Pennsbury Students To Return To Classes Thursday

FALLSINGTON, PA — Officials with Pennsbury School District are eyeing a surge in new coronavirus cases as the district's first students prepare to return to in-person classes on Thursday.

Students in grades pre-K through 2, along with some with specialized learning needs, are scheduled to be the district's first students to attend school in person in the past eight months. Under a hybrid plan, they will attend classes in person some days and learn remotely on others.

But if the hope was to allay concerns about spread of the coronavirus, the timing for the classroom return couldn't be tougher. On Tuesday, Bucks County officials announced that the county experienced more new COVID-19 cases last week than at any time during the pandemic.

The Bucks County Department of Health reported 826 new cases of COVID-19 from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 7 and reported a single-day record of 161 cases on Friday.

"Please know that we continue to monitor COVID dashboards closely and speak routinely with members of various health agencies locally and regionally," Pennsbury schools Superintendent William Gretzula said in a letter to parents.

Gretzula and other superintendents met Tuesday with state education department officials to discuss school returns amid the coronavirus surge. He said there were differing reports on the virus's spread, creating "a shared frustration that the variances in this data make it challenging to accurately relay information to our community and staff members when there is such disparity."

He said one of the metrics discussed put Bucks County into the "substantial risk" category for the spread of the coronavirus. Two weeks in that category, he said, would lead state health and education departments to recommend a return to fully remote instruction.

"It is critical to recognize that (Pennsylvania Department of Education's) recommendation is just that and does not carry the weight of a mandate or order as occurred in March 2020," Gretzula wrote. "Obviously, there will be much debate about whether we as a district should follow the governmental recommendations moving forward."

Gretzula noted that Pennsbury's school board is set to meet several times before Phase 2 of the school return is scheduled to begin on Dec. 7. That's when students in grades 3-8 would return, under current plans.

"Trust that we will continue to manage and lead throughout this pandemic," Gretzula said.

Bucks County Department of Health Director Dr. David Damsker said Tuesday that 261 Bucks County students and 59 school staff members have been infected with COVID-19 this semester. But, he said, those infections have not been happening at schools, where they are required to wear masks and distance, but outside the classroom.

Damsker said that more than one-third of the students who tested positive for the virus were attending classes remotely when they got sick.