Citing concerns about rapid testing results, complex transportation concerns and a largely populated school district, the North Penn School District Board of Directors has decided to revoke a previously presented plan offering three options and instead will begin its school year completely virtual for all students in grades K through 12.
The board unanimously voted to approve the current health and safety plan, which will be sent to the state, but will do so by starting the year fully virtual with a possible return to hybrid learning at the end of the first marking period — on or about Nov. 6.
As the number of COVID-19 cases has climbed in Montgomery County to 9,673 overall reported cases, school districts across the country have faced making critical decisions on whether or not to open in-person. A meeting previously slated for Aug. 11 was moved by the school board and transformed into an online work session on July 30 to discuss options on the table.
The week featured national comments from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos stating there was “no plan” regarding school’s reopening, while other local districts, such as Philadelphia and Norristown, declared they’d host only online options for the first semester of the 2020-21 school year. With little state nor county recommendations, outside of guidelines on how to open should phases allow it, school districts in Montgomery County were left to make the choice on their own.
The directors kicked off the meeting with an hour of public comment to garner further input from the community. Parents, teachers and community members had a lot to say. However, the responses, much like the survey of district parents showed, varied greatly.
Victor Minich, of Lansdale, has three children in the district, entering fourth, 10th and 12th grades, wanted the option to allow them to return in person.
“These kids are going crazy being home all the time,” said Minich. “The mere fact is that kids need socialization, being around other kids.”
As many parents echoed, Minich said for him it was a matter of his children’s mental health.
During a July 16 Virtual Community Forum, the district’s directors unveiled a plan to offer three instructional options to choose from: in-person, virtual or a hybrid of the two. Directors said the previous plan was the result of over 20 sub-committees created specifically to debate the topic and its multitude of facets.
A major portion of input came from parents directly. North Penn Superintendent Curet Dietrich shared with the public the results of parent surveys, which showed that, while figures varied somewhat by school, the average amount of parents seeking to send students back in person was around 43%. Those seeking hybrid averaged 30%, with 27% opting for completely virtual.
Public opinion featured community concerns, such as the mental health of students, the safety of students, faculty and staff, and the quality of education being offered.
Sue Dewalt, of King of Prussia, has been a teacher for 25 years at North Penn High School. While she thanked and respected all involved with making the plans to move forward, she had concerns
“While the parents of students in the district have multiple choices, [they] can keep their children home if they’re not satisfied with the safety the district is going to be able to provide,” said Dewalt. “The teachers don’t really have that option.”
Dewalt said only small, select groups, such as those caring for a loved one in the home, are protected from teaching in a potentially dangerous classroom situation. However, a majority of teachers do not have that situation.
“If the buildings all open back up, we will be called to go back in and do our jobs,” she said. “And I want to my job.”
Dewalt said that aspirations to have touchless hand sanitizers in place in time, not to mention free masks to all students that forget one, may not be met in time for school’s slated start.
Other speakers urged the district to go virtual, noting that the pandemic is still in unknown stages of change, fluctuating daily.
Kathleen Hickock, of Hatfield, said she was thankful, as many stated, for the district’s hard work on plans moving forward. However, she did not feel the community was ready to have students go back in person.
“We are no doubt in the middle of a pandemic,” said Hickock. “And it is difficult for all involved — parents, teachers, administrators —and I feel passionate about reminding the community that we have teachers who potentially will put themselves at risk.”
She noted that with over 1,300 to 1,400 students per grade level and over 3,000 at the high school alone, the risk was too great for too many.
“Social distancing is not going to be possible,” she said. “Additionally, we are talking about elementary school children, who may or may not follow procedures … and may not even understand the all of the severity of a pandemic”
Hickok, who works in the healthcare field, said she, too, is working remotely.
“The greatest resource that the school district has is our teachers and our administrators, and we need to diligently put them first and foremost in the safety category to keep our administrators and our educators safe,” said Hickok. “So that ultimately, North Penn can reopen the schools and have our children come back to the buildings.”
After hearing concerns for and against opening in-person instruction, the directors also discussed things that worried them about the upcoming school year.
Director Elisha Gee noted that, while a six-foot spacing in a classroom may be feasible, the spacing would not occur on bus routes. Superintendent Dietrich agreed and said that in many spaces the plan included the phrasing “where feasible,” meaning the entire day would not allow for social distancing, such as times when children may pass in the halls.
Director Christian Fusco agreed this was a concern.
“I don’t think this [transportation] is something that should be understated,” Fusco said. “Every day we will have a situation where we are going to create an environment that we don’t allow to exist in other businesses or other workplaces anywhere.”
With trips longer than 15 minutes, the exposure on a bus route alone could put students in harm’s way. Dietrich noted that parent survey results showed that only 4,381 students would likely require bus transportation, a stark comparison to the usual nearly 11,000 per year the district typically must consider. Smaller numbers of bus-riding students did not quell fears.
“That is deeply concerning to me in terms of my comfort level in approving the plan at this point,” said Fusco. “There was a gentleman in public comment. He made a comment I wanted to repeat, because it has resonated in my mind as I’ve gone through the process of trying to make this decision. He had the full faith that we were going to keep the kids safe.”
This worried Fusco.
“Can we guarantee that we can keep every child safe, no matter how strict we adhere to the guidelines that are out there?” he asked. “No. We’ve acknowledged that.”
Since it could not be assured, many Directors agreed, they did not want to be responsible for any illness or deaths that could have been prevented by a simple vote.
“We don’t have a handle on this as a community,” said Director Jonathan Kassa. “It doesn’t mean we have a bad plan, but I have a sense that rushing headlong into a plan, without the proper environmental supports and data that we need to ensure that this isn't just an assumption but a solid trend with positivity ratios … let’s have a couple months of that. Let’s see what happening.”
Kassa felt an early vote would weigh heavily on his conscience.
“I feel personally responsible for voting too soon to put people in a dangerous situation,” he said.
Kyle Somers, district’s general counsel, noted that the motion, which was presented and passed unanimously by the board 9-0, does not tie the district’s hands come November. While the goal of merging to hybrid seemed helpful to offer to parents as a “potential direction,” according to Gee, wording left room for the district to reconsider the date, type of transition and options at any time.
See also:
North Penn To Hold Impromptu Public Meeting Regarding Reopening For Upcoming School Year
Special Ed. Supervisor Resigns Following Investigation Into Comments Critical Of Black Lives Matter
Editorial: Preparing Students for the Upcoming School Year
North Penn Outlines Reopening Procedures For Upcoming School Year
