Rally set for North Allegheny over district's extended remote learning plan

Some parents upset with North Allegheny’s new remote learning plan are expected to rally at the intermediate school at 9 a.m. Monday, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI.

The group, North Allegheny Parents for In-Person Education, disagrees with the district’s plan to keep students learning from home through Jan. 18. They say students are falling behind and the district isn’t meeting Pennsylvania Department of Education Guidelines.

District officials were not immediately able to be reached for comment.

North Allegheny announced its extended at-home learning plan last week, with high school students returning today to online-only instruction through at least mid-January to help slow the spike in covid-19 cases gripping the region. Students in K-8 return to remote learning on Wednesday.

The district alerted families by letter that the change back to remote instruction is being made at the behest of federal, state and local health officials who have asked that steps be taken to slow the spread of the virus.

“Moving to remote learning is a difficult decision,” Acting Superintendent Patrick O’Toole said. “We know it will impact our students, staff and families in different ways. Our goal this year has been to maximize in-person learning opportunities for our students while minimizing the spread of covid-19. At this time, that goal is not sustainable.”

Allegheny County on Dec. 12 reported 1,198 new coronavirus cases, a slight drop from a record-high 1, 322 cases the day before.

Two new deaths were reported, lifting the county’s toll to 660.

As of Dec. 11, there were 14 active cases of covid-19 at North Allegheny, according to a covid tracker created by the district.

There have been 126 covid cases in the district during the pandemic, affecting 42 members of the staff and 84 students.

The district also has 262 people in quarantine because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.

The plan is for students to return to the classroom on Jan. 19, with K-8 returning to full-time in-person instruction and high school returning to hybrid learning.