With covid cases dropping, more Westmoreland school districts opt to reopen classrooms

As new covid cases continue to drop in Westmoreland County and it appears a post-holiday coronavirus spike has been dodged, several area school districts have brought students back to classrooms — with more planning such a return.

Students at Greater Latrobe, Jeannette and Yough have returned to school after using a hybrid model, or a mix of in-class and remote instruction, since the beginning of the year. Other districts — including Hempfield Area, Ligonier Valley, Norwin and Penn-Trafford — are making plans to get students back to their desks more than two days a week.

Those decisions have come as the county’s community transmission level for covid cases has fallen. The period from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4 saw the transmission level improve from substantial to moderate, the first time it had been at that level since October.

A county is considered to be at the substantial level if it has 100 or more cases per 100,000 residents, according to data from the state Department of Health. For the seven-day period ending Feb. 11, the rate was 153.3 statewide and 80 in Westmoreland, down significantly from when the county topped 500 in December.

Since the academic year began last summer, districts have been forced to shut down schools or move all students to virtual education as covid cases increased in a particular building or the county’s community transmission level spiked in late fall.

From the perspective of Penn-Trafford Assistant Superintendent Scott Inglese, students’ grades and mental health have suffered this school year.

“So many of these kids are experiencing mental health issues,” he said. “They really need to interact with their peers.”

Jeannette brought students back to school Feb. 1, after using a hybrid model. After more than a week in class, the district has not received reports of new covid cases, Superintendent Matthew Jones said.

‘Safe place to be’

Penn-Trafford High School seniors had the option to return to school five days a week starting last Wednesday.

Like all districts, students had the option to continue with fully remote learning.

A survey of Penn-Trafford seniors found 52% planned to return to school full time, which would be about 70 additional students a day in the building, Inglese said. About 22% opted to learn remotely.

The district wants to test the waters by bringing seniors back full time before deciding whether to bring back all high schoolers, Inglese said.

“We want to start slow, and we started with the seniors because it is a fairly small group of students,” he said.

Although Penn-Trafford struggled with covid cases districtwide — including about 50 cases at the high school to date — evidence suggests the majority of those cases were contracted outside the school, Inglese said.

“We feel the school is a safe place to be,” he said.

If all goes well, younger students could return full time to the high school in a few weeks, he said.

The bell rings

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says strong evidence suggests students can safely be taught in person, especially those in lower grades. The agency on Friday issued new guidance targeted at K-12 schools.

The American Academy of Pediatrics in June released recommendations for how schools should safely reopen, saying “all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”

In January, the AAP updated its guidance to get students back into classrooms.

Last summer, the CDC and Pennsylvania issued guidance on how schools could return to classrooms — including an order to wear masks, along with other recommendations that included daily screenings and social distancing strategies.

President Biden has said he wants most of the nation’s public schools to reopen within his first 100 days in office, which will be April 30.

Last week, a White House spokeswoman explained Biden’s goal is for “some teaching” in person in more than half of schools “at least one day a week,” USA Today reported.

“Hopefully, it’s more,” press secretary Jen Psaki said. “And obviously, it is as much as is safe in each school and local district.”

Local moves

At the beginning of the month, Yough School District gave students the option to return to school five days a week, after its schools had closed since Thanksgiving, Superintendent Janet Sardon said.

Last week, Greater Latrobe expanded full-time classroom instruction to include secondary students. Elementary grades returned Jan. 25. The district had been following a hybrid model at the junior and senior high schools.

In addition to fewer cases countywide, the decision to move to classroom instruction also was fueled by the fact that a majority of district staff and bus drivers had received the first of two vaccine doses.

Board members Heidi Kozar and Cathy Sarraf, however, objected to the move. They argued the district should wait until staff had received a second vaccine dose, scheduled to be administered Feb. 20 and 27.

Norwin also has been instructing students in a hybrid model. But district officials want to provide seniors the option of returning to the high school four days a week, beginning Feb. 22. Before then, families will be surveyed for their thoughts about the move.

“Based on the survey results, the district will decide the next steps,” Superintendent Jeff Taylor said.

Even if seniors return to classrooms four days a week, remote learning would remain for the fifth day, Taylor said.

Having only seniors in the school allows for social distancing, officials said.

Beginning Monday, students at the district’s four elementary schools are scheduled to return to class four days a week.

Hempfield Area plans to bring middle school students back to class Feb. 22 , if transmission rates for covid remain in the moderate level.

To maintain social distancing, Hempfield will have half of its students participate virtually from large group areas on campus each 80-minute period. By dividing the period, all students can attend daily and have access to their teachers and other school supports, Superintendent Tammy Wolicki said.

Hempfield’s elementary students are in class five days a week with secondary students on a hybrid model.

The district last month postponed plans to have middle school students return to class by Jan. 19 because of a spike in cases.

Safe return

Jeannette has been unable to obtain vaccines for its staff, Jones said.

Some of Yough’s staff have been vaccinated, Sardon said.

Staff members in Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant and others also have received vaccinations.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association has urged Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to provide a sufficient amount of vaccines to school districts, PSEA spokesman Fritz Fekete said.

“We’re hoping that as the vaccine becomes available, the teachers that want it can get it as soon as possible,” he said. “The teachers in the southwest region are in the same boat as everybody else.”