Cloverleaf Local Schools

Good afternoon, Cloverleaf families!

As you likely know, Gov. Mike DeWine has lifted most COVID mandates, including masking, beginning June 2. As much as many of us look forward to school without masks, we have local policy regarding the wearing of masks for students and staff through the end of this school year, which is June 3 for our students. As a result, we will continue masking through the last day of school.

This has been a most-challenging and difficult year for our students, staff and parents. Like most decisions we have had to make regarding COVID, I’m sure this news is unwelcome to some.  With our stadium project, new high school set to break ground early this fall, and the end of COVID restrictions, we have a lot to look forward to this upcoming school year.

I wish you and your family a delightful (and hopefully normal) summer. I also hope you will join me in wishing a special congratulations to the Cloverleaf High School Class of 2021!

Sincerely,

Daryl Kubilus Jr.
Superintendent

This week, the State of Ohio announced that children ages 12-15 are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

We’re pleased to announce Cloverleaf is partnering with the Medina County Health Department to host a COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 22, at Cloverleaf High School.

This clinic is open to:

All Cloverleaf community students ages 12 and older
All Cloverleaf community parents
All other adult residents of the Cloverleaf community

Registration is available now on the ArmorVax smartphone app using Invitation Code FPUKW9. Or, register on the ArmorVax website at the link below:

https://armorvax-app.azurewebsites.net/Home/Invitation?code=FPU-KW9
 
Students ages 12 to 17 need to bring a birth certificate or driver’s license and must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to receive the vaccine.

More information on COVID-19 vaccine resources, including how to use the ArmorVax app, is available from the Medina County Health Department at www.MedinaHealth.org.

Thank you!

May 6, 2021

Dear Cloverleaf Parents and Staff,

If you or a member of your immediate household are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms and are unable to get a COVID-19 test from your primary care provider, you may be eligible to receive a free Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Home Test Kit from a Cloverleaf school nurse.

Who can receive a test kit?

-- A Cloverleaf student
-- A parent/guardian of a Cloverleaf student
-- A Cloverleaf staff member
-- An immediate household member of those listed above

Kits may also be used to test individuals for release from quarantine after seven days, per Centers for Disease Control guidelines:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/scientific-brief-options-to-reduce-quarantine.html

Pre-registration is required through the NAVICA mobile app. Click the link below to learn how it works:

https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott/en/product-details/navica.html

After pre-registering, contact the school nurse at 330-302-0203 to schedule a time to receive your test kit. Tests may be picked up by appointment only at the high school, middle school or elementary school from 8 a.m. to noon on school days. Please do not send someone with symptoms or an exposure to COVID-19 to pick up a test.  

Multiple tests may be requested. However, supplies are limited. Test results will be returned to you through the NAVICA app and should be emailed or faxed to the Cloverleaf school nurse:

Email: [email protected]
Fax: 330-302-0520

Cloverleaf is grateful to partner with the State of Ohio to offer this service to our families and staff.

Sincerely,
Devon Lavinder, R.N. Cloverleaf Elementary School
Angela Safko, R.N. Cloverleaf Middle and High School

Good evening, Cloverleaf High School Families! This is Daryl Kubilus, superintendent of Cloverleaf Local Schools, calling with an important announcement about the high school schedule.

Beginning April 5, the first day of the fourth quarter, Cloverleaf High School will be changing back to a five-day per week schedule for those who are in our in-person learning program. The five-day per week schedule includes our usual one-hour delayed start on Thursdays for teacher PLC’s. Of course, our COLA students will continue in that program for the remainder of the school year. 

In order to accommodate the five-day schedule, we will be utilizing a minimum of three-foot social distance during class and will continue six-foot social distance during lunch. Our high school principal, Jamie Lormeau, will be communicating specifics of the schedule and procedures for this change. Masking and hand sanitizing will remain a priority as we work toward the finish line of this school year.

This is not a transition back to complete normal, but it is a transition back to an everyday schedule. An audit of our classroom spaces has confirmed that 40 percent of our classrooms will still be able to maintain six-foot social distance. If you as a parent would like to know more about the specific social distances of your child’s classrooms, you can contact our high school counseling department at 330-302-0330.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we have worked to safely return our high school students back to a five-day per week in-person schedule that maintains all our curricular offerings. I look forward to seeing all our in-person high school students back in Cloverleaf High School every day beginning April 5.

