Heights Superintendent Pivots Away From In-Person Reopening

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Superintendent Elizabeth Kirby is recommending the Heights Schools stay in a remote education model to begin the second quarter.

District officials briefly explored reopening classrooms, but then Cuyahoga County was upgraded from a Level 2 to a Level 3 Advisory for COVID-19 spread. A renewed virus surge has seen Ohio breaking its own records for most COVID-19 cases recorded in a single day.

Kirby sent a communication to families saying she was shifting her recommendation on returning to schools after meeting with other superintendents from across the region.

"After weighing our options and the recommendations from the Cuyahoga County Board of Health to implement remote learning in a Level 3, I have decided to recommend to the CH-UH Board of Education that we begin the second quarter in remote learning, the instructional model that we currently have in place," she said.

Kirby and the Heights Board of Education will discuss reopening and the latest health developments during a livestreamed meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. That meeting can be watched live via the district's YouTube channel.

The Cleveland Heights Teachers Union announced it opposed a return to classrooms prior to 2021.