Editorial: North Penn COVID-19 Planning in 2021

(The following submission is part of a monthly series of editorials, courtesy of our partnership with North Penn School District and the North Penn Board of School Directors.)

Dear Community,

I am sure I can speak for everyone to say that we were all happy to put 2020 behind us and welcome in 2021!

Last January, when NPSB Vice President Christian Fusco wrote the letter to the community on behalf of the NPSB of Directors, we were discussing the merits of building the ninth-grade center at North Penn High School (NPHS). The COVID-19 virus wasn’t even on our radar yet. To say the pandemic changed things for all of us last year would be an understatement. I am so hopeful that with the vaccination process coming online, that 2021 will be the year we can regain some semblance of normalcy.

It will, however, take some time for the vaccination process to roll out completely, so we must continue to do our part to contain the spread of the virus in our North Penn community. 

To that end, the NPSB had voted at our Dec. 17 action meeting to have our schools revert to virtual instruction for the week following our winter break with hybrid instruction resuming on Monday, Jan. 11. It was our goal to be proactive rather than reactive in mitigating the potential transmission of the virus in our schools, especially as we saw the number of cases in our community rise. It appears from the most recent update that the positivity rates in our district townships are declining, so that is good news! We thank everyone for their cooperation during that time.

Unfortunately, even with these measures that were put in place, we have been faced with an unprecedented level of substitute shortage required to cover all the positions that need to be covered in the district. The substitute shortage has been an ongoing issue for all districts in the state, even before the pandemic hit. It has now been exacerbated to the point that individual buildings could face “functional shutdowns” if they do not have the staff to cover the building for the day. 

It is our hope that by continuing to be vigilant, we can prevent any functional shutdowns and keep our buildings open. 

As you may have heard by now, our superintendent Dr. Dietrich has been working with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to be part of their pilot program which gives NPSD access to rapid testing in our schools. The additional week of virtual instruction that followed the winter break allowed our nursing staff and building leaders to get trained on the implementation of this innovative program. Special thanks to Dr. Dietrich for his efforts to ensure that the North Penn School District (NPSD) was one of the districts selected to participate!

As the ability to get vaccinated improves (currently educators are in the Phase 1B group and the county is still in Phase 1A) and with the assurance testing program implemented in our district, we are in the position of possibly allowing more students to attend school five days per week in person. The district sent out a non-binding survey to see how much potential interest there would be. We also recognize that there are many families that will prefer to keep their students virtual for now, and that option will remain.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been all-consuming, other work is still being done! Here are some updates on what the various NPSB committees are working on:

• The Finance Committee once again expanded our Real Estate Tax and Rent Rebate Program for qualifying senior citizens. We are actually down in the number of applicants this year, however. In prior years, board directors were able to go out into the community and host forums, providing senior citizens with this valuable information. Unfortunately, as with everything else, COVID-19 has limited our ability to do so this year, so if you can help us spread the word on this valuable program to eligible senior citizens, we would greatly appreciate it! Please note that it was also expanded to include renters.
• The Finance Committee is also beginning the budget process for the 2021-2022 school year. This is a challenging task, especially this year since it will be difficult to predict just how much damage the pandemic will do to our federal and state funding. 
• Our Policy Committee continues to review and update all district policies in accordance with guidance from the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA). This month, we are particularly proud to announce approval of our new Equity Policy - Policy 832. In July 2020, the board passed an anti-racism resolution, where we committed to “recognize, respond and speak out against injustice and racial inequity in our school community. In support of this goal, the Board of Directors of the NPSD commits to the following action steps: Passage of an Equity Statement, Equity Policy and Equity Action Plan.” This was step two, and we look forward to working on step three, the Action Plan. 
• The Facilities and Operations Committee continues their work on the Knapp Elementary School and the Crawford Stadium renovation projects. Both projects are on schedule and within budget.
• Our Educational, Curriculum and Instruction (ECI) Committee continues its work on cultural proficiency. One result of that work has been to update our 2021-2022 school calendar to recognize the Diwali holiday for our Hindu students and the Eid al-Fitr holiday for our Muslim students. The ECI committee continues to focus on the social and emotional well-being of our students as well, by reviewing supports that are available to our students and their families.
• And finally, an update from the School Nutrition Services (SNS) Department: In Spring 2020 and with the COVID-19 relief bill passed at the time, you could apply for EBT Cards for free and reduced meals and funds were then transferred into families accounts. The most recent COVID-19 relief package included numerous additional benefits for families financially impacted by the pandemic. If you think that your school-age child or children may qualify for free or reduced meals, please submit an application at www.schoolcafe.com. Please note that applying for free and reduced-price meals does not impact the free meals being received at school currently. These applications will be used to see which additional benefits your children might be eligible for. 

In closing, one of the few bright spots to come from this pandemic has been the increased viewership of our committee and school board meetings, since they have also been either virtual or hybrid format. We encourage continued community participation at all of our meetings. It is always helpful for us as school board directors to be able to hear community feedback and we thank those who have taken the time to tune in!

Sincerely,

Tina Stoll

President, NPSD Board of School Directors

Term Expiration: 2021

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