Majority of Burrell students to return to school buildings

Giving Burrell parents a choice between in-person or virtual instruction for their children, 70% of students plan to return to the classroom while the remainder of their peers will learn remotely, school officials said.

Burrell opens its doors Sept. 8.

Burrell, as well as some other school districts, gave parents a choice to either return fully to the classroom or attend classes virtually from home. A benefit of this approach is less students in school buildings.

A challenge for a lot of school districts is to create the recommended six feet of distancing between students in the classroom, said Mark DiRocco, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

Anecdotal, DiRocco said he has heard that about 15% to 20% of parents, when given a choice, want their children to take classes from home.

“With less (people) in the classroom, it creates more opportunity to put desks six feet apart,” DiRocco said.

At Burrell, even with 70% of students returning, it will not be possible to have six feet of social distancing in every classroom, according to a letter Superintendent Shannon Wagner sent to Burrell parents. She is giving parents the option that if they have concerns about social distancing, they can still choose to pull their children from in-person classes to virtual.

“The administrators and board are extremely grateful that all staff are doing their best to safely accommodate everyone who enters the schools and also those at home,” school board President Tricia Shank said.

It’s not that the districts are mandated to put students six feet apart physically, DiRocco said. Districts are trying to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health.

“If you don’t follow the recommendations of the Department of Health and the CDC, you are putting students and staff at risk, potentially making the schools liable,” DiRocco said.

Consequently, a number of school district solicitors are telling administrators and school boards to follow the guidelines to prevent potential litigation, he added.

Burrell has been consulting with its solicitor on its plans, Shank said.