Pennsbury Looks To Push Back In-School Class Through January

FALLSINGTON, PA — The Pennsbury School District's board is working on a plan that would postpone all in-person classes through at least January due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

Pennsbury schools Superintendent William Gretzula and school board President T.R. Kannan released a joint statement Wednesday announcing that the board will consider the new plan at its Aug. 20 meeting.

Under the proposed rules, all Pennsbury students would study remotely through at least Jan. 29.

A plan approved last week would have started the school year remotely, but allowed most students to move to a hybrid model of in-person classes and remote learning as early as Oct. 5. That plan also would have allowed students with learning disabilities and others on individualized education plans to begin in-person schooling when school starts on Sept. 8.

Those students, too, would stay home through at least January under the new plan.

"Amidst mounting concerns around issues of health and safety and thorough review of practical constraints around staffing, continuing uncertainty and an analysis of multiple staff and community survey results, the ... changes are being recommended for consideration by the board," Gretzula and Kannan said in the statement.

Under the new proposal, no students would attend in-person classes on the district's Sept. 8 start date. Students on education plans will be schooled "using specially designed instruction in their home environment, both virtually and in-person (when determined necessary by an individual child's team of professionals)," the statement said.

This model was supported in staff surveys by more than 150 teachers and nearly 140 paraprofessionals who said they'd be comfortable visiting students' homes on occasion, Gretzula and Kannan said.

The possibility of any in-person instruction is postponed through the district's second marking period under the new plan. Pennsbury educators will "focus all resources and efforts only on providing a robust virtual learning environment," the statement said.

The new curriculum won't be "the same learning experience that had to be delivered in an emergency fashion in the spring," the statement said, but, instead, will be "similar to an in-person model with accountability for both students and staff."

"Focusing on a single model for all students removes the risk and complications involved with matching 10,000 students with approximately 850 professional and 650 support personnel staff members across two learning platforms," the statement said. "Also, due to personal and household health concerns of our employees, it has become obvious that numerous positions would need to be filled to offer any kind of in-person learning.

"We understand and appreciate the challenges this creates for working families, concerns around mental health, lack of social interaction and ability for students to learn online," the officials said. "We will continue to look at innovative options to address these issues."