Fox Chapel Area students could be returning full-time to the classroom

Fox Chapel Area middle school and high school students could return to the classroom full-time by mid-March, Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac announced Monday.

“After carefully weighing the appropriate time to bring students back, I’m recommending a shift to 5-day per week, full-time in-person instruction for pre-kindergarten, Dorseyville Middle School and the high school,” Reljac said.

If approved by the board during its March 8 meeting, the switch would be in effect on March 15.

“We’ve shown that if there’s a need to close, we have done it, so if we’re confident that we can meet the guidelines to open, I’m in support of the move,” board member Amy Cooper said.

Elementary students returned to full-time, in-person instruction in November.

The district would continue to offer online learning for families who choose that model.

“We realized families need flexibility right now,” Reljac said.

District officials don’t anticipate any class changes with the return to the buildings.

With district cases of covid-19 their lowest since October, administration believes it is safe for students to return to the buildings, Reljac said.

Mitigation strategies will remain in place, she said.

High-touch surfaces will be cleaned throughout the day, and students will be socially distanced to the degree feasible.

The district has boosted ventilation in classrooms, operating the HVAC system seven days a week so that air flow is steady.

“To date, none of the individuals who have had close classroom contact has subsequently tested positive with covid-19,” she said.

The district will survey parents and ask them to commit to a learning model for the remainder of the year.

The board is waiting for sports-specific guidance from the PIAA this week and is expected to discuss the plan for athletics during the March 8 meeting.

Jeremy Bennett, president of the Fox Chapel Educators Association, said the union’s belief is that the best instruction takes place in the classroom.

“We’ve always had the desire to welcome our students back for increased instruction,” he said. “The health and safety of our staff is our No. 1 priority.”

Bennett, along with several others, spoke in favor of keeping the covid-19 tracker on the district’s website after Reljac said the rolling 14-day numbers likely would be removed.

“We are still tracking cases and are still planning to report our aggregated cases, but we are looking to take that 14-day rolling chart down,” she said.

Board member Vanessa Lynch asked how successfully the administrative team believes it can keep students at least 3 to 6 feet apart, particularly without knowing how many students will be returning to the buildings.

Reljac said depending on class sizes, plexiglass could be used between students or classes could switch to a larger space for instruction. Lunch is the only time that students will be mandated to stay 6 feet apart since they are allowed to remove their masks, Reljac said.

She said to the extent possible, multiple spaces will be used for lunch in addition to the cafeteria. Students can begin to eat outdoors as the weather improves, she said.

“We know there’s still an element of randomness,” she said. “We’ll adjust where we need to.”