We have started our fifth week of school and have been very fortunate to avoid moving to remote learning in any of our schools thus far. Our goal has been and continues to be to keep students in school to receive in-person instruction from our highly qualified teachers.  

Right now, we do not anticipate the need to move to remote instruction. We want to let our families know that planning is taking place if future conditions require such a transition. We encourage you to have a plan in place at home as well, should we have to transition one or more of our schools to remote instruction for any length of time. We have also instructed our teachers and other critical operational areas to have contingency plans if we should need to transition to short or long-term remote learning.  

For remote instruction, our educators would transition to a remote learning setting, much like we did last year. The instructional expectations are as follows:
•    Pre K 45 minutes (once devices are ready)/packets provided until devices are accessible
•    K-2, 120 minutes
•    3-5, 155 minutes
•    6-8, 195 minutes (Continue with daily schedule, by period, remotely)
•    9-12, 200 minutes (Continue with daily schedule, by period, remotely)
 
Students will be required to log in per their teacher’s instructions to be counted present for the school day. Work will need to be completed for grades, just as we do when we are in person.

During any transition to remote learning, students with disabilities will continue to get support from their teachers and any ancillary staff through remote support as well.

If a transition needs to occur, our goal will be to give our families at least a 24-hour notice, allowing students, families, and staff ample time to prepare. Advance notice would also enable other essential activities to take place, such as picking up medications from school, clearing out desks/lockers, and staff issuing Chromebooks and WiFi hotspots to support children without access to such technology at home.  

For those students who must stay at home due to a positive case of COVID-19 or those identified as having contact with a positive case, teachers will continue to provide these students with work as they traditionally do for students who are sick or out of school for extended periods.  

Our numbers of positive cases among staff and students and others who must remain at home due to potential exposure have not yet reached the peaks we experienced last year when we transitioned to remote instruction. However, as we see community case rates increasing, we are concerned about spillover into our schools. Families can monitor positive cases for their school by following the dashboard button on our website home page.

We continue to feel the impact of the nationwide shortage of school bus drivers and food supplies. These services play a critical role in our ability to get thousands of students to and from school safely each day and provide a balanced breakfast and lunch for each of them.
 
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support of our efforts to keep students in school and moving forward together. We are committed to working with you to support and educate our Cruisers, and we thank you for all you do to help us accomplish our goal.

Student Expectations for remote learning K-12

Students will be logged into Google Classroom daily. Grades K-8 logged in by 9:00 a.m. High school students log in for your first course that starts for the day. Students will follow the daily/weekly schedule provided by their teachers.

Students will engage in learning for the minimum amount of time by their age range daily:

Students will follow teacher expectations, school rules, and dress codes during all “live” synchronous teaching sessions. Students will demonstrate ethical practices (honesty, school code of conduct) when completing assignments, assessments, and other independent activities. Students are expected to attend virtually scheduled, small group, and class meetings scheduled by teachers or administrators. Students are expected to keep pace with assignments and projects as directed by teachers. Students will need to work on assigned digital platforms for a minimum amount of time determined by their teachers. For example, use of iReady Reading for 30 minutes daily or use of Aleks for 30 minutes daily. Students will have the opportunity for mastery learning. Students will have the opportunity to retake or redo until the student has demonstrated mastery of identified standards or goals. They will be expected to log in and work daily Monday-Friday. 

Communication with teachers and the support team is essential. Please ask questions and reach out to your school team.

Students will demonstrate ownership of their learning. It is crucial that your voice and choice are valued. Please work with your teachers to guide your personalized instruction.

High School Students need to schedule time with their counselors to ensure their graduation plans are up to date and progress is made towards graduation and seal attainment for grades 9-11.

Families will ensure students have access to WiFi and their district-assigned Chromebooks daily. Families will ensure students are logging into their accounts daily for attendance. If a student is sick or cannot attend a virtual class for the day, families will notify the school of the student’s absence and excuse. Families will communicate with the school team about student academic, and social and emotional well-being as needed. Families will provide students with a quiet work environment, free from distraction, for learning to take place. Families will work with students to follow the teacher-assigned daily and weekly schedules. Families will activate their FinalForms account and maintain up-to-date information in a timely fashion. Families will provide the district with valuable feedback and information, as well as questions by completing surveys and questionnaires.

The State of Ohio is reporting COVID-19 incidents at their highest rate since February 2021. In slightly more than a month, more than 13,000 Ohioans have contracted COVID. Hospitals are reaching capacity, and most concerning of all, the percentage of children getting COVID vastly surpasses what we saw over the past year.

 

Recognizing the increased risk that the COVID-19 Delta variant represents to children, particularly to those 12 and under who are too young to be vaccinated, Groveport Madison Schools is mandating all students and staff wear masks, if not only to protect themselves but to protect others around them. The District-wide (PreK-12) mask mandate will begin on Monday, August 23rd. We hope this mandate is temporary, and we will continue to work with medical experts to determine how long this mandate will be in place.

Masks must be worn at all times when indoors and when on a school bus. If an individual cannot wear a mask due to medical issues, a physician’s note explaining why they cannot wear it will exempt them from this mandate. At present, we are not mandating masks be worn outdoors.

 

We know there will be some families and students who disagree with this position. The health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and for that, we will not apologize. We value all of our Cruisers, and we have to do what is best to keep them safe while the COVID Delta variant remains prevalent in Ohio.

Should you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with our Communications Office at 614-492-2520 or email us at [email protected].

  

COVID-19 is still very much on all of our minds, and the District will continue to follow the guidance of state and local public health authorities. While masks are not presently required, we encourage students and staff to wear masks as much as possible. We will continue to space students out as much as possible, and we will maintain rigorous cleaning/disinfection protocols to reduce the possible transmission of the virus. In addition, considerable work has been done over the summer to upgrade schools. Every HVAC unit has been equipped with additional filtration and other systems designed to disinfect the air and to eradicate the COVID-19 virus and a host of bacteria, molds, etc. While these upgrades will help reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 spreading, the best protection against getting the virus is to be vaccinated. While we do not require students to be vaccinated, we strongly encourage anyone eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

We will be monitoring COVID statistics for our schools and our area very closely. If we see a spike or substantial increase in reported COVID cases, we will likely mandate masks for all students and staff. 

We will immediately inform you of any changes or additional information.

  

Healthcare organizations in Ohio follow the state's guidelines that allow them to order a test for COVID-19 for anyone who wants one. However, some testing sites may have restrictions, and testing standards may differ among providers. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, such as:

or have been exposed to a person who has COVID-19, you should get tested. 

 

Healthcare providers, community health centers, and retail pharmacy locations will screen individuals before ordering or performing testing. Calling ahead and asking about screening procedures and standards, including insurance requirements, physician's order requirements, the minimum age for testing, is important. If you or someone you know are experiencing emergency warning signs* for COVID-19, seek emergency medical care immediately. Signs include:

The Ohio Department of Health provides COVID-19 data on its website. Find information on the following topics by clicking the links below: