January 2022 Back-to-School Plan
DELAYED RETURN TO SCHOOL
- The District will delay reopening on January 3, 4, and 5, 2022, and return to regular school operations on Thursday, January 6, 2022. Staff will report to work on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 to prepare for the return of students the next day. This delay will provide more time before reopening after the winter break to receive staff and student test results, determine the extent of virus spread and any staffing level implications. The delayed return also applies to students who attend alternative, vocational, and/or consortium programs outside the Beachwood Schools.
TEST CLINIC / TEST REQUIREMENT for MS/HS Extracurricular Participation
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On Monday, January 3, 2022, the District is offering a “drive-through” COVID test clinic at the Board of Education building (24601 Fairmount Blvd.) from 8 - 10 am for any staff or students who would like to test (details for how to sign up to follow via separate email tonight).
- Staff and students who utilize the MCC testing process at their buildings each Monday as part of our “Vax or Test Program” should attend the drive-through COVID test clinic on January 3rd or submit their own test by January 6th at 11:59 pm.
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NEW - The District is expanding the testing requirement for extracurricular participation to ALL middle school and high school students (and their advisors/coaches) for at least three weeks (through Tuesday, January 18, 2022). Students and advisors/coaches, regardless of vaccination status, who wish to continue participating in extracurricular activities, such as sports, must test weekly until further notice. The District will provide free PCR tests to be taken at school buildings each week on Monday (and Tuesday, January 18th). Results from these PCR tests are returned by the lab within 48 hours (look for details to register to use these tests in a separate email tonight).
ATHLETICS PAUSE
- Beachwood Middle School and High School athletics have been paused until January 6, 2022, at which time they will be reviewed. No practices, workouts, or competitions will take place during this period of time.
OMICRON SURGE BACKUP PLANS (for use during the next few weeks)
- Busing - If we are short on bus drivers because of COVID-related absences, we will switch to an alternate bus routing plan that utilizes a reduced number of centralized stops. Routes will be longer and there will likely be delays. Students who arrive late to school will NOT be penalized. We respectfully request that parents drive or walk their children to school if possible during these few weeks of the Omicron surge.
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Lunches - At Bryden and Hilltop, the number of students eating lunch in each classroom will be reduced by sending some students from each room to eat distanced in the cafeteria. Students will continue to use their plastic shield dividers wherever they eat lunch. At the high school and middle school, a third large space will be added to the cafeteria, and Community Room / Commons to increase distancing by students during lunches.
- Event Spectator Reduction - Until further review on January 18, 2022, Beachwood Schools will reduce the number of spectators at any school event to two (2) guests per participating student.
NEW CDC ISOLATION GUIDELINES
In coordination with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH), the District is reviewing the new guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that reduces the number of isolation days out of school (from 10 days to 5 days) for COVID-positive staff and students who are vaccinated and asymptomatic.
REMINDER ABOUT LIVE STREAMING CLASSES
Beachwood Schools does NOT provide an online learning option for students. As we have throughout the 2021-2022 school year, we will continue to provide live streaming of classes to students who have been officially isolated (because they are COVID-positive) or quarantined (because they are close contacts of a COVID-positive person) by the rules of the CCBH.
