Lorain Schools: Middle and high school students to be online-only for fall

LORAIN — Middle and high school students at Lorain Schools will have to plan for online learning come the second week of September. While still developing the details for what school will look like in just six weeks, school administrators confirmed the older students in the district will be learning online for an undefined period of time. The hope is to offer elementary students some amount of in-person learning, CEO Jeff Graham explained. Graham and members of his administration laid out the steps the district has taken, more than halfway through the 15-step process to reopen this fall, at a joint Academic Distress Commission and School Board meeting Thursday evening. The decision to suspend in-person classes for the district's three middle schools and high school came after families' responses to a survey and the logistics surrounding class changes and social distancing, explained Ross May, executive director of strategic planning, data and process. The survey, capturing responses from about 52 percent of Lorain Schools families, showed those with high school students felt the highest degree of discomfort about returning to school, followed by those with middle school-age children. Masks were also a concern throughout, with almost 16 percent of respondents for the middle school unsupportive of their child being required to wear a mask at school, followed by almost 13 percent of high school parents. May noted a South Korean study shows older children spread the virus just as much as adults, but those 10 and younger are less likely to get sick and less likely to infect others. The pull for in-person classes for the district's youngest students hinges on developing reading skills, an equalizer when comparing Lorain students to suburban schools, he said. What elementary school classes could look like is yet to be seen. Children could be spaced out throughout Lorain Schools' 14 buildings, five days a week, or split into cohorts and attend partially online and partially in person. If the county moves to "red" in the state's public health advisory system, all classes will move online, May said. Drafting a plan A rough draft of what the coming school year will look like includes eliminating school uniforms and providing one-to-one laptops for second through 12th graders and iPads for its littlest learners. Internet service will be available for families in need, but whether that is through a hot spot or other service provider is still being worked out. The draft is going to be vetted by community stakeholders, with plans for a final draft available in the coming weeks. Students will return to school Sept. 8, but staff are set to head back in late August for three weeks of professional development. In the family survey, many responded they would be open to online learning, as long as it was "better" than what happened in the spring. For high school students especially, respondents appreciated the ability to work at their own pace, but parents had concerns about online learning and technology. To help ease those, Lorain Schools is planning short videos teaching students and their families how to access online study tools. Outside the realm of teaching, Lorain Schools will still work to meet students' social-emotional needs. The family survey highlighted that more than 770 families of the about 3,000 who responded had been unable to pick up their child's meals during the summer — prompting plans to look at increasing meal pickup locations or times while balancing in-person breakfast and lunch service. The district is hiring three additional social workers, bringing the total up to seven to split between its roughly 6,500 students. The district captured the needs of 52 percent of its families — but the silent 48 percent are where staff concerns lie. Graham noted the district's historic mobility is about 35 percent, meaning students are transient and families rarely update contact information. Reaching families, like reaching students during the shutdown in the spring, is a challenge, according to the data presented Wednesday. The schools are focusing on the most vulnerable students, Graham said, but no one is safe from COVID-19, and students' unmet needs — from food insecurity to trauma and mental health — don't stop because the district closes its doors. Graham said he is working on a panel discussion with Lorain County Public Health Commissioner David Covell and members of the school board to further address families' concerns. The next regular school board meeting is 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.