative that students presenting fevers, or
other symptoms remain home until symptoms are gone- without medication for 24 hours.
Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village School District
Office of the Superintendent
Catherine M Puster, MAEd
210 East Main Street
Loudonville, Ohio 44842
capuster@lpschools.net
Office: 419-994-3912 x501; Fax: 419-994-5528Extreme ownership in raising the bar of excellence. In addition to students, staff who present symptoms at any time during the school day will go home immediately. Staff will remain home until symptoms are gone for 24 hours.
• Attendance: The student attendance policy will be adjusted due to the pandemic. The
administration is very conscious of the impact of the mandatory “24-hour” rule symptom-free and the increased amount of student absences. Considerations will be made on a case by case basis. The priority is the health and safety of our students. Students who are
ill are encouraged to stay home. Alternative plans can be made to provide classroom
participation through online means.
• Cleaning: Cleaning and disinfecting classrooms and common areas will require an “all
hands on deck” approach. All staff who are available, will be asked to help keep common
areas clean. Teachers will be asked to wipe desks frequently throughout the day.
The custodial crews will be in each building cafeteria during lunch periods to help clean
surfaces. In addition, other classified staff will be asked to do the same.
• Student sign out/sign in: Students who need to leave early or arrive late. The district
will be using the same method that many doctors offices have been using. Parents are to
call the office when they are in the parking lot and the office will either come get the
students (for arriving late) or escort the student to the curb (for leaving early). Please
watch specific communication from each building for specific related directions.
• Visitors/Volunteers: All visitors and volunteers will not be permitted in buildings until
further notice. Service personnel (counselors, therapists, probation officers, etc) are
considered school-personnel and will be permitted on grounds with the proper
credentials, temperature checks and facial coverings are mandatory.
• Field Trips: All field trips will be suspended until further notice. This includes all
assemblies.
• Water Bottles: Each student is encouraged to bring a personal water bottle that has a
removable drink spout. Each drinking fountain will have a bottle filler installed.
Traditional drinking fountains will be disconnected. Bottle fillers are replacing traditional drinking fountains.
• Curriculum: We have delayed the start of school for students so teachers can prepare
lessons, get the appropriate training, and make appropriate plans to close all the learning gaps that may have occurred over the last several months.
We understand this is a lot to absorb. We acknowledge that many families will disagree with the decisions made as described above. However, it is the responsibility of the district to keep ALL students and staff safe and healthy. We firmly believe it is best to have students in school and not at home learning online- to do that we have to make the best decisions possible for the good of the whole.
This is not ideal, this is not what the district administration wants; but we are confident that Redbird Nation will once again pull together and help make our students safe as we return to school.
Thank you all for your continued support as we get through this together,
Catherine Puster, Superintendent, and the entire district administrative team.
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