Carlynton School District extends remote learning through Oct. 28

Carlynton School District has extended its online-only model through the end of October, the district announced last week.

“Remote learning will continue for all grades until Oct. 28,” reads a letter it sent out to parents. “This decision was made for the safety of all students and their families while providing consistency with five days of instruction in a remote setting.”

After that date, the district hoped to switch to a hybrid model – where students would experience in-person instruction two days a week. The other three days would utilize remote learning. The hybrid model would have been voluntary.

The district, which held its first day of school Aug. 24, initially planned to switch to a hybrid model after Sept. 28, according to its reopening plan.

During the board’s Sept. 15 meeting, Superintendent John Kreider emphasized the importance of consistency and said changing course now would be abrupt.

“We want to play this out a little bit longer and still provide us with that time to explore another model that we feel is going to be effective – where we can get students inside the schoolhouse as opposed to keeping all students out,” Kreider said.

Michale Herrmann, a district spokeswoman, said no one in the district has contracted covid-19.

“Attendance and participation among students has been very high and we received nothing but favorable comments from parents,” Herrmann said in an email.

The letter to parents said administration and the board will “continue to assess the situation” to make a decision on how to bring students back into the schools. The district will notify parents and guardians two weeks before any changes are made.

“Our goal is to bring students physically back into the schoolhouse and have the least disruption on all students in general,” Kreider said.