{"id":558418,"date":"2020-07-14T13:49:49","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T17:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=558418"},"modified":"2020-07-15T02:31:45","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T06:31:45","slug":"cleveland-schools-delay-opening-by-three-weeks-as-covid-19-cases-surge","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/cleveland-schools-delay-opening-by-three-weeks-as-covid-19-cases-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Schools Delay Opening by Three Weeks as COVID-19 Cases Surge"},"content":{"rendered":"
T<\/span>he Cleveland school district will delay reopening schools until Sept. 8 and likely offer a mix of online and in-person classes, the district announced today.<\/p>\n Most schools were scheduled to open Aug. 17, but the district instead joined a growing number of districts across the country balking at bringing students back to classrooms as COVID-19 cases are spiking.<\/p>\n When classes resume, the district cautioned, students may have to do some or all of their lessons online.<\/p>\n \u201cCMSD fully recognizes the importance of getting our students and educators back to school, and having all students, teachers, and employees back is our end goal,\u201d the district website states.<\/a> \u201cBut current public health guidance requires the District to focus primarily on restarting schools with a hybrid learning model to limit the number of people physically present in a building at any time and to accommodate social distancing.\u201d<\/p>\n Cleveland Teachers Union President Shari Obrenski, who has been involved in planning the reopening, expected the delay. Teams of district officials and staff are turning in recommendations to CMSD CEO Eric Gordon today about different portions of reopening, and Gordon will use those to set a plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a massive undertaking,\u201d Obrenski said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with exactly how we\u2019re going to focus the curriculum to make sure we are hitting the things that are absolutely necessary, what the health and safety looks like, what our PPE [personal protective equipment] looks like, what traffic flow looks like in the hallways, it is just a massive undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n A full reopening plan will be shared with families by July 24, Gordon told parents in a letter and a video<\/a> this morning.<\/p>\n