Pine-Richland School District offering options for late-August return to school

The Pine-Richland School District has developed a return-to-school plan that offers students a choice of attending classes in person the entire week in some buildings, online only or a mix of the two methods.

School is scheduled to begin on Aug. 26, but school officials stressed that the plans could change in the coming weeks.

“We want to reopen and stay open,” said Superintendent Brian Miller during a recent podcast to update families about the return-to-school plan. “We are entering a period of public education that is different than any period in our past. Both at home and in school, we will feel and see the degree of change in the ways we operate and these changes will continue for the foreseeable future.”

To help guide the process of returning to school, the district sent two surveys to parents and was scheduled to send a third out on Aug. 4.

Results from the recent survey found that about 70% of parents favored an in-person return to instruction if instituting proper health and safety guidelines is possible, according to the superintendent.

The plans outlined in a July 31 presentation notes that details will be evaluated after the first five weeks of school to see if adjustments must be made.

The model developed for Hance, Richland and Wexford elementary schools, which has children from kindergarten through third grade, gives students three choices for attending class.

In addition to the online only option, students can choose to attend in-person classes five days a week or on alternating days.

“When learning at home, student swill be able to see the interactive display board in the classroom, access materials and see the teacher,” according to Kristen Justus, the district’s assistant superintendent for elementary education.

Students who select the online-only option will be grouped together and taught by a separate Pine-Richland teacher who will not be responsible for instructing students who are attending in person.

The fourth - through sixth-grade students at Eden Hall Upper Elementary School will have the option of attending classes online only or a hybrid of online and in person instruction.

An in-school only option will not be available to Eden Hall students.

Like the lower elementary, students who select the in-person option will attend on alternate days.

During remote instruction, students will be able to view the digital display board used in the class, see the teacher and access the materials they need for their lessons.

Virtual-only instruction also will be handled by a separate Pine-Richland teacher, who will not be responsible for the students attending in-person classes.

Middle and high school students also will have a choice between attending online only or in-person on alternating days.

Unlike the elementary schools, students in middle and high school who select the online-only option will follow the same schedule as those attending in person.

In addition to its planning for how students will attend school, the district continues to work on procedures for sharing equipment in labs and other classes, bus transportation, use of the cafeteria, athletics and other school-related activities.

Those procedures are contained in the district’s health and safety plan along with other documents and presentations available on the district’s website.

Noel Hurstwit, the district’s director of student services and special education said the need for families to take steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus — especially of a child is exhibiting symptoms — is critical to the success of the return-to-school plan.

“We envision a symptom-checking list posted on the refrigerator at each house,” she said. “For students with symptoms of illness, a lower threshold should be used to stay home.”

Hurstwit said unless a documented health condition prevents the use of masks or face coverings, students and staff will be required to wear them at all times. The district will follow state guidelines for providing opportunities during the school day for students to remove their masks.

“Physical distancing, face coverings and frequent hand washing are three key fundamentals for promoting health,” Hurstwit said. “We do not want our schools to be a place where valuable time and energy is spent arguing and debating about face coverings. We want to focus on learning. We want to not only reopen, but stay open.”

Michael Pasquinelli, the district’s assistant superintendent for secondary education, urged parents to be patient during the lead up to the start of classes.

“Not all questions have answers at this point,” he said. “Some answers available today may be different next week if guidance changes it. For the 2020-21 school year, change is a constant.”