Norwin reopening plan criticized

With five of Norwin’s schools already having been closed because of coronavirus cases, district plans to fully reopen classrooms to in-person instruction next month came under fire during Monday’s school board meeting.

District officials plan to fully reopen schools beginning Nov. 4 — a move that is being implemented “mostly because of political pressure,” said Steve Reese, a North Huntingdon resident and teacher in another school district.

Before the school year, a group of about 75 parents staged a public protest regarding the district’s decision to use a hybrid model — with students split into two groups, alternating between two days of in-school instruction and three days of remote teaching. Organizers said they presented the school district with a petition signed by about 600 people who wanted to return to school full-time.

While the hybrid model does allow for social distancing, that can’t happen if 30 students are in class with all the students in the buildings at the same time, Reese said. He claimed school officials told teachers Norwin can’t follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for social distancing with all the 5,300 students in the buildings.

Superintendent Jeff Taylor announced Friday that Norwin was able to overcome hurdles to reopen schools five days a week beginning Nov. 4. Students and their families can choose instead to remain fully online for instruction through the Norwin Online Academy.

The announcement was made after Norwin closed its high school, middle school and intermediate school, along with Hahntown and Sunset Valley elementary schools, on Oct. 8 after reporting five coronavirus cases, followed by three more over the weekend and another three reported Tuesday — the day the schools reopened.

While the district plans to offer five days of in-class instruction Nov. 4, the district is concerned about the recent increase in cases, locally and across Westmoreland County.

“If if there is a substantial number of positive cases in our schools and/or our community, we may postpone the transition in two-week intervals until the cases are no longer substantial,” Taylor said.

Kevin Chitester, president of the Norwin Education Association, did not respond to a request for a comment on the reopening plan.

Brian Carlton, Norwin School board president and Penn-Trafford teacher, said Tuesday he realizes face-to-face instruction is best for students. But Carlton said he believes “schools will be in and out of session over the next three or four months, and we need to provide our students with as much face-to-face instruction as possible during these times.”

As of Oct. 12, contract tracing has demonstrated coronavirus cases are not being contracted while students are in school, but “they are being spread while students are attending non-school-related activities and events,” Carlton said. The school district is taking new and extra precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus while students are in school, he added.

When the schools closed last week, Norwin’s infection rate of seven cases over the past 14 days exceeded the state’s recommended number within that period.

Norwin should remain with its hybrid education model, given the increase in coronavirus cases, said Justin Pihony of Irwin. He said he also believes some kind of “outside pressure” is forcing school officials “away from the science.”

One of those parents who protested the hybrid education plan, Olivia Weber, said she believes the students have suffered more being stuck with homeschooling.

“Bottom line, it should be a choice, five days in school or homeschooling for parents that want to do so, ” Weber said.

One of the organizers of the protest in August, Alex Detschelt of North Huntingdon, said he anticipates the number of covid-19 cases will rise, but “our children’s education and mental well-being is continuing to suffer.”

Parents uneasy about having their children return fulltime to school always have the option to continue with online-only learning, Detschelt said.