(Perry Township, Ohio) – The Perry Local School District is offering two educational options for families to choose from when returning to school in the fall.

The district announced the plans via its Facebook page on Tuesday, July 21st. The options include:

1.) Traditional (face to face) education in which students would attend school daily with increased safety and cleaning protocol.

2.) Remote Learning model with all teaching conducted online.

“We considered many factors in the development of our plan, including the guidelines set forth by Governor DeWine, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), as well as local health officials. But, our number one priority is always the health, well-being, and safety of our students, their families, and staff members,” explained Perry Local School District Superintendent, Scott Beatty. “There is no way to make everyone happy with any plan because this has become so polarizing, but our number one objective should be to give our kids the best chance at a normal school year and keep them safe.”

Superintendent Beatty added, “If we take as many precautions as outlined int he guidance we may be able to meet that unified objective. With these options, we believe we will be able to provide a high-quality, standards-based curriculum that helps students achieve academic progress, focus on social-emotional learning, and meet all of their other needs, while also protecting them against COVID-19 to the best of our ability.”

The Perry Local Schools’ traditional, in-person model includes a number of additional safety practices and procedures that must be adhered to.

• Parents/guardians will be required to assess their children for symptoms or a fever prior to sending them to school. If any symptoms present, children must stay home.
• Student temperatures may also be taken at school each day with a touchless thermometer.
• Students and staff will be required tow ear a face covering at all times while in school buildings and on school buses (exception exist).
• Social distancing rules will be implemented in classrooms, buses, hallways, restrooms, cafeterias, gyms, libraries, and any other common area when possible.
• In the event sufficient social distancing can be achieved, staff can use discretion to have face conversations removed.
• Intensified cleaning/sanitizing procedures will be implemented.

Officials added that additional protocols will be fully detailed in the Fall 2020 Reopening Plan that will be published to the Perry Local School District website Friday, July 24th, 2020.

Additionally, Perry’s Virtual Learning Academy is the remote learning option that will be made available to all students, kindergarten through 12th grade. All Virtual Learning Academy students are expected to complete online content five days per week. Kindergarten through sixth-grade students will interact remotely with their teacher for instruction. Seventh through 12th-grade students will learn via computer/internet with interactions between students and educators.

Officials added that in an effort to help the district better prepare, families are being asked to indicate the educational model they will be utilizing for the 2020-2021 school year. Parents and guardians will be receiving an email on Friday, July 24th, 2020 that will allow them to indicate the educational model of their choice. The deadline to submit the preferred model is August 4th, 2020.

“We know this is a difficult decision to make for our families and that is why we are trying to provide as much information as possible before they choose the best option for their child(ren),” Beatty added. “The full district plan and school-specific information will be available on our website for parents/guardians to review on July 24th, 2020. We also know that things can change quickly with this virus. As such, Perry Local Schools will be ready to return all or our students to the remote learning option with access to technology and food service if necessary. In the meantime, we must work collectively to create the safest environment possible to keep those children in schools who desire the traditional setting.”