Richland County 'red' designation impacting some local schools

Richland County’s designation as “red,” or level three, on Thursday in the state’s Public Health Advisory System will change operations for some of the county’s schools.

Lucas Local Schools will move to a blended learning model beginning Monday, Oct. 5. Students will report to school two days a week and engage in remote learning the other three days.

Students whose last name begins with letters A-K will attend in-person classes Monday and Tuesday. Students whose last name begins in letters L-Z will attend in-person classes Thursday and Friday.

District students attending Pioneer Career and Technology Center will follow the PCTC schedule.

Mansfield City Schools Supt. Stan Jefferson said a plan would be announced Friday for how the district will proceed. The district recently announced it would transition to in-person classes four days a week, provided the county was at a level one or level two.

According to the Pioneer Career and Technology Center reopening plan, upon designation of a level three risk level, school leaders may confer with Shelby Public Health and the Richland County Public Health Department to determine if the indicators that caused the increase in risk level impact their school district and if there is need to implement alternate schedules or remote/online learning.

As of Friday afternoon, Pioneer administrators had decided to continue with a four day a week schedule, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page. After consulting with local Health Department officials, Pioneer has decided to continue on our 4-day a week schedule as we have since the beginning of the year,” the post read. “Families will be notified through our one-call system and on social media if there are any changes.”

Supt. Brad Turson of Plymouth-Shiloh Local Schools confirmed the district will transition to remote learning for all students beginning Monday, Oct. 5, per the district’s reopening plan.

According to the plan on the district’s website, teachers report to their classrooms to teach virtually.

Shelby City Schools Supt. Tim Tarvin said that as of Thursday afternoon, the district plans to continue operating as it has for the past six weeks.

Tarvin said the plan is subject to change depending on community health conditions. The district is in close communication with the Shelby City Health Department, he said.

St. Peter’s School will continue with in-person learning, as it does not meet the guidelines for closure under its Restart Smart plan. School officials said they are following all Ohio Department of Health mandates and recommended best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The following districts indicated earlier this year in their reopening plans that they will continue normal operations under level three: