Downingtown School Board Will Vote On Return To In-Person Tonight

DOWNINGTOWN, PA — Downingtown Area School District's administration will request approval tonight from the DASD board of directors to return to a full in-person instructional model beginning March 15.

The request, as stated on the meeting agenda states the move to in-person instruction is dependent upon the community transmission level being below the marks set by the Chester County Health Department's guidance to allow it.

To apply the option to return to a full in-person instructional model, the incidence rate for COVID-19 transmission in Chester County must be below 100 per 100,000 residents and the percent positivity rate must be below 10 percent for the previous three consecutive weeks, the meeting agenda explains.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health in its March 4 update reported that the incidence rate in Chester County was 84.6 per 100,000 residents, down from 94.2 in the previous week.

The positivity rate in the county was 4.7 percent in Chester County, below the 5 percent mark that places school districts in the "low" transmission risk category, in the guidance provided by the Chester County Health Department. Read a recent report on COVID-19 data in Chester County here.

Additionally, DASD administration is seeking approval from the board to continue virtual Fridays through April 16 for all students except for those in low incidence programs and to continue early dismissals on Fridays through June 4 as outlined in the revised 2020-21 DASD calendar.

The agenda also includes a request for approval of Memorandum of Agreement between
Chester County Health Department and the Downingtown Area School District.

The March 10 board meeting will be available on YouTube, beginning at 6:30 PM. Click here to access the YouTube live stream. The meeting agenda can be viewed here.

The district announced public comments will be accepted in-person at the meeting during the designated public comment periods.

The school district asks participants to review the safety guidelines if they plan to attend. Per Board Policy 903, each statement made by a participant shall be limited to five (5) minutes in duration and the portion of the meeting during which participation of the public is invited shall be limited to forty (40) minutes.

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