Ohio Governor Mike DeWine this afternoon announced that remote learning will continue through the end of the school year for grades K through 12, offering the following reasons for the decision:
“The virus continues,” DeWine said. “We have flattened the curve, but it remains dangerous. We now have 8 or 9 days of a fairly straight line in regard to hospitalizations, so that’s good news. We’ll feel a lot better when it starts going down. But this situation is still very tough. Second is continuity. To go back to school now with a relatively small amount of time left – a large number of superintendents, principals and others have expressed to me that is probably not a good idea even if the health situation was resolved which obviously it is not.”
DeWine says he recognizes the effect on all those traditional end-of-the-year school events:
“I know with our children and grandchildren that the end-of-school year, particularly for seniors, is extremely important with prom, sporting events, and recognitions,” DeWine continued. “We’re not telling the schools how to do this, but a gathering of a significant number of people is a dangerous situation. Just as schools have been innovative in regard to how to teach from a distance, I know they’ll be innovative as they look at how they try to in some way honor the students and in some way compensate students for what they are missing. But it’s certainly not going to be easy.”
There’s been no decision about the fall school calendar yet, but DeWine said he’s encouraged by schools thinking about what a return to in-school sessions might look like under social distancing guidelines. One option being discussed according to the governor, the possibility of having a blended or hybrid system this fall - a mix of distance learning and in-person education.
