Thank you to the families who attended Tuesday night’s Board meeting. This message is to provide an update to everyone on the schools’ COVID-19 Plans as they continue to take shape and we respond to real time data in our community.

All of the decisions our Boards and we must make as we navigate this pandemic have imperfections. Each day, each week, each month brings with it more information, including the feedback that we collect formally and informally from families, teachers and staff. The Board and leadership weigh these decisions in the context of not only family, teacher and staff feedback, but also research on the effects of learning remotely/social isolation/effectiveness of remote learning/educator burnout, health data, recommendations from the medical profession, and like all of you--media reports. So, with that in mind, an update about the Board meeting last night...

What the Boards Decided:
● The Boards voted on two amendments to previous plan:
1. The Boards of the Intergenerational Schools voted to follow the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH)’s recommendations for K-12 schools when they are issued.
2. In the absence of a CCBH recommendation, if the number of cases is plateauing or decreasing in our community, the Board will consider some form of reopening while the county may still be in a level Red. The earliest possible date for reopening will be Tuesday, January 19th. This date is more than two full weeks after New Year’s Day, the last holiday popular for gatherings.

● The Boards will meet the week of January 4th to assess current health data and hear from MetroHealth’s Dr. Maier about the risks and research-supported mitigation strategies to limit school transmission.

Our dedicated teachers and staff will continue to work hard to connect with every student in meaningful ways to ensure their remote learning experience is positive and their progress is constant. We will also continue to work on our plans for safely re-opening the buildings at a limited capacity for the families who need in-person learning, while we closely monitor COVID-19 in our community, and receive guidance from our partners in the medical field.

We and our Board will always look to make the best possible decisions that keep your families safe and feel that reassessing the current surge of cases in January is the most responsible course of action. We are hopeful and have heard accounts from medical professionals who anticipate a leveling off of cases after the holidays, along with more research data on effective school prevention measures, that could enable us to safely serve students and prevent spread of the virus within our school buildings.

Be safe, be well.

Brooke King, Executive Director