Greater Latrobe aims for in-person classes to resume this fall

Greater Latrobe School District is planning for students in grades K-12 to return full-time to classrooms when the fall semester begins.

In case unpredictable pandemic conditions thwart that goal, district officials developed a hybrid plan that would see students alternating between classroom attendance and online instruction at home.

Students completed the 2019-20 academic year with virtual online learning following a statewide closure of schools in mid-March meant to limit the spread of the covid-19 virus.

As long as Westmoreland County remains in the relaxed “green” phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan for emerging from covid-19 restrictions, Greater Latrobe intends to have all students return to school buildings five days per week. Social distancing, including making use of large instructional spaces, and other health protocols would be in force, according to Superintendent Georgia Teppert.

Citing a recent survey of district families, she said, “The vast majority of parents want their children back to school in a brick-and-mortar setting.” Parents also “voiced concerns regarding the social and emotional well being of their students if they’re not able to return to school in a brick-and-mortar setting, as well as the academic impact of not participating in face-to-face instruction.”

One of the new precautions that would be in place is separate “well” and “sick” health rooms, so that students who are merely reporting to receive ongoing medication could remain distanced from children who are feeling ill.

Teachers would be required to wear face shields, masks or both, Teppert said.

Local physician Dr. Christina Armanious, whose son is preparing to start first grade in the district, voiced support for a return to physical classrooms at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

“It is really essential for our students to be in the classroom, more for social and emotional needs,” Armanious said, while noting the financial burden working families might face if they have to turn to day care if students continue to learn from home at least part of the time.

“It’s going to be way more costly for parents at this time who have lost their job and are having a hard time,” she said.

The school board on Tuesday approved three plans for resuming use of school facilities under pandemic conditions — a Phased School Opening Health and Safety Plan, a Continuity of Education Plan and an Interscholastic Athletic Programs Return to Play Plan, which governs student preparations and practices over the summer for fall sports and marching band.

The plans will be submitted to state officials for review and will be posted on the district website.

“These plans are fluid,” Teppert said. “They can be modified as we continue to receive (pandemic-related) updates.”

Under the athletic plan, members of a team would remain in smaller assigned groups, or “pods,” athletic director Mark Mears explained. Then, “if one person is identified with covid-19, that group has to self-isolate, not the whole (sports) program.”

Student athletes would not be able to use district locker rooms while participating in summer practice sessions.

If the county were to slip back into the more restrictive “yellow” phase of Wolf’s plan, the district intends to employ a hybrid instructional program to limit the number of students in its buildings on a given day.

Teppert explained half of the K-12 students would report to school on Mondays and Tuesdays while the other half would receive online instruction at home. The groups would switch instructional spaces on Thursdays and Fridays, and all students would learn at home on Wednesdays, when the buildings would be subjected to more intense disinfectant procedures.

Families notcomfortable sending children back to school while the pandemic persists can continue to have them receive at-home virtual instruction from their teachers, Teppert said.

Secondary schedules synchronized

Moving forward with an idea that has been under discussion for decades, the school board approved a revised daily schedule that will have students in the junior high and senior high buildings attending classes simultaneously and elementary students getting home earlier. All Greater Latrobe secondary students now will start the school day at 7:40 a.m. and end it at 2:50 p.m. while classes for elementary students will begin at 8:45 a.m. and will conclude earlier than in the past, at 3:30 p.m.

The revised schedule offers advantages for teachers and students, according to Teppert. It will make it easier for instructors at the junior high and those at the senior high to attend the same professional development activities together during the school day.

Elementary students will get home earlier, making it more convenient for them to take part in after-school activities.

“Students will have more time to get to the activities and won’t have to get out early (from classes),” Teppert said. “We will actually be increasing instructional time.”