Norwin forming reopening plan, to present to board later this month

Norwin officials expect to give the school board later this month a final plan for reopening the schools, and distribute that plan to students’ parents the first week of August.

Superintendent Jeff Taylor said he is “very confident” that students will be able to return to the school buildings in a safe environment, as long as the state is in either a green or yellow phase of the covid-19 restrictions. Westmoreland County has been in the green phase since June 5.

A date for a special school board meeting has not yet been set.

A schools reopening committee of more than 300 people — administration, staff and parents — was formed to develop plans and actions based on guidelines and recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and the state Department of Education.

Taylor told the school board in June that there are “a lot of details to work out.” The plans include options and contingencies if the county is in the green, yellow and red phases of the covid-19 restrictions.

While other school districts have presented reopening plans, Taylor said those plans have had to be revised because of ongoing changes in state requirements. Greater Latrobe last month approved a reopening plan, while Hempfield Area has presented a preliminary plan for reopening its schools for the 2020-2021 school year.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the state changes the rules for schools on an almost weekly basis,” Taylor stated, pointing out that Gov. Wolf last week that everyone wear masks in public areas, including schools, unless they have a medical condition that prevents them from abiding by that rule.

All public schools closed in mid-March as the governor placed the state under the strictest restrictions of the red phase and all instruction went online and sports were canceled.

Parents who do not want to have their children return to the classrooms can opt for the district’s cyber school, Norwin Online Academy, a full-service cyber academy that differs from the online instruction. Registration information for that online academy will be released at the end of July on the school website.