LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: staff

  • Loveland schools going remote Thursday and Friday

    Loveland schools going remote Thursday and Friday

    by David Miller

    Loveland, Ohio – Because of COVID 19, Loveland City Schools will be in asynchronous learning on Thursday, January 13, and Friday, January 14.

    Teachers will be sending work home with their children at the end of their class day on Wednesday.

    Asynchronous learning means Thursday and Friday are still learning days for students, but they will be learning from home.

    Asynchronous learning is a term used to describe forms of education, instruction, and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time. 

    Superintendent Mike Broadwater said in a video message today that “Staff will be reporting to the buildings and be available to support students remotely.” He said that absences and illnesses have not only affected students, but also the teaching staff, bus drivers, food services, and custodial staff. He added that according to CDC guidelines that if a staff member tests positive for COVID 19 it means they must quarantine from the buildings or their workplace for 5-days.

    Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and the Martin Luther King Holiday will mean students will not be in the buildings for 5 straight days before returning on Tuesday, January 18.

    Broadwater announced that the District will not change its current mask policy when students return on January 18. The current mask policy is that masks are optional for grades 7 through 12. Masking is required in grades PreK through 6th.

    Despite this setback, the Superintendent added “I’m very proud of the fact that we have done such a good job at keeping our kids in school this year.

    At the beginning of each week, the Loveland City School District releases its latest Covid 19 Dashboard. Below is the first COVID 19 report issued by the District since students returned to classes after their Winter Break. This story lets you review all of the Dashboard reports for the school year.

    Loveland Schools Covid-19 Dashboard for January 9, 2022

    David Miller –  Jan 10, 2022

  • Ohio Schools to Receive COVID-19 Test Kits

    Ohio Schools to Receive COVID-19 Test Kits

    The Ohio Department of Education in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Educational Service Center Association today announced plans to provide an estimated 200,000 Abbott BinaxNOW Home Tests to Ohio public and private schools as another means of providing a safe learning environment for students, in addition to staff vaccinations and continued adherence to safety protocols like surface cleaning and facial coverings.

    The state purchased the tests and will work closely with Ohio’s network of educational service centers to distribute them to schools and districts.

    The 15-minute BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test has received FDA Emergency Use Authorization and is packaged with instructions to access a telehealth professional who will oversee test administration, prescription writing, and result reporting. Schools and districts are encouraged to work with their local departments of health to determine the best strategies for using the tests at their locations. It would be appropriate to use the tests for symptomatic students, teachers, and staff members.

    “It was important to get these tests in the hands of school leaders because we know how important it is for students to be able to continue learning in their classrooms,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “In addition to the staff vaccinations, masks and physical-distancing practices that Ohio’s schools already employ so well, these tests will be a big help in our efforts to keep students, staff and communities safe.”

    “Convenient access to testing is one more tool in our toolbox as we all work together to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria. “Even with these tests and school staff members having the opportunity to be vaccinated, it still will be important to continue protective strategies like mask wearing, frequent hand-washing, and maintaining social distancing.”

    “We’ve worked very closely with leaders at the state and local levels to make sure Ohio’s schools have access to the resources they need to ensure the safety and health of their students and staff members,” said Ohio Educational Service Center Association Director Craig Burford. “We’re proud to be able to assist in this effort by distributing test kits to public and private schools across the state.”

    Schools and districts should contact their regional educational service centers for more information on how to obtain tests.

    Find more information about the BinaxNOW At Home COVID-19 Test including a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers here.

  • Ohio officials not tracking rate of vaccine refusals

    Ohio officials not tracking rate of vaccine refusals

    Gov. Mike DeWine is pictured during his statewide address on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Photo courtesy Ohio Channel.

    By Marty Schladen and Ohio Capital Journal

    Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine got a lot of attention Wednesday when he said that 60% of nursing home workers who were offered a coronavirus vaccine refused to take it. 

    DeWine: 60% of Ohio nursing home workers are refusing vaccine

    But state health officials on Thursday said there’s no organized effort to track refusals among people they consider so critical that they’ve been given first crack at the scarce vaccines.

