Cincinnati Public Schools has decided to delay its return to the classroom after Hamilton County was once again declared "red" on the state's Public Health Advisory System on Thursday.
The last time Hamilton County was red, a level 3 COVID warning indicating very high exposure and spread of the virus, was July 30.
CPS has said it will continue distance learning for the time being. Students were supposed to begin their transition to a blended learning model — with groups of students attending both in-person and remote learning on alternate schedules — over the next two weeks.
“While we are extremely disappointed to have to make this decision, the right choice in this moment is to continue in our distance-learning model,” said Superintendent Laura Mitchell. “We have said since spring that we would use data to guide decisions, and that the health and safety of our students and staff is our number one priority. As a large urban district, our families are more likely to be negatively impacted by the virus. In addition, with 36,000 students and 6,000 staff, the decisions we make exponentially impact the entire Cincinnati community.”
The next CPS Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5. During that meeting, the board will discuss the current situation as well as next steps and athletics. In regards to athletics, CPS families will be notified if there are any changes to games this weekend.
For more info, visit cps-k12.org.
