Central Bucks To Continue Five-Day In-Person Learning

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Confident in the district's health and safety measures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in its schools, Superintendent John Kopicki signed a letter Tuesday attesting to the district's health and safety plan.

The letter is a new requirement for Pennsylvania school districts issued by the state on Monday. By Nov. 30, superintendents must sign the letter or offer only virtual instruction.

Gov. Tom Wolf recommends that schools in counties with substantial disease transmission transition to remote-only learning, and while schools in Montgomery County agreed to go entirely virtual, Central Bucks School District is continuing to offer three options of full-time, hybrid or entirely virtual instruction despite increasing coronavirus cases. For grades K-6, those options are now limited to full-time or remote.

All but eight of Pennsylvania's 67 counties are showing substantial transmission of the virus, according to the state health department.

Reported COVID-19 cases spiked in Bucks County last week, averaging a record 296 new cases per day. Among the new cases were 110 school-aged children, about half of whom were enrolled in hybrid learning, according to Bucks County Health Director David Damsker.

There have been 29 reported cases at Central Bucks School District since Nov. 18, according to the district, which is tracking its rising case count online.