Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Elementary students returning Oct. 12
EAST MARLBOROUGH » Elementary students in the UnionvilleChadds Ford School District will be returning to in- school instruction beginning Oct. 12.
In a 9- 0 vote, school directors agreed to reopen grades K through 5 with a hybrid schedule, due in a large part by the recent decrease in COVID- 19 case numbers in municipalities in the school district. Officials at the Chester County Health Department, and Dr. Salwa E. Sulieman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist affiliated with several hospitals, have indicated the numbers are favorable for a phased reopening.
“The numbers support we are moving in this direction,” said John Sanville, superintendent of
theUnionville- Chadds Ford School District. “Chester County Health Department guidance recommends reopening of schools happening in a phased way beginning with the younger grades first. The fact of the matter is that from a K- 5 perspective, there is a much lower risk of spread to students in elementary schools.”
The phased reopening will permit K- 5 students to attend classes for half days, five days per week. The other half of a day studentswill learnhave online, asynchronous classes.
“I believe this is the best K- 5 hybrid plan we can do,” said Jeff Hellrung, school board president.
While in school, students will be required to wear masks and social distance. And large gatherings will be prohibited.
“There is nothing normal with the hybrid plan,” Hellrung said. “We will not be normal. Transportationwill not be normal. Socialization will not be normal. Lunches will not be normal. Recess will not be normal. Sports and extracurricular activities
will not be normal. We cannot promise a return to normalcy until we have a vaccine for this virus.”
School directors noted if the district sees even a single case of coronavirus in the classroom, the entire class likely will have to be quarantined at home. And if there are two or more separate COVID- 19 cases, it could require a return to remote instruction.
Should the return of students in grades K- 5 be successful,
school directors will vote Oct. 12 on whether to bring secondary students back to in- school instruction beginning Oct. 26. This decision will depend on the coronavirus case trend in the Unionville- Chadds Ford School District in the coming weeks.
“If we can do ( K- 5) well, we can learn things on how we can open up for grades 6 through 12,” Sanville said. “We will need to bring back staff, assign families to a. m.
and p. m. schedules, potential staff leaves - three is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done in the next three weeks to get it up and running well, and up and running safely.”
Sanville said he is confident secondary students can return to schools this month.
“Assuming the numbers remain as predicted, the board can take action to bring secondary students back Oct. 26,” he said.