Centerville pushes to keep schools open; more close as COVID hits staffing

Centerville Schools plan to maintain in-person education despite recent rising COVID-19 cases that have caused many local districts to move to remote learning, its superintendent said Thursday.

Superintendent Tom Henderson said “we are committed to using every option” for face-to-face classes in a message sent to Centerville and Washington Twp. families.

“Our goal is to keep students in school in-person so we can continue to move forward with learning,” Henderson said in the message.

“Like many other school districts, it can be challenging for us to find enough substitutes each day, but we are committed to using every option we have to keep our classrooms open,” he said.

“We believe teaching and learning is most effective in-person, and we do not have plans to move to remote learning at this time,” Henderson added.

Centerville City Schools data shows that about 30% of the positive coronavirus recorded this school year have come in January.

There had been 890 positive COVID cases as of Jan. 8 in Centerville schools for 2021-22 school year, 258 of which were recorded last week, according to the district website.

Kettering City Schools have seen similar recent numbers and also continued in-person learning while “monitoring student and staff attendance daily,” the district said earlier this week.

More schools closing

** Troy City Schools are closing Friday due to a high number of staff and student absences, the district announced on Thursday. Friday will be a day off for students and staff, not a remote learning day, Troy school officials said.

The district plans to return to in-person classes on Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

** Valley View schools conducted remote learning on Thursday and planned to close Friday. Sports and other activities may have also been rescheduled, depending on the activity. A message to parents said staff absences had been more than double the normal level, and there were a significant number of COVID-related absences in the lower grades.

** Since last week, classes have been moved online or canceled in all or parts of the following school districts: Dayton, Huber Heights, Springboro, Lebanon, Troy, Fairborn, Mad River, West Carrollton, Bellbrook, Tipp City, Valley View, Northridge and Greenon.

About the Author