By Austin Rust-
On Monday, April 20, Governor Mike DeWine announced that Ohio’s K-12 schools will remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 academic year. The state’s public, community, and private K – 12 schools were first closed at the end of the school day Monday, March 16, due to the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, and were initially slated to return April 3, then May 1, per an update to the order March 30; as confirmed cases in Ohio (and nationwide) continue to climb, the latest update was made in order to safeguard the health of the state’s school communities.
“We balanced many issues in arriving at this decision. In the end, I believe this is what is best to protect the health of our children, our teachers, and our administrators,” said Governor DeWine. “While our buildings are closed, we know that students continue to learn in new and innovative ways. I thank all of our teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents for all they have done and will continue to do in these challenging times.”
The Governor’s press release explains that at this time, no decisions have been made regarding whether or not schools will be able to reopen in the fall. In response to this news, local teachers have expressed their thoughts and concern for students, and local school district administrators continue to develop alternative plans for important events such as prom and commencement.
In an official post made Wednesday, April 22, the Adams County / Ohio Valley School District (ACOVSD) administrative team announced that due to ongoing medical recommendations, the district will not be able to host spring athletics, spring banquets, the school musical, or proms.
Further, the post explains: “Celebrating the culmination of our seniors’ school careers is of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, we are in the process of creating a plan to honor our seniors with an alternative graduation.” A time will be scheduled for each graduate to enter the building with up to four family members and receive their diploma, the post continues. This process (and all other speeches, musical selections, etc. that typically accompany graduation) will be videoed; afterward, all individual videos will be composed into a single complete graduation video. Each graduate and all of their family members will have access to this video once it is finished.
The post adds that seniors will receive information on when to pick up their caps and gowns and schedule graduation appointments with their families in the upcoming week. Seniors will also be contacted by email or phone regarding future plans and scholarships received. The final complete graduation video is tentatively slated for release at the end of May.
“We’re going to stay on schedule as best we can with our traditional graduation dates,” said Mr. Richard Seas, ACOVSD Superintendent. “We are taking all of what we would normally do in a graduation ceremony and turning it virtual – digitizing it. The kids will return to a school setting using safe distancing (to receive their diplomas), and it will be video-taped and put together into a professional production – something that’s very meaningful and captures the moment. We can not assemble, unfortunately, but we’ll do what we can virtually to recognize our students. We’re proud of our students, and we’re doing the best that we can within the rules we were given.”
On the topic of grades, Mr. Seas explained that: “Elementary school principals, along with Elementary Curriculum Coordinator Lisa Toole, have developed a rubric to assess students’ work. Likewise, the high school principals, along with High School Curriculum Director Tad Mitchell, have decided to use the average of the first three nine weeks (for most of the final grade) and use the fourth nine weeks to increase the students’ grades. Keep in mind, students taking College Credit Plus classes will follow college guidelines.”
“It’s an emotional time for everybody,” Mr. Seas concluded. “Everything we’re going through as a community, as a school community – it’s just a very emotional time.” Seas explained that he is proud of what district educators and administrators have done (and continue to do) for students.
According to Manchester Local School District (MLSD) Superintendent Dr. Brian Rau, a senior recognition event for district students is currently planned to be held the evening of May 1, the details of what the event will entail are uncertain at the moment, Dr. Rau explained, but it might involve a ceremony in the Manchester Educational & Activity Center (MEAC) parking lot or at another location near the school, as well as a parade through the village. Dr. Rau plans to meet with the district’s administrative team next week to discuss plans for important events such as prom and commencement. Definitive answers can be expected after these meetings take place.
“We have a couple of ideas that we plan to discuss next week. Our issue is not knowing if, or when, the Governor will release the mass gathering restriction,” said Superintendent Rau. “The other question is, how long do we wait for a decision on those restrictions?
Discussing options for commencement, Rau explained: “We have gathered input and numerous ideas from key stakeholders. We plan to evaluate all ideas very soon and then make our decision. It is important to us that we have the best type of ceremony given our stipulations to honor this wonderful group of seniors.”
On the topic of grades, Dr. Rau added: “I plan to meet with both principals next week to finalize the grading process for the fourth nine weeks, semester grade, and final averages. We have a viable, equitable, and solid plan.” District staff and parents will be informed when this plan is finalized, Rau explained; Manchester Elementary grading procedures may differ from procedures utilized at Manchester High School, he noted, and no final exams will be held at the end of this quarter.
One of the groups most affected by the school closure, is of course, local teachers, who lose the opportunity to finish out the year with their students and say those final goodbyes.
