TWINSBURG, Ohio — Heading back to school is going to look differently for just about every district in Northeast Ohio.
The Twinsburg City Schools district is transforming its high school into an elementary school because of the pandemic.
“We ask our families to have some patience and grace with us, we have a great plan, we’re going to make some mistakes along the way but we’re going to keep the health and safety of everybody as our center and our focus and together we’re going to get through this,” says Superintendent Kathi Powers.
After measuring every classroom in the district, students in second through sixth grade will call the high school home because there is more space and it could accommodate a ‘great portion’ of students.
“If we’re positive and we feel confident in what we’re doing that will affect the children and also it will make the parents feel comfortable about having their kids in a high school building being eight and nine years old,” explains Laura Dorland, a third grade teacher.
Kindergarten through sixth grade students will attend school five days a week while seventh through 12th grade students will be on campus every other day.
A soft opening is scheduled for the week of August 31st. During that time, a quarter of students will return to the class each day. They will meet teachers, learn new health and safety protocols and receive Chromebooks. Educational assessments will also be made.
“We’re very concerned about some regression in skills since they were last here and so that week will just provide an introduction to how school will be managed for them," says, Powers.
About 63 percent of students will return to the classroom. The remaining students will be part of the Twinsburg Virtual Academy.
The school year begins on September 8th.