Cleveland Metropolitan School District's video: CMSD CEO Eric Gordon s Update - October 16 2020

This is Eric Gordon, Superintendent/CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, with an important message for students, families and caregivers about our instructional plan for the second quarter of this school year. After reviewing public health data in Cleveland and across Ohio, including Governor DeWine’s announcement yesterday that Cuyahoga County has again been identified as a Red county, meaning there is very high exposure and spread of the Coronavirus across the county, and after considering public health advisories for the upcoming fall and winter season, consulting with public health officials, reviewing parent caregiver and educator feedback and reviewing participation data on our current remote learning model, I am recommending that CMSD remain in a remote learning environment for the beginning of the second quarter, beginning on Monday, November 9th and up to our planned winter break, beginning on Monday, December 21st. While I had planned to recommend that CMSD remain in a remote learning environment for most students before learning of our county’s change of status, my team and I had also planned to begin phasing in the voluntary return of our most academically vulnerable students to in-person instruction, including special needs and English Language Learners identified as needing additional support, seniors who are off-track for graduation and Career Technical Education students whose CTE certification is dependent on participation in on-site training, and to begin in-district competition for most of our winter sports teams. For now, these additional in-person opportunities will remain on hold while we continue to monitor the city and county health data over the next several weeks. Should the public health data for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County begin to improve during this extended remote learning period, we will revisit the start of this additional voluntary in-person instruction and potential restart of some athletic programming yet this quarter. I want to stress though that this will be solely dependent upon the public health data as the health and safety of our children, parents and caregivers, and our educators continues to be the Board of Education’s and my top priority. I know our decision to operate in a fully remote learning environment in the first quarter was a dramatic shift for all of us, and I know it has not been easy for our students and families. Still, I have witnessed every day the remarkable resilience of our school community, as CMSD has balanced its commitment to public safety with our commitment to deliver the best education possible for every child. Thank you for all you've done and will continue to do.