PARMA, Ohio — On Monday, the Parma City School District announced two eagerly-anticipated decisions affecting the start of its academic year.
The beginning of the school year will be remote for all students through September 25.
If the weekly rating from the state of Ohio for Cuyahoga County is "Orange" (Level 2) on September 10, 17, and 24, the district says it will begin the week of September 28 to phase students back into school in a 1/2/2 hybrid model (you can read more about this in the district's Facebook post.)
"We understand that some families may want more stability than this model represents," the district wrote in its post. "Please register for Parma Virtual Learning Academy if fully remote instruction is more appropriate for your needs."
Also on Monday, Parma City Schools announced it will alllow contact sports to go forward, effective immediately. Here was their note to parents and students:
After much communication with our community and collaboration with our Great Lakes Conference (GLC) peers, we have decided to allow contact sports to advance to their competition phase, effective this evening. Our athletes have worked hard this summer to condition, train, and practice. They have also adhered to social distancing guidelines that we have enacted to keep them safe. We are confident they can continue to meet our high expectations with regard to health and safety.
Our athletic directors have worked with their GLC peers to forge a common admissions policy for the entire league. They will soon communicate these details to you. Our athletic directors will also soon share revised schedules.
We appreciate very much the patience of our entire school community. The COVID-19 era has posed many challenges as we work tirelessly to make informed decisions that balance safety and opportunity. We wish all of our athletes the safest, most successful seasons of their Parma experience!