Kimberly Horsley, a Teacher at North Adams Elementary School (NAES) wrote: “It is devastating. I never in my wildest dreams thought that when I said goodbye to my first graders that I wouldn’t see them again all together back in the classroom. I miss them and am trying my best to stay in contact with them through google classroom, Class Dojo, phone calls, and my Facebook page where I try and share several stories each week. I am so appreciative of all the things my parents are doing at home to continue their child’s education but it’s just not the same as being with them in a classroom setting.”
“I hate it. I have major anxiety over it – just worrying about the kids,” said Marsha Calvert Turner, a teacher at Manchester Elementary. I have school-age kids also, and they’re okay, so it’s not those that I’m worried about. It’s the ones that you see everyday who run up to you just to get a hug or a smile, or ask, ‘How are you doing today?’, and the ones who come to school hungry everyday that you know just can’t wait to get to lunch. I miss just being there – being around and watching them. I don’t like it. I have MS, so is it best for me to be here at home? Yes. But would I go to school if they opened up again? Yes, I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“I find it very disturbing just not being there. I’m a home person – I love my summer, and I love a few snow days, but I also love my job. This is my 23rd year, and it’s not what I expected to be; we haven’t ever experienced anything like this. This year I had an opportunity to do something different – music and art education – and I loved it. I loved getting to see all of the kids on a daily basis. The students have arts projects at home, and I’ve started a Facebook page I try to comment on every day to give them ideas, (but) I’m sure going to miss that (face-to-face) interaction.”
Veronica Hayslip, a Preschool Teacher at North Adams Elementary School (NAES) added, “Students of the preschool age have not been to a school setting before – other than possibly a daycare or something of that nature, which is very different from a more educational, structured school setting. This school closure is concerning for these children, I feel, because this is a whole new world for them, and they are not going to be able to experience the entire year… so they will be missing out on some very important foundational skills. I feel the demands of kindergarten are very high stakes these days, and with these preschoolers not able to go through an entire year, it’s going to affect them mentally, academically, and emotionally when they go to kindergarten.”
“They have not been in a school setting before, so experiencing an entire year of preschool is a big deal. We prepare these students and get them ready for kindergarten, but we have missed out on that. I feel like it’s just as important for preschoolers and kindergarteners as well as seniors – they’re missing out on important milestones of their lives – their first and last years of school.”
“We have created a Facebook page and added all of our parents to that for the students to be able to see us do some educational things. We’ve been doing a story time just about every day, reading some of the same stories/materials to students that we would be if we were in the classroom, and we have sent home instructional packets for them to work on. We have been sending a few extra resources, and links to websites for parents to access where they can work along with students.”
“I feel this is a very, very important year for seniors, and I feel very disheartened about it. I feel like a lot of light needs to be put on the younger kids, too – especially preschool and kindergarten age children – because this a new experience for them. They’re just entering school, and they will never get this year back. Not being able to finish the year out – I feel it is only going to hurt them as they’re coming for kindergarten in August, because they’re missing out on crucial instruction, interaction, and social-emotional skills normally taught within the classroom.”
“It upsets me”, said Nicole Hughes, instructional aide at Manchester Elementary. “ I feel like our kids are missing out, but I know it’s the best thing to keep them safe. I do home care work at the hospital, and I see what’s going through, so I know it’s the best thing for our children. I feel like they’re going to lose academics, but at the same time, I think they are getting a lot more social with their families at home. We have packets for the children to work on at home; it’s pretty much a review of what they’ve already done, trying to keep them up to where they were when they left school. It’s hard not being able to tell the students bye, or have that last little interaction where we see their smiles and achievements, (and) plans for the next school year are still undecided, which makes it even harder, because we don’t know long it’ll be before we’ll have actual interactions with these children again.”
Whitney Siders Shupert, a Language Arts Teacher at North Adams High School, commented,
“Even when we left in February, most of us probably saw this coming, so I would definitely say it’s not a surprise, but that doesn’t mean it’s not extremely sad and very difficult to try and close off the year. It’s sad for the kids, too. A lot of them are struggling with the situation. I think it is hard enough as an adult to deal with this situation, but to be a young person or teenager looking at missing out on their spring sports season, prom, and normal graduation, it’s sad for them.”
“I think there are a lot of emotions involved in not being able to go back. It will be hard to have the same sense of closure that we normally have. I don’t really know exactly yet how I’m going to attempt to do that, because some students are doing work online, but some students are doing work on paper. Some students have adapted extremely well, but other students really struggle in this kind of environment – the kids who really thrive on interacting with their peers and teachers face-to-face. We just don’t know what every kid’s situation is, and we all have our own different temperaments and ability to work independently… so it’s putting a lot of responsibility on young people to set themselves a schedule and continue their work in a situation that’s already stressful. It’s challenging for us as teachers to find ways to be able to support them.”