Feb. 4, 2021

Hello, this is Carrie Beegle, food service director for Cloverleaf Local Schools. I’m calling you today to inform you that this week’s meal distribution for our Colts Online Learning Academy students has been moved to Friday, Feb. 5, due to the fact there is no school this Thursday. Distribution will still be at the elementary building. However, in an effort to limit staff exposure to the cold temperatures, we will be shortening our distribution time to 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from now on.

So, just to repeat: For this week only, the food distribution for our online students will be Friday, Feb. 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

If you signed up for meals, please do not forget to pick up your bags each week. Next week, we’ll be back to our normal Thursday pick up date, again from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 330-302-0312 or email me at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support of our food service.

Good afternoon. This is Daryl Kubilus, superintendent of Cloverleaf Local Schools.

I’m calling with some great news for our school district. Although we were able to get a limited number of our teachers vaccinated in January, you may have heard that Gov. DeWine is making COVID-19 vaccinations available to all school employees beginning in February. I just learned today that all Cloverleaf staff are going to have that opportunity on Thursday, Feb. 4, along with all other Medina County school districts.

I say this is great news for Cloverleaf because it adds another critical layer of safety that helps put us in the best possible position to continue in-person instruction for our students.

As you can imagine, it’s a massive logistical undertaking to schedule over 3,000 school employee vaccinations in the county in a single day! Therefore, all Medina County school districts, including Cloverleaf, will be closing schools on Thursday, Feb. 4. That includes our Colts Online Learning Academy students. There likely will be another similar countywide school closing in about three weeks so school employees can receive their required second dose of vaccine. So, to repeat, there will be no school on Thursday, Feb. 4. As soon as the second date is confirmed, I will let you know.

It’s hard to put into words the excitement I feel seeing our kids and staff back in school these last couple weeks. We are doing everything in our power to keep a great thing going. Thank you for your support and patience as we continue to navigate this challenging time together.

Stay safe. Goodbye.

Jan. 13, 2021

I am calling tonight with an important announcement. Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, our schools will open once again to in-person instruction while maintaining our universal masking, hand sanitizing, and six-foot social distancing protocols.

First, a message for our elementary parents: Our first trimester in-person elementary school students are obviously back to in-person school on Jan. 19. Those elementary parents whose children were enrolled in the Colts Online Learning Academy in the first trimester, but then signed their students up for in-person instruction for the second trimester, will also send their students back to school on the 19th. Elementary parents with students currently in our Colts Online Learning Academy will have one more opportunity to return their children to in-person instruction on March 8 for the third trimester or can choose to have their children finish the year in the Colts Online Learning Academy.

Now, to our middle and high school parents: All students who were part of our in-person program for the first semester will return on Tuesday, Jan. 19. However, those who opted for their Colts Online Academy students to go back to in-person instruction at the middle school or high school for the second semester, will send their students back to school on Jan. 25 for the first day of the second semester.  

Our buildings will continue to operate under the same schedule that was in place last November for our in-person instruction before we went remote. Any parent who is uncomfortable sending their children back to in-person school can opt for our Colts Online Learning Academy at any time by reaching out to your building principal.

I look forward to welcoming our kids back here on our Cloverleaf campus this next Tuesday!

Take care and goodbye.

This message is going out to parents who have registered their children for our on-campus remote instruction program. I’m calling to welcome back our students enrolled in this program and look forward to seeing them here on our Cloverleaf campus tomorrow morning, Wednesday, Jan. 6. I’m also calling to give a few reminders about the program.  

If you signed up for bus transportation, you should have received an email from our transportation department for pick-up times. Please bear with us as we work through the logistics of the complete re-routing of our entire system. There will likely be time glitches over the next few days until we get an established routine.    

If we ever encounter hazardous weather or road conditions that would cause us to cancel our on-campus program for a day, we will expect our students to participate in their remote instruction from home for that day. Therefore, we ask that our students take their Chromebooks home every evening, just in case of such a circumstance.

Finally, to ensure the safety of our students, please call your child’s school if they are unable to participate due to illness or some other reason on a particular school day. We want to ensure everyone is accounted for every day.

Again, I look forward to seeing your children back here on our campus tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day! Goodbye.

