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Superintendent’s Letter to Families about Reopening Plans
For the District's full Reopening hub, please visit www.ccsoh.us/reopening.
July 1, 2020
Dear CCS Families,
We are just a little over two months until the beginning of the new school year. The first day of school for our traditional school-year calendar will be Tuesday, September 8, the day after Labor Day.
I know you have many questions and concerns about how CCS will reopen our buildings safely in light of COVID-19. As I’m sure you can imagine, the traditional school year and past routines have forever changed. However, our commitment to keeping your child safe has not changed. It remains our top priority, followed closely by our commitment to provide equitable academic opportunities for all students.
This letter is the first in a series of CCS “Back to School” updates. We will do our best to provide you with as much information as soon as it is available.
Last night, I presented our initial Reopen, Reengage, and Reimagine Plan to the Board of Education. Our plan is based on the intensive work of the Reopening Task Force I appointed in May comprised of more than 150 staff, teachers, district partners, union representatives, business, and community leaders. They examined every possible scenario for starting the new school year safely – operationally and academically – under the COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations.
We also sent thousands of surveys to parents, students, teachers, and staff to ensure we considered their input and opinions in our planning.
It is important to know that the Task Force’s work is ongoing, and our planning is not complete. We continue ongoing discussions with local and state health experts regarding the status of the COVID-19 pandemic within Columbus and our district boundaries. This changing information necessitates flexibility in all operations and planning.
We will provide more information on all aspects of our back to school plans as information becomes available over the summer months. We know you would like to have final plans now, but the COVID-19 pandemic simply does not allow for it.
As we Reopen, Reengage and Reimagine, our initial Teaching and Learning plans provide choice and options for our families in a manner that balances the need to provide meaningful instruction to students with the need to protect their health and safety.
High school students (grades 9-12) will attend school remotely full-time from home for at least the first two quarters of the school year. Our high school students can choose between two online formats, one that offers instruction by CCS teachers and the other a self-paced curriculum through our new CCS Digital Academy.
Students in preschool and Kindergarten through eighth grade will attend school using a blended learning model that combines two days of in-person instruction at school with three days of online instruction at home.
Group A students will be at school Monday and Tuesday and learning from home Wednesday through Friday. Group B students will be at school Thursday and Friday and learning from home Monday through Wednesday.
Students from the same household will attend in-person classes on the same days.
Columbus City Schools K-8 families who may not want to send their students to school in-person can choose to have their students attend the all-virtual K-12 CCS Digital Academy.
This completely remote learning option goes above and beyond the virtual learning curriculum that CCS students and families experienced while schools were closed this past spring.
Our plans for students with special needs, those who are English Language Learners, or who are in programs that may require more in-person instruction such as career and technical education, are also being discussed. We’ll have more details over the summer.
I know this is a lot of information. But we are in uncharted waters as we plan for back to school during a pandemic.
I’d like to close by saying that it is important to point out that CCS families should anticipate some changes to this initial reopening plan based on several factors including:
- Changing health and safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH);
- Updated guidance from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Governor Mike DeWine, or the legislature;
- Agreements with the District’s labor union partners;
Finally, I know not everyone will be happy with every aspect of our reopening plans. However, to be successful, without any doubt, all of us – students, families, teachers, staff, partners, and union leaders - must work together and collaborate with the dual focus of safety and learning for our students.
Dr. Talisa Dixon
Superintendent/CEO, Columbus City Schools