LAKE COUNTY, Ohio — Willoughby-Eastlake Schools recently rolled out a COVID-19 dashboard so parents, faculty and staff could get the most up-to-date information. Superintendent Steve Thompson said it was done in an effort to be compliant and transparent.
“One of the first questions they have is, is it in my building? Yes or no? In other words, is it impacting my student and was it a student or was it a staff member?” Thompson says.
The Ohio Department of Heath requires schools release the information.
Kristen Miller, the Shaker Heights City Schools Assistant Director of Communications says school systems have options when it comes to how to share the data.
“We didn’t want there to be any question as to if there was a case in one child’s school or the other child’s school," Miller says. "We just wanted to make sure that we were very clear and answer any question that parents may have as they’re looking at that information."
The dashboard being rolled out by Chagrin, Shaker Heights, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Willoughby-Eastlake and other school systems isn’t the only form of COVID communication.
“We’re sending letters to our parents if we have another case, confirmed case, and we update the website as soon as we know,” says Thompson.
Schools with dashboards say they’ll be updated often because of how rapidly things change.
“We’re updating our dashboard every day," Miller says. "At the bottom of the graphic you’ll notice that is says updated and the date. That is done every day so that there isn’t a question on if the information is accurate."