Fox Chapel Area students at all grade levels will have the option of returning to class two days a week or learning entirely online.

The school board on Monday night approved the district’s return-to-school plan with a vote of 6-3.

Board members Amy Cooper, Edie Cook and Dharmesh Vyas opposed, with Cook saying there could be a hardship for some families to navigate a hybrid schedule and Cooper saying health data supports a five-day return for elementary students.

Fellow board member Marybeth Dadd said a slow start is better than a quick shutdown and voted for the hybrid model. She said the board will be able to transition to other options if covid-19 starts to diminish.

The return-to-school plan includes several learning models that the board will be able to toggle between based on how the coronavirus impacts the district.

The plan is available at fcasd.edu/coronavirus.

Included in the overall options are a five-day return to class, a hybrid model with two days of in-person learning, Fox Chapel Virtual and Fox Chapel Area Online.

A video on the district’s website illustrates what a typical day of online instruction might look like.

“We’ve said all along that there is no model that’s off the table,” Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac said.

Weekly meetings with health officials will help administrators decide which course to follow, she said.

If the incident rates and percentage of positive cases are low, students could return to five-day, in-person classes. If cases become substantial, a fully remote learning environment might be implemented.

There are other factors, too, Reljac said, such as community spread or a lack of staffing or cleaning supplies, that would impact the board’s direction.

For now, elementary students who choose hybrid learning will attend class either on Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays. Students will remain with the same teacher during face-to-face learning and online.

On Wednesdays, the schools would be deep-cleaned.

Elementary students will be limited in their transitions between classrooms but would get to have some special classes outdoors when possible. Reljac said school officials are looking for ways to provide social interactions for students, and there will likely be spaces on each campus where students can have mask breaks.

Elementary students also can choose a fully online model, FCA Virtual.

Students in grades six to 12 also have the choice of hybrid and FCA Virtual, with the added option of Fox Chapel Area Online, which is fully self-paced.

High school and middle school students will move between classes.

Students and staff in all buildings will be required to wear masks at all times and stay at least 6 feet apart.

Sanitization stations will be at the entry of each building. Students and staff are expected to perform a symptom check before coming to school.

Reljac said the challenges of protecting students and staff amid shifting guidance and an ever-changing pandemic has caused confusion but the district’s focus remains on education, safety and flexibility.

“Every family has different needs and what they feel comfortable with,” she said.

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