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Upper Arlington Schools family update - Friday, September 25, 2020

Dear Upper Arlington families,


We’ve completed our first full week of the hybrid model, and it has been wonderful to have more students back in the buildings.  This is a new way of teaching and learning for everyone, and we will continue to refine and enhance it. We know this is a difficult and stressful time for families, and we appreciate everything you’re doing during these different learning modes.


Click here to watch my video update for the week, and check out the email below for additional information.


Five-day plan

Now that we are fully in the hybrid model, the question becomes - what is our plan for a five-day a week model, and when might it be safe to make the change to that model?


The first part of that question is pretty straightforward.  The plan is to have all students on the school-based pathway back in class five days a week. We will have basically all of the same health and safety protocols you see now.  The biggest change would be having less than six feet of physical distancing once we’re on the five-day in-person plan. This is significant because six feet is the distance considered ideal by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it’s also the threshold for “exposure” and quarantine requirements from health officials.


So that brings us to the second part of the question - when might it be safe to make the change to a model that has less than six feet of physical distancing?


Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer.  I can tell you that we’re all very anxious to be able to return to a full, five-day-a-week schedule. This has always been the goal of our Responsible Restart Plan. 


We have worked to expand our available health data, with a specific focus on the area within our attendance boundaries and how that interacts and compares with the rest of the county.  We’ll be monitoring that data and our own internal data closely while we’re in the hybrid model and work with our medical advisory team, local health officials and the Ohio State University College of Public Health to ensure our decisions reflect the latest science.


We remain focused on safety, and our goal continues to be having our school-based pathway students in school five days a week.  


The good news is that the data is trending in a positive direction - and we hope that will continue!

COVID-19 data dashboard

Our COVID-19 data dashboard has been updated with this week’s information.


Student illness and COVID protocols

We have received many questions this week regarding the protocols for COVID symptoms, cases and quarantines. Please click here to find the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.


That does it for this week’s update.  I hope you and your family have a great weekend, and as always, go Bears!


Sincerely,


Paul Imhoff, Ed.D.

Superintendent, Upper Arlington Schools