Board votes to restart classes
Hybrid learning to be phased-in starting Oct. 19
PHOENIXVILLE » The Phoenixville Area School Board voted 6-3Monday night to begin a phased reopening of partial, in-person instruction starting Oct. 19.
Parents previously answered a survey indicating their students would either continue with the all-virtual online learning model, or return to class two days a week for in-person instruction.
About 1,000 families have chosen to keep their students learning online.
Selected grades are slated to return to in-person instruction on the following schedule:
• Oct. 19 — Kindergarten
• Oct. 26 — Grades 2, 6, and 9
• Nov. 5 — Grades 3, 4, 7, and 12
• Nov. 9 — Grades 1, 5, 8, 10, and 11
Voting against the reopening plan were School Board President Blake Emmanuel, who tried to convince the board to push the opening back by two weeks, and board members Christopher Caltagirone and Michelle Schamis.
The student body has already been divided into two groups. The “A” group is comprised of those whose last names begin with the letters A through L. The “B” group consists of students whose last names begin with M through Z.
For those who chose hybrid, each group of students will attend class for two days in-person and two days on-line with Wednesdays being the one day that all students have online class.
“A” group students will be in class on Mondays and Thursdays, and “B” group students will be in
“I don’t thinkwehave anyother optionthantowait. I feel likewe’re letting down our community by not havingaplan inplace. I feel like whatwe have in front of us is not viable.” — Board member Ayisha Sereni, before then voting to allow students back in school
class on Tuesdays and Fridays, under the plan.
Parents who allow their children to return to class and then change their minds will be allowed to move their students back into the virtual model, said Superintendent Alan Fegley.
“This isnot theworldwewant tobe in. We can’t get away fromthe fact that there are going tobebumps in the road.”
— Superintendent Alan Fegley
he decision to move forward with reopening plans was based on the steady or dropping numbers of coronavirus cases in both Chester County in general and even more so in the municipalities that comprise the Phoenixville Area School District where numbers are lower than the county average.
Also a factor, said Fegley, is the fact that incidence rates in districts surrounding Phoenixville, both in Chester County and beyond, are also lower than the county-wide numbers.
The board followed the recommendations of the district’s “pandemic task force,” a 15-member group comprised of administrators, parents, school nurses, teachers, support staff, a school board member and several medical experts, including an infectious disease expert.
Should the number of
COVID-19 cases begin to rise, the district has set a threshold beyond which all classes would return to virtual, online learning.
Several board members, including Caltagirone, expressed concern that teachers are being asked to do too much, teaching online and in class simultaneously, and that one or the other group of students will suffer as a result.
Tammy Kurtz, president of the teachers union, said members of the Phoenixville Area Education Association have concerns about all education models, but would “follow whatever decision the district makes.”
“This is not the world we want to be in,” said Fegley. “We can’t get away fromthe fact that there are going to be bumps in the road.”
Board member David Golberg recognized that teaching during the pandemic has been tough on teachers, but added, “what must be most paramount for us is the recognition that it’s the students who are struggling the most. I know it’s not fair to ask this of the teachers, but this is not a fair situation.”
AddedGolberg, “the kids are suffering, and that’s not hyperbole.”
“I don’t think we have any other option than to wait,” said board member Ayisha Sereni, before then
voting to allow students back in school. “I feel like we’re letting down our community by not having a plan in place. I feel like what we have in front of us is not viable.”
Board Vice President Jeesely Soto disagreed. “I think the administration has done a fantastic job,” she said.
Emmanuel said she worries about access to technology for some students and that the choice parents may make to keep their children safe at home “could widen our achievement gap.”
Reed said she voted to return to class because school “is not just a place to learn, it is also a social safety net.”
Before voting, the board heard a variety of public comments, ranging from one woman who said “forcing children towearmasks is child abuse;” several who requested that seniors be allowed back in class first; to others who asked that education continue online for all students.
The school board also voted to allow fall sports competition to commence.
On Monday night, that vote excluded football, but by Tuesdaymorning, a proposal to require all football team members to remain as virtual students during the season, was enough to convince a board majority to allow football to compete as well.
The board is scheduled to formalize that decision with a vote at its Oct. 19 meeting.
Fegley acknowledged how much time the board and community has spent discussing how to handle sports and much less time it has spent discussing other extra-curricular activities.
“I realize sports have a lot of boosters, but we have a lot more kids in non-sports activities than in sports,” said Caltagirone.
Fegley said many clubs and other activities are currently being conducted online and those that can be done in-person safely are slowly being phased back in.