Radnor Township Schools Will Reopen In Hybrid Learning Sept. 29

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Elementary and secondary schools in Radnor Township district will reopen in a hybrid model on Sept. 29.

The Radnor Township School District Board of Directors approved the move from Phase 3 to Phase 2, in separate votes for elementary and secondary schools. The approved plan allows continued virtual instruction for those who chose it. The option for virtual school remains in place for those who choose it.

The vote was unanimous for the hybrid reopening in the district's elementary schools, and a separate vote for secondary schools passed in a 7-2 vote.

Board members Bradley Moore and Andrew Babson each voted against the secondary reopening, and prefaced their dissenting votes with remarks expressing support for the administration, but saying they had concerns about the higher transmission risk for secondary students as opposed to elementary age students.

The plan to move into Phase 3 and allow students back in school was recommended by district administration in order to take advantage of the moment's COVID-19 indicators that show stability in local pandemic metrics.

District Superintendent Dr. Ken Batchelor explained that the Chester County Health Department's guidance regarding COVID-19 metrics, which he calls "guardrails," are trending in right direction.

Positivity and incidence rates trending downward, he said, have provided a moment when moving into hybrid instruction is possible. Delaware County's positivity rate is at 3.3 percent. This is a measure of positive COVID cases as a percentage of tests given, and the number must be holding below 5 percent for students to return. Delco's incidence rate per 100,00o residents was in the range where health department recommendations were for either virtual or hybrid.

Batchelor noted that Delaware County did not experience the post-Labor Day spike in COVID cases that Chester County had seen two weeks after the holiday.

At the meeting's start, letters signed by hundreds of parents asked the board to reopen schools for the sake of the mental, social, and emotional health of children in the district.

A letter signed by more than 30 medical doctors and healthcare professionals with students in the school district cited mental health concerns also. Many spoke of the danger of social isolation, and the "incalculable" cost of leaving children home without adult care.

Before the votes were taken close to 10 p.m. last night, more than 500 people were watching the YouTube livestream. Board members expressed support for the solid and informed decisions made by Batchelor and the administrative team.

Several also noted that in July the board had voted for a hybrid reopening. Batchelor emphasized that it was due to the Chester County Health Department's August recommendation that schools open virtually that the board met and cast votes to follow that guidance.

"When we voted in July we really didn't have any guidance. People were pretty scared. The administration put forth a really good hybrid plan. In August our health department recommend that all schools, public and private, open virtually. We were going to open virtually. It's important to keep that in mind," said board member Lydia Solomon.

The themes were repeated in comments to the school board. Several asked how school lunches will work, when schools open.
"RTSD staff will not have the option of working from home." A reminder to consider teachers and staff, all the extra thing they do, but their economic health is suffering along with the risks.
Students are not all doing badly at home, though many people are sharing photos of kids not doing so well. Some parents said their kids are spending more times outdoors than ever.
Depression, a parent and clinic psychologist noted, is complex. There is no cure for COVID-19.

Prior to the vote, Batchelor presented the logistics of the "staggered" hybrid opening next week, that will not bring all students to school at any time, but will ease in first elementary students, then secondary in A and B groups. Teachers will be instructing a classroom in front of them, and a group following along virtually, and those groups will alter to allow everyone time with their teacher.

Wayne Elementary instructor Jenny Le Sage shared with the board that she'd been working with the limited group of students with special needs who've been in school. "They know what they are doing," she said. There are marks on the floors, procedures for walking in halls and using bathrooms, and Le Sage said students are doing very well with the protocols.

"My plead to the community is just to please be kind to one another. Everybody's been going through a lot of stress in the past months," said board Vice President Amy Goldman at the meeting's end.

Goldman noted how much planning last year had gone into just changing the time of the school day start, and yet there were glitches after it began. S he said that there may be glitches and adjustments with the hybrid reopening, but she had faith in the administration to respond in a good manner.

Batchelor said "no plan is going to be perfect." He assured the board the administration will be ready to move, should health department guidance could change again. Any changes be driven by positivity and incidence rates, which he said will be constantly monitored, in communication with the health department.

But, Batchelor emphasized, "We cannot let our guard down."

"Protocols don't change when you add students," he said. He said the same protocols that have been in use for special education will continue.

Board President Susan Stern added before the last vote that as a nurse, she has felt that medical professionals have been using the same "relatively simple" measures to reduce transmission of viruses. "We have to keep vigilant or we're going to tank," she said, but expressed optimism.

She asked that district residents work at keeping kids in small, safe gatherings, with masks. "Don't be the kid, or the family, that tanks it for other people," Stern said.

Board member Jeff Jubelirer said, "We live a real world, and 80 percent of people here want to be back."

There were comments read from parents who did not support reopening, and the board's response is to keep the all-virtual option open for those who've chosen it.