Many Solon Students Will Finish 2020 In School Buildings

SOLON, OH — Solon students in grades PreK-6 will finish their semesters in-school.

Superintendent Fred Bolden announced the accomplishment during Monday's Board of Education meeting. He thanked all of the teachers and administrators who worked through the pandemic to make in-person education possible.

He added that the district performed "tireless contact tracing" and asked many students and staff to "quarantine" to keep students in-building through the end of the year.

"Many of us thought we would not be able to do that," he admitted. He then added, "I could not feel better about what we've been able to do."

Bolden also thanked parents for keeping their children healthy and safe during these uncertain times. He noted the district saw a spike in confirmed COVID-19 cases following Thanksgiving, but he hopes that it is flattening out.

Bolden added that Solon's instructional models will remain largely unchanged heading into 2021. Students in grades PreK-4 will be in-building five days a week, while students in grades 7-12 will be in a hybrid model of two days in-person and three days remote.

However, students in grades 5 and 6 will be offered a new instructional model — four days in-building and one day remote. Students will strategically take one day off per week to keep class sizes small enough to maintain social distancing.

"What we think that this does is give us an opportunity to allow our kids to be in-person during the majority of the week. We felt that would be the least burdensome option for our families at home," Bolden said Monday.

The district is still studying COVID-19 conditions and will make a determination soon on how it will proceed immediately following winter break.