Cami King, 14, eighth grader at Lordstown High School, helps set ip a display showing the phases of the eclipse form 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. April 8. Staff photo / Bob Coupland

While many local schools are either giving students the day off or releasing them early April 8 to view the total solar eclipse with their families, some have plans for students and staff.

Most school districts already have made decisions about adjustments for the school day.

Portions of the Mahoning Valley will be in the “totality zone,” which means total darkness. Much of Trumbull County will be the path of totality at approximately 3:15 p.m., which means the sun will be covered completely by the moon for a few minutes.

Areas farther south and east, including parts of Mahoning County and Columbiana County, will see just a portion of the eclipse.

MAHONING COUNTY

Mahoning Country is not in the path of totality but precautions are still being taken.

Robin Lees, Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency director, said literature from the Ohio Department of Public Health has been provided to schools and the public.

“The eclipse is more on the fringe in Mahoning County. There is a section of Milton Township’s northwest corner which is the only area in the county in the line of totality. There will be a partial eclipse, but not like Trumbull County,” he said.

Lees said he expects people will stay at hotels in Mahoning County, which will increase traffic, but they will leave the county for better viewing either in Trumbull County or farther north.

Jessica Cene, marketing coordinator for Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, said the career center is holding a virtual learning day.

Students in all Poland schools will view the upcoming solar eclipse safely, thanks to the Poland Lions Club. The club provided 2,000 solar eclipse viewing glasses and made sure every student received a pair.

“Looking at the sun at any time can cause retinal damage,” said Poland Lions member Judy Young. “Since our main purpose is to prevent preventable blindness, our club entertained the thought of providing glasses to the schools.”

Superintendent Craig Hockenberrty said more than 75% of the students in the district will either be walking home, on a bus, or driving home in a car as the eclipse is scheduled very near dismissal time. The district canceled school that day.

“Plus we felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime event and wanted to respect parents who had plans to travel to view the event,” Hockenberry said

He said teachers have been preparing lessons and talking about the solar eclipse and will ramp up lessons as the event draws closer.

South Range Local Schools, which will be closed on the day of the event, have had teachers presenting lessons about the eclipse.

A district spokeswoman said teachers were given special glasses to distribute to the students.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

John Hickey, Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency director, said he has met with many superintendents around the county, discussing concerns about increased traffic and several other potential issues. He said the agency has advised schools to adjust their schedules for the solar eclipse.

“It is more of the unknown of what might happen,” he said. “For the children’s safety of not knowing what to expect with traffic or concerns with what could happen with communications and cellphones, it was recommended the schools have the students be at home before the eclipse.

“It’s just a precautionary measure. I met with the Trumbull County superintendents and talked to them just to let them know what is going to happen and for them to kind of be prepared.”

Rich Peffer, administrator at Victory Christian School in Liberty, will dismiss students at the regular time. Parents have been invited to come to the school after dismissal for a solar eclipse event. Victory Christian School is located inside Pleasant Valley Church,

He said after students are dismissed, parents who RSVP’d will come to the school to be with their children.

“There was talk with the teachers and staff of what we can do for the families that day,” Peffer said. “The staff wanted to do something for the students. We wanted to hold something here at the school for students and their parents. We will provide the glasses for them.”

He said teachers have been discussing the eclipse and the moon in classes in recent weeks.

Plans are to meet in the parking lot after school. In case of bad weather, Peffer said there is a backup plan of a large screen and projector set up inside the school for viewing the eclipse.

Maplewood Superintendent Perry Nicholas said Maplewood schools will close that day.

The district originally was planning to have an early release, but he said information from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is predicting many people will be at Mosquito Lake.

State Route 88 is part of the causeway between West Mecca and East Mecca and is expected to have extra traffic.

“We have been told to expect a lot of extra traffic around Mosquito Lake that day,” Nicholas said, adding he did not want to see buses get caught up in any traffic.

Trumbull Career and Technical Center Superintendent Jason Gray said TCTC will be closed to students, but there will be a professional development day for staff.

He said since many of the other county schools are either closed or have early dismissal, it was decided to also close the center.

“I saw a trend of first many early dismissals, which then changed to closings. I believe a lot was for the safety of the students,” he said.

Gray said the Skills USA students from the career center are leaving for competition in Columbus on April 7 to avoid any expected additional local traffic April 8.

“We did not want the students on the road on April 8,” he said. “They are being driven to Columbus. We are just playing it safe.”

While there will be no school for students in Lordstown, there will be a special assembly April 5 for elementary and high school students.

Lordstown High School science teachers Rochelle Rupe and Holly DeBernardo said they will discuss the science of eclipses at two assemblies.

Displays have been set up around the school. Some show what the moon over the sun will look like during the eclipse.

Superintendent Greg Bonamase said originally he was planning an early release but decided to close schools to make sure students get home safely before the eclipse.

Girard schools are planning to give each student glasses and also a STEM kit with educational activities, which are grade-level appropriate.

Champion Superintendent John Grabowski said the district will have early dismissal. The students will be released after noon for high school and after 1 p.m. for elementary so they are home before the eclipse begins.

“We wanted to get the children home,” he said. “It would be hard to supervise on a bus when the solar eclipse would happen when the elementary children are leaving.”

Warren City Schools will have a two-hour early dismissal. All students and staff will be given their own pair of eclipse glasses to take home.

At school that day, students will participate in a variety of activities suitable for their grade bands / pods. Kindergarteners to second graders will make models of an eclipse to understand the pattern of the moon, earth and sun. Students in grades three to eight will use ultraviolet beads to discover why we wear eclipse glasses during an eclipse.

Suzette Jackson, assistant curriculum director, said grades six through 12 will gather data during the eclipse, including temperature, humidity, illuminance (the amount of light spreading over a given surface) and wind speed. At a later time, high school students will take the qualitative data such as the darkness and the lower temperature they experience during the eclipse and connect it to the quantitative data the weather sensor will gather.

Students in all grades will make pinhole projectors they can take home and use during the eclipse to indirectly see the moon covering the sun.

Have an interesting story? Email Bob Coupland at bcoupland@tribtoday.com.