The Washington Court House City School (WCHCS) District will continue to operate on a “hybrid schedule” through the week of Dec. 14 until winter break, which begins Monday, Dec. 21.
According to WCHCS, the hybrid model reduces the population by having half of the students attend the school buildings Monday and Tuesday and the other half attend Thursday and Friday. When students are not in the school buildings, they are educated virtually, and on Wednesday the district buildings are thoroughly disinfected and cleaned.
Student attendance days will be determined by their ‘Family Group” name. A Family Group name is based on the last name of the youngest student in the household. In the instance that the students in your household have varying last names, the days they attend in person will be on the corresponding day of the youngest student in the house.
Family Groups with last names beginning with A-L will attend on Monday and Tuesday, and students with last names beginning with M-Z will attend on Thursday and Friday. There will be no students in the district on Wednesday as staff cleans and disinfects all facilities as well as engages in remote learning.
“Due to the increased number of cases in our community since the Thanksgiving holiday, we have extended hybrid learning through the week of December 14 which takes us to Winter Break,” WCHCS Director of Marketing and Communication Trevor Patton said via email this week. “This decision was made in consultation with Fayette County Public Health. I’d like to convey that this is not an easy decision, nor do we want to be hybrid, however the continued rise of the pandemic in our community leaves little choice.”
Patton said he understands that hybrid learning brings a new set of challenges that they must learn to overcome as they “continue to engage, inspire, and grow.”
“While we want our students to be in our buildings each and every day of the week, our teachers worked incredibly hard to learn these new systems and processes to educate our students no matter where they are in the event we had to move to hybrid or remote learning,” Patton said. “Our team worked diligently over the summer to build a comprehensive system of policies and procedures to protect the health and safety of our students and staff, as well as give us the best chance at remaining fully in person this school year. However, as the health and well being of our students and staff is our top priority, and due to the continued rise of COVID-19 across our community, at this time hybrid learning is the best option to remain in person at all while keeping our schools and our community safe.
“Only by our collective disciplined behavior, choices, and strict following of the guidance set by Fayette County Public Health-OHIO, the Ohio Department of Health, and the CDC will we have the best chance of remaining in person this school year,” Patton added. “If you want the Blue Lions to continue to have any in-person component to learning this year, it is imperative that we all remain disciplined in our mask wearing, social distancing, proper hygiene, and avoiding large gatherings and crowds. Encourage not only your household, but your friends, family, and coworkers to do the same. Our ability to remain in school is dependent on the COVID-19 situation across Fayette County, so this effort will take all of us.
“To those who are or have students that are struggling: the best resource is your teachers. Our staff is dedicated to the education and success of those who are in their classrooms, regardless of if they are in person or remotely, and they want to help. But, they can only help address specific issues if they are made aware of the situation. Please reach out to your or your student’s teachers.”
Additionally, as the remote component varies by building and grade level to best fit each age level and ability, building principals would have the best understanding of the student’s process to address specific concerns.
They can be contacted at any time during the school day:
Cherry Hill Primary School: 740-335-3370
Belle Aire Intermediate School: 740-335-1810
Washington Middle School: 740-335-0291
Washington High School: 740-636-4221
“Blue Lions are resilient,” Patton said. “We will get through this, but it will take all of us to do so. Continue following the health protocols, contact your teachers and principals for help, and we’ll work through this together.”
Reach Martin Graham on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.
