Hempfield Area planning for possible return of high school students

Leaders in the Hempfield Area School District are looking at ways to bring high school students back to in-person classes five days a week.

At this time, officials are considering bringing students back during the fourth nine weeks, which begins March 26, Matthew Conner, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said during Monday’s school board meeting.

Conner noted that to prepare for a full return, school leaders need to look into overflow spaces, where students can safely eat breakfast and lunch, parking and staffing. Surveys will be sent to parents to determine how many students plan to return to the classroom, who will stay in the hybrid model and who will stay virtual.

“There’s a lot more logistics with the high school, bigger kids, bigger problems, but we’re excited about that,” Conner said.

Talks over how high schoolers could return to the classroom began last week as middle school students returned to in-person classes five days a week. Students officially returned Feb. 22, but plans for that return were continually pushed throughout the year as covid-19 cases spiked and new mitigation orders were introduced.

Now that middle schoolers are back in the classroom, they are following an A/B schedule, meaning the 80-minute instructional blocks are split for students to rotate between face-to-face time with their teachers and spending time in an overflow space, like the gymnasium or auditorium, where they attend classes virtually.

Conner noted there were a few bumps last week as students returned.

“Talking to all the middle school principals, it was to a T how exciting it was to see our students just smile again and be around their peers, some of them they haven’t seen since this past summer,” Conner said. “So that joy of coming back to school is present even with the social distancing.”

Conner added that there are several variables in bringing students back full time, but he said he is confident officials will be able to pull together plans quickly for high school students.