Shaler Area students will continue virtual learning a bit longer than expected.

Superintendent Sean Aiken alerted families on Friday that the district will extend its remote learning model at least through the beginning of January.

Officials had planned to resume in-person instruction the week of Dec. 14 but because of the rising number of positive covid-19 cases in the community and across Allegheny County, students will continue to learn from home through the month of December and winter break.

Tentatively, the district will return to hybrid instruction on Jan. 4 for Cohort A and Jan. 7 for Cohort B.

Those dates are subject to change based on recommendations from health officials, Aiken said.

Allegheny County set a record for new coronavirus cases on Dec. 3, according to health department officials.

There were 1,028 new coronavirus cases and 20 new deaths, bringing the county’s total to more than 30,000.

Spokesperson Bethany Baker said the district does not have a public covid-19 dashboard on its website, nor did she release the number of active cases across district schools.

Shaler Area announced in November that it planned to switch to all-virtual learning for three weeks, beginning Nov. 23, because of the spike in covid-19.

During that time, Allegheny County remained in a substantial transmission stage and as recommended by state Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Education (PDE), several school districts opted to go full-remote for an extended period.

“We will continue to evaluate our instruction model in accordance with the DOH and PDE guidance to determine when it is safest to resume in-person instruction,” Aiken said.

The district will communicate any changes with families.

School leaders are reminding people that there are resources available during the school shut-down.

Grab-n-go breakfasts and lunches will continue in three locations, including from 11 a.m. to noon at the high school, and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Millvale and Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Etna.

Families must complete a Google form to participate.

Meals are provided on weekdays.

School counselors also have a variety of resources available for families on the district counseling website and are available to address any student-specific concerns.

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