ONTARIO — Offering an online academy option will cost Ontario Local Schools upwards of $300,000 this school year, the district’s director of education stated Tuesday.
During an update at Tuesday’s school board meeting, Director of Education Mike Ream informed the board that about 15 percent of the student body has chosen an online schooling option for the fall.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 160 elementary students, 84 middle school students and 56 high school students enrolled in the online option.
Middle and high school students will use a third party platform, Edmentum. The school district will pay students’ fee to use the platform. If online enrollment numbers hold throughout the school year, paying for each middle and high school student to use Edmentum will cost the district close to $308,000.
“It’s definitely going to be a cost issue, but it does allow us to have an alternative option for students that have a medical need or families that have a situation where they’re just not comfortable,” Ream said.
Superintendent Lisa Carmichael said the district will be prorated a portion of students’ fees if some opt to return to in-person classes in the spring.
Due to the large volume of elementary students, the district has switched from Edmentum to staffing one district teacher per grade to teach the online students.
Using Edmentum for the elementary students would have cost the district an additional $2,350 per student, or $376,000 total.
“The question has come up … Can’t we do at the middle school and high school what we’re doing at Stingel? And the answer is no, unless we significantly restructure the entire program,” Ream said.
Ream explained that while one elementary school teacher is licensed in every school subject, upper level teachers tend to specialize in one subject area. Thus, the district doesn’t have teachers to spare for every subject area middle and high school students study.
The board also suspended language in the high school and middle school handbooks prohibiting coats and book bags in the classroom and approved three long-term substitute teachers — Julie Harless at the high school, Scott Carrier at the middle school and Nicole Boles at the elementary school.
Educators statewide are concerned about the lack of substitute teachers, Carmichael said. There are currently only 14 substitute teachers available through the North Central Ohio Educational Service Center, which serves school districts in multiple counties, including Ontario and Shelby City Schools in Richland County.
“This will enable those subs to report here every day and they won’t be shared with other districts,” Carmichael said.
Carmichael added that she is confident the teachers will be used every day.
Various parents attended the school board meeting to ask questions and raise suggestions, some of which are summarized below.
If schools are forced to close again, what will the school day look like?
If schools are forced to close, the district has Chromebooks available for students who do not have access to a device at home. Students will be able to watch their teachers teaching live through Google Meets; those videos will also be archived and can be watched later. Students will also have assignments to complete.
“If we get forced to shut down, there will be a whole lot more structure in terms of what a day would look like. It would include live teaching every day,” Ream said. “I feel good that if we shut down, the live teaching would be a lot better this time.”
What happens if a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19?
If a student or teacher tests positive for COVID-19, the district will immediately contact Richland Public Health. RPH will conduct contact tracing and advise the district on how to proceed.
What happens if a student feels ill / has a fever at school?
Teachers will conduct daily temperature checks at the beginning of every school day with an infrared forehead thermometer. If a student’s temperature is 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, they will be referred to the clinic. The school nurse will take the student’s temperature orally and evaluate any symptoms before determining whether or not a student is at-risk of having COVID-19 and needs to be sent home.
Parents are also asked to complete a self-assessment with their children before sending them to school. A self-assessment guide is available on the school’s website.
Will students or teachers be penalized for absences related to COVID-19?
Parents are asked to keep their children home if they believe their child may have, or have been exposed to, COVID-19. Schools will be flexible and trust parents who believe their child may be at risk of spreading COVID-19. A doctor’s note will not be required to keep a child home due to COVID-19.
Students who exceed the regular number of sick days due to COVID-19 illness or precautionary COVID-19 measures will not be penalized and will be allowed to make up their school work.
According to Ream, students are not automatically declared truant based on a certain number of missed school days, but rather are referred by a school administrator. He added that students won’t be referred to the courts for truancy related to COVID-19 unless it is clear that child or child’s family is “blatantly abusing” this year’s more flexible attendance policy.
How will breakfast and lunch work?
Final plans are still being worked out, but at this point, elementary students will likely have breakfast delivered to their classrooms and middle and high school students will have a “grab and go” breakfast available.
All students will eat lunch in a cafeteria setting, using disposable trays and cutlery. Students will have assigned seating and tables will be dismissed one at a time. Tables will be spread out as much as possible.
Middle and high school students will have the option to go outside during the last ten minutes of the lunch period for a “mask break.”
