SYLVANIA, Ohio — Leaders with Sylvania Schools changed course Monday, announcing that elementary-aged students would be returning to school on a hybrid learning model come September.
The district's superintendent, Dr. Veronica Motley, explained that the decision was made after it became clear that Sylvania's school buildings were not ready for students to return.
"When our principals returned to the building for their official start of the year and started working with teachers, it was discovered that perhaps we weren't as well prepared as we should have been," Motley said.
In an email sent to district families, Motley claimed that she and many others were "misled" in regards to the elementary schools returning under the green plan, meaning in person, five days a week.
"Relying on some of the information we received, it appears that we're not able to proceed in that direction," she said.
When asked if she could explain who fed her and the school board misleading information, she said it was an HR matter.
Motley did say, however, that the information they requested was different than what she was hearing from people in the buildings.
"We relied on that information. Unfortunately, it did not yield the safety precautions that we had at a high standard that we wanted for our students and staff," Motley said.
After going to see the schools herself, she said they had to pivot quickly. Thus, the last minute changes.
Motley said she understands that some parents may be frustrated with this, but explained that many changes have happened over the last couple of months and could still change.
"It's ever-changing, it's evolving; out of one decision, it appears sometimes that it has tentacles and we are being proactive in making more decisions to make sure that we can be prepared for different scenarios," Motley said.
All students will begin the school year remotely this coming Monday, Aug. 31. After two weeks, all students will transition to a hybrid learning model.
This change does not impact students in middle and high school as they have already been anticipating returning under a hybrid model.