West Jefferson Hills School District reopening plans include most students returning to buildings
Share this post:
West Jefferson Hills School District officials are planning for most students to return to schools next month.
That is based on survey results revealed Wednesday night during a virtual forum with Superintendent Michael Ghilani.
More than 74% of 3,000-plus survey respondents said they want their children in in-person classes for the 2020-21 school year, according to the presentation.
Ghilani said the survey is being taken into consideration as district officials continue to develop their reopening plan during the covid-19 pandemic, which has options for both in-person and online schooling.
“We are still working on the fine details of our plan, but I do think we have enough of a framework to share,” Ghilani said.”It is such a fluid situation, and it changes, it seems, like every day.”
Plans include requiring all students and staffers to wear face coverings when unable to adequately social distance by six feet or more. Signage would be posted in schools promoting proper hygiene and distancing.
Masks would be necessary for bus rides, and parents would be asked to take their children’s temperature and check for symptoms prior to sending them to school.
Ghilani said officials are also asking parents to transport their children to school if possible to reduce the number of students on buses.
Families will have an option to continue online learning, and mix in some in-person instruction while Allegheny County remains in the green phase – the least restrictive phase in the state’s three-tiered reopening plan.
Ghilani said parents do not need to make a semester or nine-week commitment to online or in-person learning.
“We don’t want families bouncing around (between the options), but three weeks (or) four weeks into it, if you want to comeback live, we can certainly accommodate that,” Ghilani said.
There would be seating charts for classes and buses as part of the safety measures, as well contact tracing should a student or teacher test positive for the virus.
Students who do not plan on returning to buildings can enroll in the district’s cyber academy, which is taught by West Jefferson Hills teachers.
Ghilani said parents can be assured the academic rigor for online learners will be stronger than in the spring when schools were shutdown statewide.
The district has plans to shift into a hybrid education model if the county is moved back into the yellow phase.
That model would have students in separate groups going to school two days a week and learning online three days a week, meaning half the population would be in the buildings on different days.
Ghilani said reopening plans are being crafted by a team of administrators with guidance from the state Department of Education and county and state health departments, as well as consultations with health care professionals and university professors.
He said the upcoming school year will likely be stressful for teachers, students, parents and others regardless of what plans are in place.
“We have to work together, and be understanding and be patient,” he said about moving forward. “Try to be vigilant, try to be safe and hopefully we can keep our cases trending down instead of up.”
Another parent survey also will be sent out to gauge which students will return to school buildings or stay home.
More discussion about the plan is expected at the July 28 school board meeting. A plan is expected to be formally approved Aug. 4.
District plans will be posted later this month on its website, wjhsd.net. School’s expected to start Aug. 24.
Ghilani delivered Wednesday’s forum to parents via the online Zoom platform. Audio was choppy during the presentation, which was stopped several times due to technical difficulties.
As parent Joshua Lampel put it, “Welcome to working from home.”