CINCINNATI, Ohio—Another school district is going back to full in-person learning. But some parents say the reasoning behind the district’s decision goes against its original plan of action.
What You Need To Know
- Oak Hills School District is going back to in-person learning starting Monday
- The school district is now placing focus on local community and school COVID-19 numbers to determine its learning models
- Some parents have voiced their concerns with going back to school in person
For mother Dani Strehle, growing up in the Oak Hills School District was something she always cherished and wanted to give her kids.
“We purposely moved here to get our kids into this district,” Strehle said.
But because of this pandemic, she’s not so sure the district is what it used to be. Many parents across the country are grappling with sending their kids back to school. For Strehle, she decided to keep her second and sixth grade daughters home this year in the virtual academy.
“We all want the same thing,” she said. “We want our kids in school full time but we want to make sure that we’re also prioritizing the teachers and everybody else that could be impacted by this.”
Oak Hills started the school year in a blended model, quickly moving to full in-person learning. The district shared it would follow the Ohio Public Health Advisory System to make decisions on the learning format. So, when Hamilton County went into the red recently, parents were expecting to go back to the blended model. Which happened this week, but now, the district says it’s going back to full time in-person learning starting Monday.
“I was very disappointed when the district said now we’re going to go back to five days even though there are still cases popping up in the schools,” Oak Hills parent April Stafford said.
The district announced this week it is changing the way it is assessing which model it will use. The district said in a statement saying “We will continue to monitor the Ohio Public Health Advisory System for Hamilton County, but will also use its own COVID-19 dashboard data, updates from Hamilton County Public Health officials, local zip-code data on incidence levels of the virus, and other indicators to make decisions on any changes in instructional models.”
Oak Hills School officials post the number of cases in each school as well as students and staff quarantined. Out of 6500 students, only 17 have tested positive, meaning less than one percent has gotten the disease. But parents say the district’s sudden change makes it difficult for them.
“Parents made the decision to either keep their kids or send their kids based on the plan that was outlined and now there are people who sent their kids back because they had no other options who don’t have a recourse for this,” Strehle said.
Parents hope this situation doesn’t cause teachers to leave the district.
“One of the best things about Oak Hills is the teachers that we have and if we don’t treat them well and don’t prioritize their safety, what is their incentive to stay here?” Strehle said.
Oak Hills School District plans to stay in person five days a week unless Hamilton County goes to an emergency level or theres a surge in cases in the school district or the community.
