MANSFIELD — The coronavirus has created an uncertain educational time, even for veteran public school administrators.
“We are rewriting a new book right now on education,” Mansfield City Schools Superintendent Stan Jefferson said this week.
Jefferson and Lexington Local Schools Superintendent Mike Ziegelhofer participated in a live “Coronavirus Conversation” with Richland Source Publisher Jay Allred on Thursday.
Both made it clear administrators across the area are still trying to figure out how to complete the 2019-2020 school year, turned upside down on March 12 when Governor Mike DeWine suspended in-person education.
That suspension has been extended until at least May 1, though it would appear the remainder of the academic year is also in jeopardy. Virtual, online education has become the focus.
Other Richland County school leaders offered similar comments when contacted by Richland Source.
Jefferson said he has been meeting with his team twice a day, discussing both academic tactics and operational tactics for the district.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the children,” Jefferson said. “It’s important to have communication shared with parents … what we are doing, when prom and graduation and class day may be.“
Ziegelhofer said he and his team hope to have graduation ceremonies and proms this summer for their students.
“The crystal ball shows we should be able to that by June or July,” he said. “One way or another, we’ll recognize our seniors.”
Jefferson said his district wants to continue with high school traditions, but wants to wait until the governor gives a more clear picture.
“We cannot say right now what is going to happen in the next few months because no one can accurately predict the continuing impact of COVID-19, the coronavirus, or how state and federal authorities will act.
“To set a delayed date for prom and commencement at this time might only result in the need to postpone them. We will continue to monitor the situation daily,” Jefferson said.
Ontario Local School District Superintendent Lisa Carmichael said teachers and staff miss seeing the students.
“Our teachers will continue to make personal contact with their students weekly. Our teachers and our students are doing quite well adjusting to our new reality of remote virtual learning,” she said.
Clear Fork Local Schools will also continue with the new status-quo, said Janice Wyckoff, the district’s superintendent.
“We’ve been distance learning since the 19th (of March),” she said. “All of our students have either an iPad or a Chromebook at their home and 90 percent of students have wifi at their home.”
Wyckoff said the district has found ways for students to have internet such as creating hotspots with cellphones or students driving to a school building parking lot where internet is available.
School districts will also have to adjust after DeWine signed legislation that effectively removed state testing for the current school year and granted schools the authority to graduate any senior on track to graduate.
“This permits schools to grant a diploma to any student that the school district has determined is on track to graduate,” Carmichael said. “We will continue to communicate with our senior students and their parents. Our guidance counselors are available to answer any questions about whether (a) student is currently on track to graduate.”
Shelby City Schools Superintendent Tim Tarvin said his staff was working to make sure all students possible will graduate.
“I really appreciate the governor not pulling the plug on the school year,” Tarvin said. “Instead, they are doing it in increments, which is good because we have administrators working to see who is on track to graduate and who needs to do what to be on track to graduate.
“You don’t want to do anything to prevent a student from graduating.”
Tarvin said removing state testing will allow teachers to focus on a student’s needs to advance to the next level.
“We don’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time prepping students for a test now,” he said. “Instead we can focus on what they need to move forward with their education.”
Wyckoff said Clear Fork is still discussing graduation options, but time accumulated during the stay-at-home order will be counted for student credits.
“It’s not about seat time, but they need to make sure they can master the content,” she said. “Our immediate focus must continue to be on maximum academic achievement through at-home lessons prepared by, and supported by, our teachers.
“If we cannot have face-to-face classroom instruction, we must do all that we can to make fourth-quarter distance learning impactful and lasting.”
Ziegelhofer said the map to the end of the year is not set in stone.
“Just because we are doing it this way today does not mean we are going to be doing the same thing next week,” he said.
