The state announced revised guidance for school districts that, theoretically, could mean some students will return to in-person lessons soon, but local superintendents reacted with some caution.
Previous guidance suggested districts in counties deemed by the state as at “substantial” risk of COVID-19 use remote-only learning. The new guidance suggests districts in substantial counties can consider hybrid learning — some students learning in schools while others learn online — for elementary school students. The state still recommends remote-only learning for middle schools and high schools.
Superintendents of local districts that are currently in remote-only mode said the change will be reviewed carefully, but that won’t be the only factor in weighing when students get back in their classrooms.
Wilkes-Barre Area Superintendent Brian Costello recently announced the district will stay in remote-only mode at least to the end of January. After the new guidance was announced Thursday, Costello said via email that decision still stands.
Noting the new recommendations were made “to encourage schools to consider returning some students to in-person instruction as local conditions permit,” Costello said the change “allows us to resume in-person instruction for elementary and other specific student groups starting February 1st,” depending on status of the pandemic at the time. “We will be providing more information for our district stakeholders over the next two weeks.”
Pittston Area Superintendent Kevin Booth pointed out that the new guidance don’t officially take effect until the second semester — Jan. 25, according to the state announcement — and that for his district the new semester starts February 1. “There will be several discussions between now and then,” he wrote.
Like Wilkes-Barre Area, Booth had previously announced Pittston Area would likely remain in remote-only mode through January.
Wyoming Area School Board had voted to remain in remote-only mode until at least Jan. 19th. Asked if the new guidance would change plans, Superintendent Janet Serino replied via email.
“I will be meeting with our board in an executive session to discuss the January 19th return date. There are current considerations that must be discussed to determine whether that date will remain or change. Even though state guidance is to be considered, every district is different and must assess what is best for all involved.”
Like Wyoming Area, Greater Nanticoke Area had announced the district will remain in remote-only mode until at least Jan. 19. Contacted Thursday, Superintendent Ron Grevera said via email that “the new state guidance increases the odds of bringing students back in hybrid fashion.”
Grevera noted the district had successfully started this school year in a model that had two groups of students taking turns coming to the schools, with Group A in schools Mondays and Tuesdays while Group B learned live on line, and the two groups switching Thursdays and Fridays. That model worked well for seven weeks, he said, until a surge in COVID-19 cases pushed Luzerne County into the “substantial” designation.
“The new guidance makes it easier for our district to reopen in the hybrid model because it allows us to open even if our county is in the substantial range of COVID-19 transmission,” Grevera wrote. ” There are many factors that places the county in a substantial range including nursing homes and prisons which have little to no effect on our local community.”
The state labels counties in three categories of transmission risk based on two factors: The number of new cases per 100,000 residents in the last seven days, and the percent of tests that come back positive. A county is deemed at low risk with fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate below 5%. It is moderate with 10 to 99 cases per 100,000 residents or 5% to less than 10% positivity, and substantial with 100 or more cases or positivity at or above 10%.
The recommendations remain the same for low and moderate counties under the new guidelines: Full in-person or hybrid learning in low counties and hybrid or full-remote learning for moderate counties. The original guidelines recommended remote-only learning in substantial counties; the new guidance suggests hybrid or full-remote for elementary schools but still recommends remote-only for higher grades.
“The research on offering in-person instruction during COVID-19 continues to emerge,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a media release announcing the change. “While it is impossible to eliminate the risk of disease transmission entirely within a school setting where community spread is present, recent studies have shown that when mitigation efforts, such as universal masking, physical distancing, and hand hygiene are followed, it may be safer for younger children, particularly elementary grade students, to return to in-person instruction.”
The guidance is not mandatory, with the final decision left up to the individual school districts.