PPS to start school year online only

Pittsburgh Public Schools board members Friday voted unanimously to hold the first nine weeks of the year’s classes virtually, saying that protecting the community’s health amid the COVID-19 pandemic outweighed the potential negative impact remote learning could have on education.

Pittsburgh joins school districts in several other major cities across the country that will begin online only, including Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego and Atlanta.

Board member Kevin Carter, who last week introduced the resolution to move classes online, said school officials are not health experts and asked if any of his board colleagues wanted to be accountable for a child contracting the virus in a district building.

“Are you willing to take that responsibility? Are you willing to gamble the lives of students and staffs?” Mr. Carter said before the vote. “Because that is what this vote means today.”

The district initially planned to provide an option for students to take classes in person twice a week while being online the other three days. But as the number of COVID-19 cases surged in Allegheny County

and southwestern Pennsylvania in recent weeks, fears grew that the virus would rapidly spread through schools and into the community at large.

The district worked with more than 300 community stakeholders over the summer to create a health and safety plan for schools to reopen at the start of the 202021 academic year. The stakeholders formed 14 subcommittees that developed more than 400 recommendations based off of local, state and federal health guidelines.

Those plans included social distancing, mask-wearing, frequent cleanings and other measures. But even with those plans in place, board members were skeptical of the district’s ability to ensure the health and safety of everyone inside of schools during the pandemic.

Board member Bill Gallagher, who was a teacher in the district for 27 years, said problems would inevitably arise if thousands of students and staff came into school buildings.

“I see how a school day goes,” he said. “We can have the greatest safety plan in the world, but something is going to go wrong. Then we’re going to go back to square one.”

Still, board members showed concern about the quality of education students would receive in virtual classes.

Board member Terry Kennedy said she believes that in-person instruction was “superior” to remote instruction, but she said the district should not consider reopening schools if it cannot guarantee safety for students, staff and the community.

“Right now, I personally am only leaving my house when I absolutely need to do it,” she said. “I left my house only twice this month, and those were for very specific appointments. How can I then require other people to leave their homes to be in a school building if I’m not willing to leave my house?”

Board members also brought up student access to online instruction and student engagement during remote learning — both of which were problematic in the spring.

Administrators said the district is better prepared to provide remote learning this fall compared to the spring. The district intends to provide each student with a device — a laptop or iPad — that can be used for remote learning by the first day of the school year.

Board member Sala Udin urged the district to try to get devices to students before the first day of class. He said he was skeptical of the district’s ability to get the necessary equipment to all students before the school year began.

Administrators, however, said students will have the devices they need on time.

Minika Jenkins, the district’s chief academic officer, said the district will provide synchronous instruction for all students, including those with special needs. The district is also working to overhaul planning guides to help teachers figure out what activities can be done in a remote setting, she said. And students will have all of their classes, including electives.

Those are all changes from the remote instruction students received after schools shut down in mid-March.

“There are some major differences, but I would say the primary difference is the fact that we will have synchronous instruction, which we did not have consistently last year during remote learning,” Ms. Jenkins said.

Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, said the majority of union members supported moving classes online for the first nine weeks of the year. Dozens of teachers provided testimony to the school board during a public comment session Wednesday noting the difficulties of in-person instruction when social distancing, mask-wearing and constant sanitizing would be required.

Ms. Esposito-Visgitis, however, said she was “aggravated” because the district was considering making teachers come into schools so that they can lead virtual lessons from their classrooms.

While some teachers do want teach from their classrooms — such as science teachers who have do not have the supplies they need at home — many do not, she said.

Teachers who do not want to return are considering taking a leave of absence and other options, Ms. Esposito-Visgitis said, and she warned of a possible teacher shortage.

She said she actually brought up the idea of some teachers using their classrooms in conversations with school administrators. But she said a district lawyer told her a few days ago that all teachers would have to return to their buildings — a decision that was made without consulting the union.

“We have spoken to our attorneys,” Ms. Esposito-Visgitis said. “We continue to deal with our attorneys, and people have a number of options.”

The first day for all staff is Aug. 19, although some employees start sooner.

District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said a final decision has not been made on whether teachers will have to come back. She said the discussion remains ongoing.

“We definitely understand their concerns,” she said.