LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — It’s the first day of school for several districts across Northeast Ohio and we are getting a first-hand look at the changes during the pandemic.
Clearview Local Schools in Sheffield Township is offering a hybrid and virtual-only model for families.
With the hybrid model, students attend school in-person twice each week (either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday) and the other three days they’ll learn online at home.
“Coming up with a plan was just as difficult as a big district because you just don’t know what to plan for, we’ve changed our plan probably ten times,” explains Superintendent Jerome Davis.
He says teachers spent the past two weeks working on professional development and coming up with a plan to make sure their classrooms were set up properly for social distancing.
“For those people that are looking and watching, everyone is doing their best, they are working hard and trying to do what’s best for everybody,” explains Davis.
3News’ Tiffany Tarpley got the chance to tour both the high school and elementary school buildings. Class sizes were small, students were wearing masks and reminders of social distancing were observed throughout the halls.
High School Principal Noeleen Rothacker says the first day atmosphere is a bit different too. “They’re quiet, they’re quiet today, our freshman seem to be a little more apprehensive than any other year,” she explains.
Students are being reminded about walking in single-file lines during class changes. In the high school only two students are assigned to each table in the cafeteria.
“We’re trying our best, obviously we’re going to have some hiccups here and there and we’ll make tweaks as we go, just be patient with us,” says Rothacker who also says parents can feel free to contact them with any questions or concerns.
Clearview is a small district with a total of 1,686 students, of those 668 chose the virtual only learning option.
“Of course everyone’s nervous about everything that’s natural, it comes with the pandemic,” says Davis. “So everyone's doing well making sure they’re following the rules and doing what they need to do.”