New Kensington-Arnold to continue in-person instruction 5 days a week

New Kensington-Arnold School District will continue with five-day-a-week, face-to-face instruction, Acting Superintendent Jon Banko said Monday.

There was a possibility the district would change to a hybrid schedule beginning Oct. 5 if too many students now learning from home full-time chose to return to schools beginning on that date.

This was the first chance that parents who chose to have their children attend school online, or who did not respond to a district survey stating their preference before the school year started, could change to in-person instruction.

About 53% of the district’s students were in schools at the start of the school year. It’s increasing to 64% districtwide, Banko said.

The percentage of students who will be in schools by building as of Oct. 5 is 70% at Martin Elementary; about 72% at H.D. Berkey Elementary; about 69% at Roy A. Hunt Elementary; and about 56% at Valley Junior-Senior High School, according to Banko.

Banko had previously said a hybrid schedule would have been necessary if too many students chose to return to school, because the district would not have been able to accommodate the increased number of students while maintaining social distancing recommended because of the covid-19 pandemic.

A hybrid schedule would have seen students attending classes in school only two days a week. They would have been split into two groups, with one attending schools in-person on Mondays and Tuesdays, the other on Thursdays and Fridays, and all students working remotely on Wednesdays.

Still, Banko said the district may have to use an in-school hybrid program if there are too many students in a classroom to maintain distancing. In that case, he said a rotation would be developed where students could come to school every day, but two or three would move to a designated room supervised by a different teacher where they would work online as if they were home.

“The benefit is that the student will still come to school every day unless a parent wanted to keep them home on the designated in-school hybrid day,” Banko said. “Students would have access to devices and support to work online and still do some activities at school.”

Students remaining in or changing to the online program will have to stay in it for another five weeks, Banko said. Another opportunity to return to face-to-face instruction will be provided at the end of the first nine-week grading period.

Students currently in schools can change to online instruction at any time, officials have said.