Dear Cloverleaf Families,

As I have communicated to you, our current return-to-school plan, as agreed upon by the Cloverleaf Board of Education and teachers in August, doesn’t have us returning to regular in-person school until the county transitions to “orange” Level 2. I believe there is a recognition by the Board of Education and teachers that our knowledge of the virus, combined with our knowledge of how to run school during the virus, is different today than it was in August. While I am working with the Board of Education and our teachers on a date to return to regular school that would not require us to wait until the county returned to “orange,” I don’t have that date as of today.

We have received many positive comments from parents about the quality of the remote learning experience delivered by our teachers in these most recent weeks. I am proud of the work our teachers have done to create a far more valuable experience than what we were able to deliver last school year with little notice. Despite this, I have also heard from several parents who have expressed concern about their own work schedules, the difficulty of keeping their children in a structured distraction-free environment, and the social isolation that naturally occurs when kids are not in school. Our own survey results from last summer indicated some of the hardships parents feared are now a reality.

As a superintendent, I am concerned about some of our high school seniors who are in danger of failing due to the lack of structure they may have away from our Cloverleaf campus environment. I am concerned about some of the conflict I’m hearing of between some students and parents about staying on-task for their remote learning. I am concerned about reports from parents that their kids are acting differently, not themselves, or even express negative emotions due to their lack of peer interactions. I am also concerned about parents who may not be able to afford child care or are in danger of losing their jobs because they have to choose between work and being available for their kids.  

There are no perfect solutions during this pandemic, but I would like to offer a plan that can at least help with some of these concerns. On Jan. 6, 2021, we are going to give our parents the option to send their children to school to do their remote learning right here on our Cloverleaf campus. This is not regular school. Rather, it is your child doing his or her remote learning in our schools with adult supervision, technical support, free breakfast/lunch, social interaction (recess for our elementary students, weather-permitting), and even transportation if the students need it.

Again, this is not regular school. It is remote learning in school. Kids will need their Chromebooks and their headphones. They will be in non-traditional education spaces such as the gymnasium, cafeteria and library. Kids and staff will still be masked and we will do our best to maintain six-foot social distance. Additionally, this program has been endorsed by the Cloverleaf Board of Education and the Medina County Health Department.

To learn more details about this program or to sign up, click HERE.

Parents can sign-up their K-12 student(s) for this program beginning today, Dec. 18 through Sunday, Dec. 27. Students opting in will participate in remote learning from home Jan. 4-5, and can begin coming to school for their remote learning on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

This program isn’t for everybody. Parents and students who have created a good routine that is working should continue doing remote learning from home. Additionally, parents who have made the decision to do the Cloverleaf Online Learning Academy (COLA) should continue that from home as well. This is not a perfect program and we make no claims it is as good as regular school. This program is developed as a way to help our students and parents who need it during this difficult time in which we are all living.  

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.
Superintendent

Good Afternoon, Cloverleaf Athletic Students and Parents!

With Medina County’s transition to a Level 4 (purple) county on Dec. 3 in the Ohio Public Health Advisory System, we have made the decision to pause athletic competitions for our winter athletes for a two-week period beginning Monday, Dec. 7. This pause from competition means our student-athletes will still be able to participate in practice and skill development, but will be isolated from athletes from other schools and counties for two weeks when we will reassess the situation.

With the high incidence of the virus still prevalent in our county -- combined with the fact all three counties comprising our athletic conference are now at Level 4 -- we feel that limiting exposure to parents, students and officials from other counties is in the best long-term interest of our students, coaches, and Cloverleaf families.

Franklin County has proven Level 4 does not have to be long-term, as it transitioned back to a Level 3 designation (red) county on Dec. 3 after only two weeks. We are hopeful Medina County can do the same.

Thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time we are all facing. We will get through this together!

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.
Superintendent

Good Evening, Cloverleaf Families!

I hope you and your family had an enjoyable and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

With the impending snowstorm, there is a good chance some school districts that are still meeting in-person will have a “snow day” tomorrow or at other times this winter. I’m writing to let you know Cloverleaf will not declare a “snow day” for our remote-learning students, even if other in-person districts cancel school. That includes any schools that may cancel classes tomorrow, Dec. 1. Remote learning can continue regardless of the weather outside.

Be well and keep up the great work!

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.

