North Hills offering 4 day in-person option starting next month

Beginning March 1, students in the North Hills School District will have the option of attending classes in-person four days a week or take all their classes online.

To prepare for the return to in-person instruction, all families are required to fill out an online form by Monday, Feb. 22 for each child enrolled in the district.

The in-person classes will be held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will continue to be an all-virtual instruction day.

Students who pick the in-person option will still be allowed to attend virtual classes on any day and all students can change the form of instruction they follow by contacting their school.

District officials said the March 1 in-person option is being developed because “Allegheny County is expected to shift from substantial community transmission to moderate in the coming weeks.”

Students won’t be allowed to attend in-person for the entire week until the community transmission rate drops to low.

Social distancing and other measures to slow the spread of coronavirus will continue to be followed while students are in school.

The district also has purchased smaller tables to allow students to be at least 6-feet apart while eating meals.

In addition to regularly sanitizing district buildings, ionization devices are being installed in the heating, ventilation and cooling systems that release ions into the air stream to break down pollutants such as viruses and bacteria.

Students who take the bus to and from school will be assigned a seat so families can be contacted if someone on the bus is infected with the virus. Transportation delays are expected in the first few weeks of March because of the increase in ridership, district officials said.

The district will continue to provide curbside meal pickup for students attending online classes.

More details about the new attendance option being offered can be viewed on the district website.