As 2020 comes to a close, we can safely say that this is a year unlike any other we have experienced before. Our Upper Arlington Schools staff, students and families are continuing to show flexibility as we face new challenges in this pandemic.

I am truly amazed by everything the families in our community - parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other friends and loved ones - are doing to support the students they love. And I continue to be in awe of our incredible staff as they rise to the challenge of different models for teaching, learning and operating the vital services for the students in our school district. 

As we enter the final month of 2020, we can safely say that this is a year unlike any other we have experienced before.  

In late November, the Board of Education voted to move to enhanced distance learning between Thanksgiving and winter breaks.  The decision was based upon many factors, including our local and county-wide health data.  In addition, the Board considered the best way to provide educational continuity during a time of significant staffing concerns and a growing number of students and staff out of school due to isolation and quarantine.  Our hope is to welcome students back into our buildings in our hybrid learning model in January, and our goal is to have all students back in school full time as soon as it is safe to do so.

This fall, our school district is putting the expert guidance and experience into place in order to move forward in our work on all aspects of diversity, equity and inclusion. 

As I have shared with you, this is a journey — there is a tremendous amount of work that we must do to ensure that every student feels welcomed, respected, supported and celebrated in our schools.  Under the leadership of the Board of Education, we are taking crucial and concrete steps to continue this work.