Hempfield hosting special meeting, town hall session before vote on reopening plans

The Hempfield Area School Board is hosting a number of meetings to discuss reopening plans prior to an August vote.

A vote on the plans, originally scheduled for this month, was delayed when new guidance was released by the state Department of Education. Officials are taking time to tweak plans that were preliminarily released last month.

The first virtual meeting is scheduled for Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. O fficials will present reopening plans to the public. The plans call for a phased reopening that would welcome students back to physical locations starting Aug. 27, with staggered schedules dictated by grade level.

Under the initial plans, kindergarten students will attend school on a half-day model. Students in first through fifth grade would be put in smaller classes to promote social distancing. Students in sixth through 12th grades will attend school every other day. On days students are not in school, instruction will be provided virtually.

Parents with questions regarding the plans can add them to a Google Form that will be available Aug. 4. Those questions will be addressed during an Aug. 7 virtual town hall meeting.

A final vote on the plans will take place during the Aug. 10 school board workshop.