Parents criticize last-minute shift in Bethel Park school reopening

How the school day will look for students in the Bethel Park School District when they return for classes Tuesday drew some critical comments from parents at a meeting this week.

School will start remotely for the first few weeks, with the goal to transition to a hybrid format with students in school two days a week by Oct. 5.

At the high school and middle school levels, students will have two days of synchronous instruction, taught by a live teacher, and two days of asynchronous learning, where they work on their own.

Students at the elementary level will receive four days of synchronous instruction and one day of asynchronous learning. This is a change from what the district originally announced, which upset some parents, who sent their comments into the school board to be read aloud at the meeting Tuesday.

“Once again, chaos reigns in Bethel Park,” said parent Jessica Montesano in a letter to the board.

“Here we are a week until school begins and the plans change yet again from two days to four days of synchronous learning at least for elementary students,” she said.

“These decisions, these plans should have been made a month ago and communicated accordingly,” Ms. Montesano added, calling the last-minute change a “slap in the face,” especially to working parents.

Parent Bradley Fitch added, “With the start of school approximately a week away, I am very worried we have yet to receive information about the school year.”

Information on how students’ days will look in the remote models can be found on www.bpsd.org under each school’s individual website tab.