TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo Public Schools district leaders on Thursday announced Oct. 12 as the planned dates for students to return to school buildings on a hybrid model.
Dr. Romules Durant, the district's superintendent, outlined the schedule and share safety protocols the district has put in place for a safe return to school.
Kindergarten through second grade will go back to buildings on a hybrid model, meaning some days they'll be doing remote learning, on Oct 12. Older students will return on a hybrid model will return Oct. 26.
The school says students will follow an A or B schedule and begin in person learning two days each week and continue online learning for three days.
Students in first and second grade are asked to charge and bring their Chromebook to school each day. PreK and kindergarten students do not need to bring their Chromebooks with them to school.
All students are instructed to bring any curriculum home on Oct. 12.
"At the end of the day, the best learning is always in person. The socialization as well as education and information is intangible. To be able to do that is always the highest priority," Durant said.
He said announcing a return to hybrid was exciting, but they are not in the clear yet and will be watching numbers closely.
Their color system is in place to allow for quick changes based on what trends they are seeing according to the superintendent.
"In the event that we have a huge spike, we have the ability to go right back into remote, by location or by district. Or we have the ability to go right back into green just merely by an announcement," Durant said.
Durant said social distancing will be enforced, as well as masks being worn. All students will be required to wear a face covering unless they have a medical exemption. The school says face coverings that have symbols, writing, pictures or logos will not be permitted unless the mask is school specific or bears the TPS proud logo.
Shields will also be in place for students to be able to better understand their teachers. All desks will be six feet apart and students will be instructed to maintain that safe distance from classmates while in the hallways.
Special education students will receive instruction directly from their teacher or school.
TPS is asking parents and guardians to take your child's temperature each morning before school. If the student has a temperature of 100° or higher, the school asks that you keep your child at home. If your child arrives at school and has a fever, parents or guardians will be called to immediately pick up the student.
Parents and guardians are also asked to stay in your vehicles when picking up or dropping off students at the school.
Ann Cipriani, TPS Health Services Director, said there are three layers of safety that everyone must understand and follow in order to keep their schools open.
"Those are face coverings, social distancing, and hand hygiene. First of all, face coverings. This is probably the single most important way to keep ourselves, colleagues and students healthy," Cipriani said.
TPS officials ask that parents keep children home if they are experiencing coronavirus symptoms.
Durant said they had hoped to start the year on the hybrid model, but were forced to go with the remote model. Now that Lucas County has progressed for the better, he feels students can safely return to school on the hybrid model.
Students will be divided into an A group and a B group, with Wednesday being a deep-cleaning day for the schools. Food options will also be available for students.
Call you child's school if you are unsure if your child is in an A group or B group. The school says this information is also available on the parent portal.
Durant said City League sports will also be back; with students back in session, he said extracurricular activities will be back as well.
Spectators will be limited at athletic events. More details will be shared on the TPS web page and social media pages.