Leechburg Area to start school year with online-only instruction

Leechburg Area School District will offer online classes only for at least the first month of the school year, reversing a previous decision that gave children the option of returning to school for full-time, in-person instruction.

The school board voted 8-0 on Wednesday to modify its back-to-school plan and push back the start of school by a week. Board member Lisa Gregory attended the meeting by phone but did not vote because her phone disconnected.

Classes are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Sept. 2, instead of Aug. 26 as originally planned.

David Keibler, elementary principal and curriculum director, recommended starting the school year fully online and doing that for four to six weeks. Then the district would move to a hybrid model in which students would receive both in-person and online instruction.

Keibler said doing so would give teachers and students time to become familiar with their online learning platform, Google Classroom, without also having to juggle in-person classes and all the coronavirus-related changes and restrictions.

School Director Danielle Lovelace said she thought six weeks was too long for students to be learning fully online. She said she thinks students receive the best education when they’re in a classroom with a teacher.

“I think there are a lot of kids that are itching to learn,” Lovelace said. “Sometimes you got to take that excitement and run with it.”

Vice President Anthony Shea asked if students could do fully online learning for 20 days, then decide if they want to come back to school full-time or continue with cyber learning.

“I want to get these kids back in school as soon as possible,” Shea said. “We have split technology, and they can keep following along with people that are in full-day school. There might be people that aren’t comfortable, but it is what it is.”

The school board plans to revisit the plan at its Sept. 23 meeting.

The original back-to-school plan, approved in June, gave students the option of returning to school for full-time, in-person instruction.

State officials said Monday that school districts with a moderate level of covid-19 transmission in their communities should use a hybrid model or go fully online.

Leechburg Area includes communities in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. Both counties were in the moderate level based on state data collected between July 31 and Aug. 6.

Superintendent Tiffany Nix said she wants students back in school full time, but she doesn’t know how that’s possible with the state recommendations and the fact students will be required to wear face masks.

Face masks: A game-changer

When the board passed the original back-to-school plan in June, only 11 students opted for online instruction, Nix said.

But that changed in July when families were informed students would be required to wear face masks at all times in school buildings when social distancing wasn’t possible. Students wanting online instruction ballooned to 200.

The district’s enrollment was 715 last school year, according to state data.

“Kindergartners will struggle wearing their masks. Seniors will struggle. Professionals will struggle wearing these masks all day long,” Nix said. “I just don’t see how with the recommendations … and knowing that they’re less than 6 feet apart, I just don’t see how that’s possible right now.”

School board member Karen Freilino thinks starting the year off fully online is the best approach.

“I’m just really worried about a severe outbreak in our school,” Freilino said. “I want to go with the most conservative, careful approach that we can.”

The coronavirus gave Leechburg Area an opportunity to re-create its cyber academy so students could be taught by district teachers. In the past, cyber academy students were taught by Seneca Valley School District teachers.

“If we go through this process, our teachers will be the teachers of record. It’ll be through our cyber program,” Keibler said. “Our original plan was we would be ready to do this next year. We’re just jumping ahead a little bit.”

School board President Neill Brady hopes most families will choose to send their children to the district’s cyber academy as opposed to an outside cyber charter school.

It costs the school district roughly $28,000 for every special-needs student who goes to an outside cyber charter school and $15,000 apiece for all other students. If all 200 students who signed up for online learning went to a cyber charter school, it would cost the district $3 million or more. The district’s budget totals $15.3 million.

Nix on Thursday sent out an email to district families with details on the school board’s decision, as well as how information on remote learning will be presented.

The back-to-school plan can be found on the district’s website.