TOLEDO, Ohio — Thursday marks two months exactly until the April 8 total solar eclipse that will be experienced in northwest Ohio.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to the area to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.
With that, many aspects of daily life, including going to school, will be difficult for students. That is why many schools, including Springfield Local School District, are planning on being closed.
"School is not in session for our students in Springfield," said the director of teaching and learning for Springfield Local Schools, Taryn Miley.
The list of schools in northwest Ohio that plan on being closed include:
- Toledo Public Schools
- Anthony Wayne Schools
- Bowling Green City Schools
- Findlay City Schools
- Maumee City Schools
- Oregon City Schools
- Otsego Local Schools
- Perrysburg Schools
- Rossford Schools
- Sylvania Schools
- Washington-Local Schools
But for schools outside of Ohio, like Bedford in Monroe County in Michigan, the school plans to stay open but is considering a half-day possibility.
"Right now we are currently scheduled for a full day of school," said superintendent Dr. Carl Shultz.
Regardless of what each district decides to do, the goal of the day is to experience a phenomenon.
Because of that, these schools are working hard to find ways to educate their students in the build-up to the big day.
"It's an opportunity for our educators to make those real-life connections, but also talk about future scientific careers like astronomy," said Miley. "We really try to do a lot in our classrooms with inquiry-based science and again, making the students understand that there are opportunities that exist beyond the classroom."
"It is exciting. You know we are looking forward to having something that does not happen every day, for the sky, to be able to look at the corona and things that we cannot normally do," said Shultz. "So our science teachers for sure are excited."