Franklin Regional joins other districts in second post-holiday shift to online learning

If Franklin Regional officials had not made the move to remote instruction the week following Thanksgiving, nearly 60 people with either a positive covid-19 test or a potential exposure would have come back into the senior high school, according to the superintendent.

“During those days, from Nov. 26 through Dec. 6, we had 58 individuals who were quarantined due to close contact or being positive,” Superintendent Jamie Piraino told school board members at a special meeting Thursday.

The school directors voted to once again proactively move to remote instruction during the first school week of the new year, Jan. 4-8.

The board voted 6-2. Deb Wohlin and Scott Weinman voted no; Ed Mittereder was not present.

“It’s important for me as a school director to know I’m doing the the right thing,” said Gregg Neavin, who voted in favor of the shift to online learning. “And to hear that 58 people who either had covid or came into contact with it could have come back into our buildings right after Thanksgiving, that scares the heck out of me.”

With stepped-up protocols for when schools must close — based on how many positive covid-19 cases they register within a given time frame — Neavin said the move is meant to stave off a more-lengthy closure.

“We’re proactively closing for five days, rather than reactively ending up closing for 14,” he said.

Sloan Elementary parents got a smaller taste of that this week, when four covid cases within a 14-day period forced the school’s mid-week closure from Wednesday through tomorrow, Friday.

School Director Scott Weinman, whose children attend Sloan, thanked teachers there “for being able to flip the switch so quickly. At 10 p.m., I got an email from one of my kids’ teachers telling me what the schedule would be for class the next day. I was really impressed.”

Piraino said the post-holiday shift to online learning is for safety and to try to maximize the amount of in-person instruction for students.

Across the region, the weeks following Thanksgiving have produced some of the highest daily positive case counts in both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, according to figures from the state Department of Health.

“Based upon what we saw from Thanksgiving, there’s a high likelihood that people will engage in gatherings and things of that nature,” Piraino said.

School districts throughout the region are moving in a similar direction. Since late November, both Shaler and Plum, among many others, announced a shift to remote education through the beginning of the new year.

Public comment on the move was split evening, with half of parents supporting the closure or asking for its extension, and the other half asking that schools remain open.

Director Paul Scheinert said he is concerned primarily for students, but also for staff.

“I’m particularly concerned about our adult staff, who could potentially be more at-risk should this disease come into our schools,” he said. “I think we’re protecting not just the students, but our staff.”

Director Mark Kozlosky said the move is to keep from repeating this week’s Sloan closure.

“That’s not pleasant (when the school closes the very next day),” he said. “It’s part of what the state placed on the district. … We have to set ourselves up for the holiday period to keep that from happening.”

Franklin Regional students will begin their holiday break on Thursday, Dec. 24.