Norwin to unveil reopening plan July 30

With 5,300 Norwin students scheduled to return in about a month, district administrators will inform the school board next week about how they plan to do that safely.

Norwin will have “a number of contingencies and we will discuss them in detail,” said Superintendent Jeff Taylor. Those contingencies will depend, in part, on which phase of the state’s covid-19 reopening plan the region is in at the time. Westmoreland County has been in the green phase since early June.

The school board is expected to see the plan early next week, with a vote likely coming during a special online meeting at 6:30 p.m. July 30. District officials intend to present the plan to parents the first week of August.

Taylor said he will propose a new opening date for the start of classes, which had been scheduled for Aug. 19. Under the current state Health Department mandates, students and staff will be required to wear masks, Taylor said.

The administration plans to meet Thursday with officials from the unions representing school employees to discuss the reopening, Taylor said.

While Brian Carlton, Norwin School Board president and a Penn-Trafford teacher, said he wants students to return to school, he pointed out there are many unanswered questions as far as to how the district can make that happen.

“I want our plan to include an option for our students to return to school in a safe environment. With that being said, our governor (Tom Wolf) may step in again and tell us what we can and cannot do,” Carlton said.

Robert Wayman, a school board member and retired Norwin teacher, said he would like to see all students be able to receive instruction in the classroom.

“I’m in favor of face-to-face instruction. There is no replacement,” said Wayman, who taught communications.

The plan will give students the option of attending classes in person or through the district’s online program, said William Essay, the board vice president and retired Franklin Regional teacher.

“I don’t think there is a right decision, one way or the other. It’s up to the parents,” Essay said.

The plan was developed with the help of a reopening committee of more than 300 people from the Norwin community, including parents and business leaders, along with administration, staff and teachers. Although districts such as Penn-Trafford, Hempfield Area and Greater Latrobe have approved reopening plans, Taylor has said those plans have had to be revised because of changing requirements from the state departments of health and education as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It was important to have community input because the district wanted to know what the community wanted, said Darlene Ciocca, school board member.

“They need a voice (in the plan). I hope the community can accept it,” Ciocca said.

Safety remains a top concern among teachers, as well as how the curriculum will be delivered to the students who will be in the classroom, said Kevin Chitester, president of the 310-member Norwin Education Association and a high school teacher. Teachers may have to teach students in the classroom, while also teaching other students online, Chitester said.

The district has not decided whether plexiglass barriers will be installed in classrooms to separate teachers from students or whether face shields will be used, Chitester said. Although the state wants students and teachers to wear masks in order to reduce the spread of covid-19, some people may have medical issues when wearing masks. How do teachers, especially in the elementary grades, help youngsters who may need assistance performing various functions during the day, Chitester said.

If more online teaching is required, Chitester said that will require more training for the teachers, Chitester said.

“It’s really overwhelming. Something else comes up every day,” Chitester said of the guidelines for reopening schools.