Fox Chapel Area School Board on Feb. 8 pushed back a full-time return to in-person class for older district students until at least March.

Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac said the administrative team is weighing options for a potential return for students at Dorseyville Middle School and the high school, pending fluctuating covid-19 numbers.

“Though numbers are declining, there is an uncertainty of what next month will bring,” Reljac said.

District elementary students returned to class full time in November.

As of Feb. 8, there were two confirmed cases of covid-19 in the district in the previous 14 days, including one at O’Hara and one at Fairview.

Case counts are based on students and staff who are physically inside the buildings.

In January, there were 40 total cases throughout the district, including people both in and out of the buildings.

Reljac said her team is looking to make sure appropriate spacing can be achieved in the classrooms.

“We are looking room to room to see what it looks like,” Reljac said. “We want to be sure we know exactly what our classrooms look like and work collaboratively with the teaching staff to prepare.”

There is no definitive timeline for a full-time return but the board is expected to discuss it during its regular meeting March 8.

Fox Chapel Educators Association President Jeremy Bennett said faculty is in constant talks about how to increase the number of in-person days for students in sixth to 12th grade.

“The best learning takes place in the classroom and not across a computer screen,” he said.

Bennett believes that increased in-person education will not only help better meet students’ academic needs but their social and emotional needs as well.

“The elementary staff and students are a great example of how five-day, in-person learning works through their daily efforts,” Bennett said.

The move will have to emphasize the health and safety of teachers and staff, who Bennett said he hopes are vaccinated soon.

Bonnier Berzonski, district coordinator of communications, said the district is working with regional health partners for a vaccination timeline.

School Board member and former teacher Ron Frank said he hopes to move to in-person learning as soon as safely possible but that social distancing is a major concern.

“When I walk into the high school right now, on hybrid days there are far less students which means the parents don’t have faith either, right now,” he said. “So we need to have confidence that what we’re doing is making us able to move into a safe situation, hopefully next month.”

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