At the June 29 Lakota Board of Education work session, Superintendent Matthew Miller presented four different plans for the 2020-2021 school year, including a virtual option that will be available to families who do not wish for their children to attend school in person. “We want our students back in school,” said Miller.

After surveying Lakota families at the end of the school year, as well as through a community-wide ThoughtExchange, it is evident that some families may be uneasy about sending their children to school in the fall due to concerns about the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). To help meet the needs of families, the district will offer a 100-percent online K-12 education through the Lakota Virtual Learning Option this fall.

As Lakota prepares for a potentially different start to the 2020-2021 school year, Superintendent Matthew Miller shared an update with parents and staff on June 23. While we await guidance from Governor DeWine, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Department of Health and the Butler County Health Department, we want to share the principles guiding our plans and other resources to stay informed as the summer continues.

“As we continue to build out options and plans for what school can look like in the fall of 2020, what considerations should we keep in mind?” Lakota Local Schools recently posed this open-ended question to its parents, students, staff and community members to gather input on reopening the district’s 23 buildings for the 2020-21 school year.

Even before the past school year ended, Lakota began planning for what the 2020-2021 school year might look like based on COVID-19 considerations. How schools reopen in the fall will depend largely on requirements and guidance from Gov. DeWine, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Department of Education and the Butler County Health Department. Lakota is also using feedback gathered from parents, staff and students, to build out plans for the upcoming school year.

The Lakota District is soliciting community input on the 2021-2022 district calendar. Lakota staff, students, parents and community members are invited to review the current draft before any final recommendation is presented to the school board.

As we begin our transition to in-person Board of Education meetings again, notice is hereby given that the Lakota Board of Education, Butler County, will meet in person at its normal meeting location, Plains Jr. School, 5500 Princeton Rd, Liberty Township, Ohio on June 8, 2020, with the public continuing to participate virtually. To continue to preserve social-distancing standards to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we will continue the public the ability to view and participate in the meeting via the live video conferencing.

To Our WE are Lakota Community: Our students, staff, families and community, as a whole, are rightfully and justly upset by the horrific death of Mr. George Floyd - and the national outcry that’s ensued since his murder. To take a united stand against future injustices, that same reaction and level of emotion needs to be felt and experienced by each and every one of us.

Lakota’s graduation weekend was marked by seven non-traditional, yet memorable celebrations of both East’s and West’s Class of 2020. Over the course of two days and seven separate ceremonies, nearly 1,100 graduates celebrated the important milestone among their family and friends from the comfort of their vehicles (or parking spaces).