Perk Valley to reopen its schools online-only

Add Perkiomen Valley to the list of area school districts that will start the school year with online-only education.

However, the district may return to some form of in-person classes as early as Sept. 28. The decision was made at a July 31 school board meeting.

The original motion at that meeting was to reopen in a hybrid model, with students in school inperson some days, but not for five days.

Instead, what ultimately passed was an amended motion to begin school with online education until Sept. 28.

That vote broke down with board members Sarah EvansBrockett, Gene Halus, Reena Kolar, Wayde Weston and Laura

White voting in favor, and board president Judy Lofton, vice president Matthew Dorr and Kim Mares voting against that decision.

That vote came after a presentation showing, among other things, that a poll of 4,615 parents showed reopening online only as the least-favored option.

However, a poll of 597 staff showed nearly 12 percent would not return if schools opened in a traditional setting, with another 70 percent saying they would return, but would have health concerns.

By contrast, an onlineonly opening would result in almost 100 percent of staff returning, although 34 percent answered they would prefer to teach from home and not have to come into school buildings.

The board has also voted to move the first day of school to Sept. 2. The last day of school remains June 17, barring snow days or other interruptions.

It is not clear what will happen after Sept. 28. And for that to happen at all and for students and staff to return, certain coronavirus pandemic conditions must be met.

According to the information the district posted, all of these conditions must be met for an in-person return to school:

• Percentage virus positivity rate below 5 percent (low) or 5%-10% (moderate) in Montgomery County.

• Incidence rate per 100,000 residents (Most Recent 7 Days) must be 10 or less.

• Advice from guiding agencies recommends a return to onsite instruction, CDC, AAP, OPH and DOH

• Sufficient supplies of PPE to accommodate all staff and students.

• Faculty to deliver instruction onsite.

“What the onsite instruction will look like after Sept. 28 is yet to be determined. If a hybrid or traditional return is recommended, families would still have the option” of remaining with online instruction as “it will be available all year long,” according to the district.

There is no set date yet for a decision to made about a Sept. 28 return.

“The board is scheduled to meet Sept. 7 and 14, but additional meetings may be scheduled and/or the meeting dates may be moved up to allow time for decisions and planning in advance of Sept. 28,” according to the district.

If students return, they will be required to wear a cloth mask and may start as half-day classes in order to reduce the population in school buildings, and thus the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

In the meantime, the district will provide in-person instruction to specific special education students from the first day of school, according to the announcement. That decision came in a vote at the Aug. 10 board meeting.

“This is so that the district can provide in-person services to students who have the most need. More information will be shared with families of special education students regarding the start of the school year,” according to information posted on the district website.

“While the idea of bringing kindergarten and firstgrade students in on the first day was also discussed at length, ultimately this recommendation was not approved by the board,” the district posted.

During an online community forum about school re-opening held Wednesday, Superintendent Barbara Russell said “this is a challenging way, not the most ideal way, to introduce our kindergarten students to school, however this is where we are and we’re going to make the best of it.”

The new online system, called Virtual Voyage 2.0, will be “synchronous,” meaning students must be on their computers at the time the class is scheduled to occur. “Students will be responsible to attend their classes,” said Russell.

There has been some confusion created by the fact that Perkiomen Valley has two different virtual programs with similar names, according to Russell. The one that existed before the pandemic is called PV Virtual, and the new online learning being offered for all students is called Virtual Voyage 2.0.

Virtual Voyage classes are taught by Perkiomen Valley teachers and are synchronous. PV Virtual classes are “asynchronous,” meaning the student does the work on his or her own schedule.

According to the district’s tweets from Monday’s meeting, Russell was insistent that the board agree on the criteria that would allow students and staff to return.

“I am hesitant to bring back fully traditional. I would like to consider halfday or phase-in,” Russell said.

“Thirty days is going to go fast. It’s in our best interest to decide on something. Admittedly it may change,” said board vice president Matt Dorr. “We need to make some sort of decision tonight.”

“I would like to leave tonight with a clear plan to go to our families and ask them to commit,” board member Laura White said.

“What the onsite instruction will look like after Sept. 28 is yet to be determined.”

— Perkiomen Valley School District