1. Why is the Sandusky City Schools closed for three weeks?Answer: Governor Mike DeWine issued a mandate that all schools in Ohio close for a three-week period as an effort to reduce the impact of the Coronavirus. The three-week break will start at the close of business of Monday, March 16, 2020 and conclude on Friday, April 3, 2020.
2. What is the school schedule for students,
faculty and staff over the next few days leading up to the three-week break?
Answer: The last day for students in
Sandusky City Schools will be Friday, March 13, 2020. Students will not return
to school until the break period has concluded. All faculty and staff will
report to school at their regular time on Monday, March 16, 2020. All faculty
and staff will be dismissed at the close of the school day on March 16, 2020
and will not be permitted into the school buildings until school has reopened.
3. Will the school buildings be open for other
programs and activities during this break?
Answer: No, there will be no programs, sports
practices, activities or any kind of programming at any of our buildings during
this break period. Faculty, staff, and students are not permitted in the
buildings during this break.
4. How will our Adult Education and Career
Center program be impacted by the close of the buildings?
Answer: Adult Education and Career Training
programs will not be attending classes during this closure period. There will
be no school for these adult students and teachers. Full-time Adult Education
students should contact their program coordinator for program details.
5. Will students have access to school work
and academic activity during this period?
Answer: Yes, all Sandusky City Schools
students will have access to academic enrichment and supplemental academic
materials by grade level throughout the course of the three-week break. The
enrichment and supplemental materials will be available both online and through
workbook packets. Students will have access to this material starting Monday,
March 16, 2020.
6. What will be the impact on semester grades,
perfect attendance counting, and related school documentation during this
period?
Answer: Our immediate plan is to use this three-week period as a “freeze in time” meaning that when we return to school, we will adjust our remaining schedule for the year to accommodate any impact on student grades, attendance, graduation, or other school deadlines. We will communicate more on this issue over the next several weeks. Our goal is not to have any student negatively impacted by this break period.
7. How will Sandusky City Schools handle the
upcoming State Achievement Tests?
Answer: As you know, we are currently
gearing up for the upcoming state tests. At this point, we will maintain the
state mandated timelines until we hear differently. Our CEO and Superintendent
has spoken to our state legislators about the impact of this closure and the
preparation and anxiety of the school closure as it relates to state testing.
At this point, we have not received any written confirmation of changes in
dates or other modifications to state testing.
8. School breakfast and lunch are very
important to our students, how will the district handle student meals over this
break period?
Answer: School officials clearly understand
the importance of ensuring that our students receive healthy meals, even over the
extended school break that we will experience. As a result, students will be
able to pick up meals starting Monday, March 16th through the end of
our three-week break on Friday, April 3, 2020. We will identify locations and
provide the students a box lunch, along with an additional breakfast meal for
the next day.
9. What time and location can students receive
the meals?
Answer: Students will be able to pick up
their boxed lunch between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at a
variety of locations across the community. All locations and their addresses
can be found on our district website and social media.
10. Will there be a cost to students for the
meals being provided?
Answer: No, there will be no cost to the
students for the meals. Please note that the meals are only for students of
Sandusky City Schools.
11. How will the Sandusky City Schools handle
the regularly scheduled Spring Break, which is scheduled for April 6 through
April 10, 2020?
Answer: We will recognize our Spring Break,
as scheduled, and will not have students, faculty, and staff return to school
until the end of our scheduled Spring Break. Students, faculty and staff will
report to work after the spring break, which would be Monday, April 13, 2020.
This will mean that students, faculty and staff will be off for a total of four
weeks.
12. How will our families receive information
and updates about the schedule or other changes to the weeks we will be out of
school?
Answer: Our Chief Executive Officer and
Superintendent, Dr. Eugene T. W. Sanders, will provide a daily update each day
at 4:00 p.m. on a Monday-Friday basis, beginning on Friday, March 13, 2020. The
updates will be loaded on our website and we will use our one-call system to
communicate to parents and the larger community. A letter will be sent home on
Friday, March 13, 2020 with details to parents.
13. Will faculty and staff be paid for the days
we will not have schools?
Answer: Yes, all faculty, staff, administration, along with full-time substitute staff will be paid at their regular pay period. This will include Wellness Coaches, and full-time substitute teachers and paraprofessionals. While we are not required to compensate hourly employees, our Board of Education members felt it was in the best interest of these full-time employees and their staff to do so. “We are all Blue Streaks.”
14. How can I help out the Sandusky City
Schools during the closure period?
Answer: We are fortunate in the Sandusky
City Schools to have a significant number of volunteers and supporters who have
already called asking how they can help our students and families. We will be
looking for volunteers to help serve box lunches as well as helping to provide
other community based opportunities for our students. We have identified our
Parent and Community Engagement Office as the point of contact for helping and
supporting our students. You can reach Alex Jones by calling 419-984-1115.
15. If I have any question about any of the
initiatives, programs, or schedules during this break in our schedule, who do I
contact and what is the best way to communicate?
Anser: All information regarding this closure can be found at www.scs-k12.net/coronavirushub.aspx. You may also call 419-626-6940 and leave a detailed message, or you may email [email protected]. We will continue to practice our 24-Hour response rate during this time frame. As always, information will be posted consistently to District social media pages.