Plum School District officials approve later start date, opening with hybrid model

Plum School District officials have pushed back the first day of classes and plan to start in-person schooling with half the students at a time.

The school board approved the changes at a special meeting Tuesday night.

Opening day has been moved from Aug. 19 to Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Superintendent Brendan Hyland posted a letter about the change, and a second about how schools will open, to the district’s website. The letters also were sent to parents.

A flex option is also available for families who are not comfortable to start school in person yet.

“The fluidity of the public health situation would most likely necessitate changes to our school reopening plans to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of our students and staff, and to optimize our board approved plans,” the letter reads.

Hyland said delaying the start of the 2020-21 school year allows district officials to continue to monitor the spread and metrics associated with the coronavirus in the area prior to students returning to school.

It also gives families time to come back from vacations without worrying about the Pennsylvania Health Department’s recommended 14-day quarantine period for those traveling to hot spots.

“We ask that you refrain from traveling to identified hot spots 14 days before the start of school,” the letter reads.

The administrative team and staff will have more time to plan and react to covid-19 developments as well.

The district’s reopening plan was approved by the board last month and updated Tuesday.

Schools will reopen in the yellow phase of the plan, meaning students will be split into two groups when coming back to the school buildings.

Each group will attend classes in person for two consecutive days a week and learn online the other three days.

Group A will be in class Monday and Tuesday, and group B will be in the buildings Thursday and Friday.

Face coverings are required in schools, on buses and when in communal areas.

Cameras will be placed in all classrooms so students at home can watch lessons through Google Classroom.

Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of high frequency touch-points, restrooms, lockers and classrooms will be done throughout the day.

All district vehicles will be disinfected between morning and afternoon runs.

A video further explaining the yellow phase reopening was also posted to the district’s website.

The online education plan was dubbed Plum LEARNS – Leading Education Authentically and Remotely in our Neighborhoods Safely.

A digital learning academy is in the works for families who want to make a longer commitment to online learning.

Hyland said the district will be in the yellow phase until at least Oct. 2.

“We will re-evaluate the public health data at that time to make further determinations,” he said via letter.

Moving to the district’s green phase would allow for all students to return to the buildings.

The red phase would have all students learning online with buildings closed.

District officials had previously planned to start the year in the green phase.

Board President Mike Devine said late Tuesday that postponing school and starting in the yellow phase was the right decision.

“It’s a hard decision,” Devine said. “We have all the faith in the world in our administration to make the right call, especially in this ever-changing environment. For the short term, we move to yellow, for the long term, we can only take it day by day and do what is best for our students and staff. I fully support this decision.”

Devine was not at the board meeting.