May 29, 2020—I am Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent of Shaker Heights Schools.
As we approach the end of this school year, I want to thank all of you for your partnership and support throughout this spring. I also want to thank all of our staff and faculty, including our transportation workers, food service providers, custodians, support staff, administrators and, of course, our teachers, for the tireless work they have done this year to meet our students’ needs and to help our students learn and grow. I also want to recognize and thank our students, who have adapted to this new environment and who have continued to learn and impress all of us with your accomplishments.
And now, as we transition to summer, all of us are looking ahead to the start of school in the fall much differently than we have in the past.
I know many of our families and staff are wondering what the next school year will look like. Our team here at the District has been collecting as much information as possible and has reviewed the Ohio Department of Education’s preliminary guidelines on re-entry.
We expect the state to release final guidelines for re-entry in the near future. Already, however, we anticipate that we will be required to maintain social distancing and other health and safety protocols in order to reopen our buildings for students. We also expect that many of the most challenging decisions about how to meet these guidelines will be left to local districts and we therefore want to plan accordingly.
As we think about next year, five guiding principles are shaping District planning.
Number one: We will keep students and staff safe and operate within the guidelines of the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Education.
Number two: We will develop a plan with the aim that all students attend school in person at least some of the time, whether that is on a rotating schedule of days or weeks or during a shortened school day.
Number three: We will remain IB- and equity-focused.
Number four: We will align our thinking with the reality that we are living in a pandemic and in a time of disruption. This means that school will look different in the future than it has in the past. Like you, we are worried about childcare and access to technology and food. Nevertheless, we will all do our best to meet all of our student and family needs under the circumstances.
Number five: We will reflect on our past experience with distance learning and refine it moving forward.
Our re-entry plan also will be informed by a variety of stakeholders including parents, students, staff and faculty and community members. We will turn to all of you as resources for insight and perspective.
So with these goals in mind, please take a few moments to complete our Fall Re-entry Survey, which will be sent to all families via email and which is available on shaker.org. Some of you have completed the feedback form we sent to families last week to share your thoughts on distance learning, summer learning opportunities and fall re-entry. We invite you to complete this new survey, as well.
Once again, thank you to our entire school community for your support these past few months. And thank you in advance for your input in the re-entry survey.
I wish all of you a safe and healthy summer and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Take the Fall Re-entry Survey.