As you may have heard this afternoon, the COVID numbers for our county continue to rise as we have reached an all-time high incidence level of 598 -- over 2.5 times our level when we transitioned to remote learning. With that increased incidence combined with the concern of further spread over the Thanksgiving holiday, in consultation with the board of education, the decision and accompanying board resolution has been made to continue remote learning until at least Jan. 4. This will get us past the three-week school period between Thanksgiving and Christmas and, hopefully, to a time that sees our incidence level decreasing to a point where we can safely return to in-person learning.

I know, for many of you, this message is tough to hear. Our survey this past summer indicated the difficulties remote learning creates for many of our parents -- especially those with elementary students. After hearing from several parents shortly after we went remote, among the most widely expressed sentiments was, “Can we re-visit our plan?” -- specifically referring to closing with red and high incidence and returning only once we transition to orange. Given what we know about the virus and how we have learned to operate schools in a pandemic, those concerns are valid. Unfortunately, with the spread as significant as it is, we are not in a position to return right now. I want you to know I have and will continue having discussions about using more local community measures that can guide our decision-making in the future. As I continue collaborating with our teachers and board of education about how this may look, I promise to keep you informed.

Thank you for your hard work, patience, and Cloverleaf spirit that has helped us navigate this challenge. Like you, I look forward to a day when we are past this virus. Until that time, we’ll get through this together. I wish you all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Goodbye.

During this temporary COVID-19 closure, Cloverleaf will resume distributing meals to ALL Cloverleaf students at no cost. Distribution will take place each Thursday, beginning Nov. 12. Each student will receive five breakfasts, five lunches and milk. No sign-up is required.

Two time slots are available to pick up food: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Please pull into the north driveway of Cloverleaf Elementary School off Friendsville Road and the food will be loaded into your car. Please see the map below.

Weekenders program meals also will be distributed on Thursdays. If you have signed up for a Weekenders bag, please pick it up at the same time you pick up your weekly Cloverleaf meals.

We look forward to serving you and your family. Thank you for your continued support of Cloverleaf’s food service program. Please contact me at [email protected] or 330-302-0312 with questions.

Thank you.

Dear Cloverleaf Families:

I’m writing to you today with unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected news:

Due to today’s announcement that the State of Ohio’s Health Advisory System has upgraded Medina County to Red status with a high incidence of COVID-19 infection, Cloverleaf students who have been attending school in-person will shift to remote instruction with their same classroom teachers starting Monday, Nov. 9th. There will be no in-person school tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 6th, to give our families an extra day to prepare for this transition.

For students already attending school online, nothing will change. For them, Friday will be a normal school day. Extracurricular activities will continue during remote instruction, with adherence to district and Ohio High School Athletic Association safety guidelines.

Prior to our return to in-person classes in September, parents, students and staff asked the question: At what point would Cloverleaf make the decision to go fully remote? That question deserved a straightforward answer based on data, not on guesswork or personal opinion.

In collaboration with the health department, students, parents, community members and staff, it was decided if the state designated Medina County as Red with a high-incidence of COVID-19 infection, Cloverleaf would go fully remote until the county’s Red status was downgraded to Orange or lower. That takes a minimum of two weeks.

Although the Health Department recently changed position on its original recommendation to go full remote with Red and high incidence, it would not be fair for Cloverleaf to renege on the safety guidelines we developed in good faith with our students, parents, staff and community at the start of school. If we err, it will be on the side of maintaining that trust and in keeping our students and staff safe.

While the shift to remote instruction in March was sudden, Cloverleaf has been diligently preparing for this possibility. Your child’s teachers and principals will be in touch soon with details, including how to receive a Chromebook, if your student needs one. You will also receive information on how families can pick-up school meals for their students. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to every Cloverleaf student at no cost.

This is news I don’t like delivering and it’s news our students and their families don’t like hearing. But, at Cloverleaf, our number-one priority is the health and safety of our students. I’m so proud of the way our students, parents and staff have worked together to keep one another safe at school during this pandemic. However, with the rampant community spread of this disease, the best way for our students to stay healthy right now is to receive instruction at home.

Again, for our current in-person students, there will be no school tomorrow -- which is Friday, Nov. 6th. For our current online students, Friday will be a normal school day. Then, on Monday, Nov. 9th, our in-person students will begin remote instruction at home.

