Riverview School District to offer all students full-time, in-school instruction starting in April

All Riverview School District students will have the option of full-time, in-person or virtual instruction starting next month.

It is part of the district’s plan to eliminate its hybrid model where students are split into two groups with each having a couple of days of in-class instruction and virtual learning the rest of the week.

The shift away from the hybrid model to full-time model for all grades either in the buildings or at home begins April 6, after spring break.

“We’re psyched,” Riverview Superintendent Neil English said. “We had a really good board meeting. Everyone’s feeling celebratory. We don’t want to send a false sense of security and people thinking that this thing is over. It’s not over. We still have a ways to go. We’re still going to be safe, but we felt like a couple of these calculated risks and juice were worth the squeeze.”

The district has just over 900 students from Oakmont and Verona.

Riverview began its school year Aug. 27 and was on a virtual-learning model throughout the first nine weeks. It shifted to a hybrid model the second grading period. There were some shifts to remote learning for part of the year, which took place during the holiday surge.

Students in K-4 were recently given the option of attending in-school classes four days a week.

“We’ve made some calculated risks in the third nine weeks with case numbers down and teachers able to become vaccinated and positivity rates going down,” English said. “It seems to be fairly well received. I haven’t heard much from parents other than they’re happy the kids are able to come back more in person.”

Riverview has invested in plastic barriers for desks and cleaning supplies. It has upgraded its ventilation systems, among other measures to ensure students and staff are safe inside. Masks are also required for students and staff, as well as social distancing when possible.

Families were given selection surveys each grading period so parents could pick which learning model they wanted for their children the following nine weeks.

The latest survey showed a little more than 80% of families want five-day, in-person instruction.

“The parents are really pushing hard for this,” Riverview School Director Maureen McClure said. “It’s a roll of the dice. There are no good choices. There are only maybe OK choices. I know that there were some committee members, myself included, who are concerned about the possibility of peer-to-peer catching it.

“One of the things we’re taking a chance on is the transmission rate will be relatively low because research tells us that. We just hope we don’t have an outbreak, and if we do we’ll go back to the way we were.”

The board recently voted 8-1 in favor of the educational shift, with Vice President Jeanine Hurt-Robinson dissenting.

She said she was concerned about another spike in cases due to loosened safety restrictions and better weather and preferred the district remain in the hybrid model for the rest of the school year.

“I’m very happy with the amended plan to bring students back full-time,” board president Lisa Ashbaugh said via email. “The parents still have the option to remain virtual if they choose.

“There are many factors that went into this decision. The safety of our students and staff has been our No. 1 priority all along. We were able to get our teachers and paraprofessionals vaccinated last week so that was a huge consideration for us. Other factors were that the number of covid cases has been decreasing and our safety precautions will remain in place. … Another huge consideration was the educational needs of our students and how in-person instruction is extremely important.”

More information about the shift and various safety protocols are available on the district’s website, rsd.k12.pa.us.