City pupils will have option for online only

Pittsburgh Public Schools students will have the choice of taking remote classes full time in the upcoming academic year.

That was one guarantee the district made Thursday during a virtual news conference in which administrators provided updates to the city schools’ reopening plan while acknowledging that much is still undecided because of the rapidly evolving health and safety guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we get these guidelines, the plans we may present once they’re solidified may change based on the new [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said. “We’re ready to pivot and be as fluid as possible in that space to make sure that we provide education regardless if it’s a brick-and-mortar, blended or online.”

While the remote option will be available to students, the district and its partners continue to work on the “All In to Reopen Our Schools” plan aimed at getting students back in the classroom. The district is gathering recommendations from more than 300 staff members, teachers, parents, students and community group members examining health and safety measures for various aspects of school and using them to build a reopening plan.

The plan must be approved by the school board when it is completed. The district expects to put the plan before the board July 22. If approved, the plan would be sent to the state Department of Education for review.

Even though the plan is still being created, district officials said certain preparations are already underway.

Pam Capretta, the chief operations officer, said the district is in the process of surveying all of its educational spaces to accommodate social distancing. The district ordered three-sided desk shields that can be used as a divider when a teacher needs closer contact with a student.

The district also will purchase disinfectant and cleaning solutions that it can use in classrooms and on buses, she said, as well as personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks, for students and staff. All existing sanitizing stations are being repaired and filled, and bathroom spaces are being improved.

In addition to providing its school bus companies with cleaning supplies, the district is recommending that only one student sits in each bus seat, according to Ms. Capretta. She said the district is developing bus routes that would make that possible.

No matter what precautions the district takes, Mr. Hamlet said some parents will refuse to send their children back into schools in the fall.

“We know based on things we hear, emails we get from families and social media, that even if we had a brick-and-mortar option or a blended option, that some parents just do not want to send their children back to brick-and-mortar school,” he said. “They would rather them be online. So again, we’re giving parents that choice.”

All students from pre-K through 12th grade will be able to participate in remote instruction as Pittsburgh will be a 1:1 device district — meaning every student will be supplied with a device — by the beginning of the 202021 academic year.

The district has acquired laptops through bulk purchases and donations throughout the spring and summer. Funding from the federal CARES Act also was used to purchase devices and other technology needed for remote learning.

Mr. Hamlet said he heard President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold federal funding from schools that do not reopen for full-time inperson instruction. While he said he hopes that does not happen, the district is preparing just in case. He said federal dollars make up about 7% to 11% of a district’s annual budget.

Regardless, Mr. Hamlet said, the district has to consider many impacts that reopening would have both inside and outside of school buildings. For example, what if a student contracts the virus at school and takes it home to an elderly relative who could be more severely affected by the disease?

“We’ve got to think about all these things,” Mr. Hamlet said. “I don’t want to say that this is what Washington is doing, but hopefully we’re not trying to barter or broker the safety of our students, our faculty, our staff and our community to reopen the economy.”