Greensburg Salem weighs back-to-school options as some seniors return

Greensburg Salem High School seniors now have the option to return to school four days a week, and the rest of the district’s students will likely follow suit April 1.

About 260 people participated in a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday at which teachers, administrators and board members shared information about the options the district is considering and solicited feedback from the community.

The district mostly has followed a hybrid model, in which students split their time between in-class education and remote learning.

From mid-November to Jan. 19, the district closed schools and went fully remote due to the high number of coronavirus cases in the region.

Superintendent Gary Peiffer said it’s important for children to have in-person education, which is more feasible now that coronavirus numbers in Westmoreland County are dropping.

“I think everyone in the region recognizes the need to bring students back on a more regular basis,” he said.

Teachers and administrators stressed the importance of consistent interaction between teachers and students and the difficulties posed by remote learning.

“I haven’t once seen some of these kids faces,” said Brian Higginbotham, a teacher at Greensburg Salem Middle School.

Remote learning is especially difficult for the district’s youngest students, said Kevin Bringe, principal at Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary School.

“These are students who crave social interaction,” he said. “They hug their teachers, they want high-fives, they want fist bumps, they learn through play.”

At the high school, seniors this week were allowed to return to school four days a week.

So far 75 students have taken this option, with 84 choosing to remain on the hybrid schedule and 34 choosing fully remote learning, according to Principal David Zilli.

“I think, for the most part, parents do want their students back full time, and I think the students want to be here,” Zilli said. “As we met with the students they said ‘Hey, we want some semblance of normalcy here.’ ”

Class sizes are limited to help maintain social distancing, Zilli said. If a class gets too full, the school has set up overflow areas in the library and elsewhere, where students can attend class using remote-learning technology.

Teachers and administrators agreed that maintaining six feet of social distancing would be impossible if all students return to school, but said other safety measures — like masks — would remain in place. The district will continue to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Pennsylvania Department of Health, Peiffer said.

Students would be able to opt into remote learning.

Peiffer said there’s little to no evidence of coronavirus transmission among students or staff at the schools. Most if not all of the district cases seem to have been contracted outside of school, he said.

He’s hopeful district staff will have access to vaccines by early April, he said.

Parents and community members who participated in Tuesday’s town hall said they were eager to have their children return to school on a more regular schedule, but some said they were concerned about the lack of social distancing it would entail.

Greensburg Salem schools have had to shut down numerous times this school year due to covid infections. Parent and former school board candidate Desmond Grace said the district has not done enough to prevent future infections.

“How do we prevent the issues that we’ve already run into?” he asked. “Because it doesn’t seem like we’re moving into a situation where we’ve addressed those things.”

Parent Suzanne Skero said she’d love to have her child back in school, but worries about the lack of social distancing.

“I will not be comfortable sending my child to the high school if I know there is not going to be six feet of social distancing,” she said.

Parent Amy Ghrist said a return to school can’t come soon enough.

“I don’t think we’re jumping the gun having this conversation, I think we’re a little behind the 8 ball having this conversation,” she said.

While a return to school in April is likely, the biggest unanswered question is whether children will return to school four or five days a week.

Teachers have been using Wednesdays to prepare lessons, train with remote learning technology and work directly with students who need extra help.

Teachers and principals said they’ve made good use of that time and would like to see the four-day school week remain in place for the rest of the year.

The district surveyed parents in all grade levels about the possibility of children returning to school.

Of 1,159 responses, 652 said they wanted school to return to a full five days a week, with 353 saying they’d prefer four days. The remainder favored remote learning or hybrid options.

The school board is expected to finalize the district’s return-to-school plans at its next voting meeting 7:30 p.m. March 10.