It is my hope this period of remote instruction will be short and we will be able to offer in-person classes again soon. The best way we can all help make that happen is to follow COVID-19 CDC prevention guidelines by wearing a mask, washing our hands, and avoiding large gatherings. If we do that, and we continue to take care of each other, we will get through this together.

Take Care and Stay Safe!

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.

If you have been following the State of Ohio’s COVID-19 public health advisory system, you know that Medina County has been at Orange Level 2 for the past three weeks. I was grateful we maintained our Orange status this past week, but concerned that for the first time since the advisory system began, Medina County met the high-incidence threshold.

As you may recall from a Sept. 8 email I sent to all our Cloverleaf parents, our threshold for transitioning to a 100 percent online learning environment is Red Level 3 AND high incidence. Then the threshold for coming back to in-person instruction would be a reduction in status to Orange Level 2, which, from my understanding, would take a minimum of two weeks. We are expecting the next scheduled update to the state’s advisory system this Thursday.

Please understand I am not trying to alarm our parents. I’m merely communicating so you understand where we are as a county and a school district going forward. I am hopeful we will continue to be able to educate our in-person students right here on our campus. Of course, I will communicate with you should the need to transition arise.

Have a good night. Goodbye.

Sept. 14, 2020

Hello, Parents!

Last week we had a great first week of school considering all the changes we had to make to our in-person learning environment to begin our year. Today, we have our first confirmed COVID-19 case in our schools. The purpose of this email is to communicate what you should expect to hear from us as a school district when a student or staff member becomes a confirmed case.

On Sept. 3, school districts received a Director’s Order from the Ohio Department of Health establishing protocols for our communication with our communities about COVID cases. Essentially, there are two different communications you should be aware that we will administer when we have a confirmed COVID-19 case.

The first notification will be if your child shares “a classroom space or has participated in a school activity during the infectious period of a student, teacher, staff member, or coach.” This would mean someone in your child’s classroom, bus, sport, or school activity is confirmed or diagnosed with COVID-19. My hope is you won’t be panicked by receiving this email notification. It doesn’t mean your child should be quarantined or tested. It’s meant merely to make you aware. We have a system of communication established directly with the Medina County Health Department in which we will be assisting them with their contact tracing protocols. If it is determined through the contact tracing process that your child should be quarantined, you will be contacted directly by the Medina County Health Department.

The second notification will be just a general number of confirmed COVID-19 cases over a 7-day period in each of our school buildings. We will also tally a cumulative number of cases for the year in each building. You will not be sent an email for this but can see the results in the table above.

Due to federal privacy laws, we cannot disclose the names of any students, teachers, staff members, or coaches who are diagnosed, test positive, or under quarantine for COVID-19.

Again, I’m merely sending this email to inform you about our established procedures. We want to be transparent, but we certainly don’t want to alarm you when you receive that first district email about a COVID-19 exposure in your child’s classroom.

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.
Superintendent

Hello, Cloverleaf Parents!

It was great seeing our kids on campus and virtually for the first time today! Although we are sure to have some bumps in the road, I'm so glad our Cloverleaf students are back in school!

Last week we received the news that Medina County had a bad week with regard to new COVID-19 cases. Although our county maintained our Level 2 (orange) designation, our "incidence rate" rose from 58.97 to 82.89 per 100K population in one week. The highest incidence rate for our county prior to last week was 65.09.

I'm telling you this because we utilize our Medina County rating in the Ohio Advisory System as an indicator for our decision-making process on whether or not to temporarily close our schools. Specifically, if our county is Level 3 (red) AND meets the criteria for "high incidence" of COVID-19 cases (as defined by 100+ cases per 100K population over a 2-week period) we will transition to remote instruction for our in-person students until our county transitions out of Level 3. I have also been advised by our Health Department that we will receive a formal recommendation to close our buildings to in-person instruction if our county meets that same threshold of Level 3 AND high incidence of 100+.

I'm hopeful our county will do better this week so that we can continue with our current plans to keep our schools open for in-person instruction. Just know, that if there ever is a need to transition to remote instruction for our in-person learners due to a short-term closing, you will hear that directly from me via phone call.

Thank you for the great support you continue to show for Cloverleaf Schools!

Sincerely,
Daryl Kubilus Jr.