    In a press conference, DeWine implored people who are eligible for the vaccine to accept it, warning that it could be a long time before they get another chance. That argument might seem pretty compelling, given that a fast-spreading variant of the virus has popped up in two states, ICU beds are filling and the two approved vaccines have trickled out at a rate far lower than the Trump administration promised.

    But DeWine lamented that many nursing home workers are passing on the vaccines anyway.

    “Our bigger concern is the amount of staff who are not taking it,” he said. “I don’t have data in front of me, but anecdotally, it looks like somewhere around 40% of staff at nursing homes are taking the vaccines and 60% are not taking it.”

    The statement went viral. A tweet about it generated more than 5 million impressions as of Thursday evening.

    Despite the obvious interest in how many people are refusing to be vaccinated, that’s not something the state is measuring.

    DeWine made his statement about nursing home workers “from some reports we have been hearing from our pharmacy partners,” Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Melanie Amato said in an email Thursday. “It ranges in facilities, but this is a rough average. Remember the nursing home are largely being vaccinated by Walgreens/CVS as part of the federal program. We rely on them for the information. Same with hospitals. We track vaccines that have been given. We don’t track who would have refused.”

    Neither CVS nor Walgreens could immediately be reached for comment. While they are handling vaccinations in congregate settings such as nursing homes, they aren’t in charge of vaccinating hospital staff, paramedics and the like. Ohio health officials apparently aren’t tracking the rate at which those groups are refusing the vaccine, either.

    Dan Tierney, DeWine’s press secretary, said that despite the low level of nursing home workers agreeing to be vaccinated, the governor isn’t considering a mandate — at least for now.

    “On mandating the vaccine for these groups, we are still in the rollout of this phase, and our message to Ohioans is that if you are in group 1A, we urge you to take the vaccine now, because it may be months before there is another opportunity available to you,” he said. “We believe that increasing awareness will help increase the utilization rate. Ultimately, it is up to each health care provider to determine which workers they employ meets the criteria in group 1A to receive the vaccine in this phase.”

  • Loveland School District Financial Update

    Loveland School District Financial Update

    Terrah Floyd is the Interim Treasurer & CFO of the Loveland City School District

    By Terrah Floyd,

    Loveland’s recent update to the district’s financial projections show that the district remains committed to keeping the promises made from the last levy – to make the last levy last through 2018 through conservative fiscal management while maintaining excellent educational opportunities for the students we serve. The district’s forecast, called the five-year financial forecast, was approved by the Board at the April 17 Business Meeting. The five-year financial forecast is a tool that aligns our income and expenses to our district’s current and future goals with respect to academics, operations and facilities. There are some updates to note.

    The district is investing in additional school building safety and security updates. These are needed in order to keep pace with the current safety and security needs and to reflect the changing times.

    First, the forecast shows that the district is investing in additional school building safety and security updates. These are needed in order to keep pace with the current safety and security needs and to reflect the changing times. They include placing fire-code approved locks on interior doors of our buildings, and plan for increased school resource officer presence.

    Plans include placing fire-code approved locks on interior doors of our buildings, and plan for increased school resource officer presence.

    The district is engaging in a Master Planning process with the community. This is an investment, and it is critical to the long-term planning and operations of the district. Aging buildings bring significant costs, and in order to help minimize these for the future we are working now to make sure that we are deliberate about our next steps.

    In fact, we will be able to stretch it a bit longer, and anticipate that an operating levy will be needed in 2019.

    Loveland continues to stretch every dollar and to wisely plan for the future. Our Board of Education kept the promise of making the last levy last through 2018. In fact, we will be able to stretch it a bit longer, and anticipate that an operating levy will be needed in 2019. Operating levies fund the day-to-day operations of our schools like staff, programs, textbooks and supplies.

    To provide you with relevant history, the Loveland City School District passed a 5.6 mill operating levy in May of 2014; passage of the levy provided the district the opportunity to invest in and enrich the excellent education we provide by enhancing the classroom experience for the 4,800 students we serve. None of these investments could have happened without your support, and – as always – we offer a sincere thank you to those who believed in our mission and continue to support our district.