Governor Mike DeWine announced Thursday that all schools in the state will close for three weeks in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Lakota Local Schools in Butler County had already been planning for a potential shutdown.
As cases of the coronavirus increased across the country, leaders at Lakota Local Schools considered what they could do to prepare for school closings.
“We practice drills in the event of a fire or tornado or a lockdown,” said Betsy Fuller, Director of School and Community Relations. “What if we have a practice exercise about what remote learning would look like?” She said the district wants to find a way for students to keep learning even when schools have to close.
Friday morning, Lakota students will not be packing their backpacks or boarding buses. Instead, they will be expected to do their assignments from home, using laptops and printed packets of materials.
Meanwhile, teachers and staff will spend the day brainstorming. They will consider how meals can be delivered to students and how the school system can help students access the internet at home.
“It’s uncharted territory, and we are just trying to be as prepared as we possibly can,” Fuller said.
She said other school districts have reached out to say they will be watching to see what Lakota Local Schools learns. That experience with remote education will be especially valuable now that all schools statewide are required to close at the end of the school day on Monday.