CLEVELAND — North Royalton City Schools have announced their decision to move back to full remote learning as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Cuyahoga County.
The decision comes following Gov. Mike DeWine's announcement earlier Thursday that the county has entered a "watch list" for Level 4 (purple) in the state's COVID-19 advisory system, meaning there is a high probability that the county will be in Level 4 the following week.
Superintendent Greg Gurka issued the following statement in a note to the North Royalton community:
"As you are aware, our current plan is based on the level system for Cuyahoga County. It states that when the Health Advisory System for the county is red or purple, we will move to all remote learning. When we first developed our plan in July and August, we believed that the county level system would provide a smooth way to transition from one learning phase to another. While we have found this to be somewhat more cumbersome than originally thought, it is our plan at this time."
The district currently hosts Mondays as a remote learning day. Beginning Tuesday of next week, North Royalton plans to transition to exclusive online learning for grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12.
Principals and teachers are expected to communicate remote student schedules as well as any class materials that need to be picked up from the classrooms prior to Tuesday. Students will remain with their current teachers as the transition goes into effect.
Despite the setback, the district is continuing to monitor data and develop on a revised plan to allow for a safe return of all students to the class room. Gurka says he eventually hopes to bring all students back to the classrooms full-time, but will rely on the latest data to make decisions.
"I hope you understand this cannot be done overnight and because parents made their initial choice on our current plan, we must honor that," he wrote. "Unfortunately, with conditions in our county, state and nation declining, I must err on the side of the safety of our students and staff."