By Francis Russ
Cincinnati Public Schools
Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) students will transition to a blended learning model beginning on Monday, October 5, as voted upon September 21 by the CPS Board of Education.
Most students, with the exception of Walnut Hills High School, will be divided into A and B groups, attending two days per week in person with the remaining days in distance learning.
For consistency, on Mondays, all students will attend school via distance learning. Group A will have in-person learning on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Group B will report to school on Thursdays and Fridays.
Preschool and specialty classrooms for students with disabilities will phase-in at 50 percent beginning October 5 and, beginning October 12, will attend Monday in distance learning and Tuesday through Friday in person.
CPS will utilize a phased-in approach, with students resuming in the blended model by October 19. More information is available on the CPS website.
CPS is committed to following all CDC and state guidelines and has established schoolwide standard COVID-19 policies. CPS is monitoring four primary data points to guide decisions and will continue to use these metrics for the foreseeable future. The latest data can be found on the CPS website.
“We appreciate the work of the community to help lower our transmission and positivity rates in the last several weeks,” said Superintendent Laura Mitchell. “Our team is committed to providing the safest possible environment in our schools, and we will continue to regularly review the data. Agility and flexibility continue to be crucial as the health situation evolves.”
Parents and guardians who wish to continue in a full-time distance model are able to enroll their child(ren) in the Cincinnati Digital Academy, a full-time digital learning option for grades K-12.
CPS hosted virtual town halls for parents on September 22 and 23. A town hall for non-English speakers was on September 24. The events were recorded and posted on the CPS website for those families unable to attend.
Parents and guardians can find more information by visiting www.cps- k12.org/news/backtoschool, calling the customer care hotline, or following CPS’ Facebook (@CincinnatiPublicSchools), Twitter (@ and Instagram (@IamCPS) channels.