McKeesport Area considers half-day return

McKeesport Area School District’s proposed reopening plan would have students attending school five days a week — but only for half of the day.

Additionally, all students will have the option for remote learning via the district’s cyber academy.

The board will vote on a final plan at its Aug. 12 meeting.

In a series of YouTube videos posted by Superintendent Mark

Holtzman, he detailed the reopening plan as compiled by district administrators. The plan calls for half of the students to attend school in the morning while the other half would attend in the afternoon.

Mr. Holtzman said the groups would be divided alphabetically. Students with last names starting with A through M would likely attend school in the morning and students with last names starting with N through Z would attend in the afternoon.

In the case of the district’s secondary students, they will run through an entire eight- or nineperiod day with approximately 20minute classes.

For the second half of the day, students would be at home engaging in remote learning.

At Wednesday’s school board meeting, a few people spoke about the reopening plan.

Parent Steven Singer said he was “very concerned” with the

half-day plan.

“This is not a safe plan for students, staff and families,” Mr. Singer said. He recommended the district start the school year with all students learning remotely.

“We have some of the highest numbers in the state,” Mr. Singer said of coronavirus cases in Allegheny County.

He called the plan “a slap in the face” to teachers. Unlike parents who can choose to keep their children at home and do remote learning, teachers have no choice but to come to work, he said.

Chris Kastronis, a teacher who attended the meeting representing the McKeesport Area School District teachers’ union, said a survey of teachers showed that safety was a primary concern.

“A large portion of our teachers are concerned about their own health and the health of their families,” especially those who care for or live with someone who is at a higher risk, Mr. Kastronis said.

“A lot of teachers would feel more comfortable if they had a protective barrier around their desks,” he said.

He added the teachers are eager to get back to teaching.

“We want to go back to work. We miss our students. We miss our friends. We miss our colleagues. We miss what we do. We just want to make sure we are doing it in the safest way possible for everybody involved,” Mr. Kastronis said.

Mr. Holtzman said in one of the videos he posted that the half-day plan would lend itself to social distancing because only half of the students would be in a building at any given time.

For instance, the high school, which typically has about 1,000 students, would have 500. The number of students on school buses would also be cut in half.

Students, teachers and staff will have to wear face coverings in school buildings at all times when 6 feet of social distancing is not able to be achieved as outlined by the mandate by Gov. Tom Wolf.

“There will be opportunities to have mask breaks throughout the school day,” Mr. Holtzman said, such as when students are eating and drinking.

The district has ordered plastic face shields for all students, but students can also wear a mask of their choosing to school, provided it meets with the district’s dress code.

Hand sanitizer will be available in the classrooms and the district will have extra custodians in the building to clean high-touch surfaces often.

Of the half-day proposal, Mr. Holtzman said, “This is not a permanent long-term solution to instruction.”

The administration and board will reassess the halfday schedule after two to three weeks.

Also at the meeting, the board discussed delaying the start of school until least Aug. 26. The date could be pushed back again as the district is awaiting delivery of student iPads and Chromebooks. All students will be receiving a device this year with students in kindergarten through fifth grade receiving iPads and older students receiving Chromebooks.

The board will vote on the start date at its Aug. 12 meeting.

The video series detailing the reopening plans can be found via the district’s website, www.mckasd.net.