GOING THE DISTANCE
School board revises classroom plan
LANSDALE >> A small change could mean a big difference for dozens of North Penn students by the end of this month.
The district’s school board voted unanimously Thursday night to update their return-toschool plan, to allow some reductions in safe distancing from six to three feet.
“We’re going to go six feet to the greatest extent possible, and if necessary we can go closer than that. But no closer than three feet in the classrooms,” said Superintendent Curt Dietrich.
In late February the board allowed students the choice to come back for five days of in-person instruction, stay fully virtual, or choose a hybrid mix of the two, after months that had alternated between fully virtual and partially hybrid teaching, all based on guidelines of six feet of distancing in all spaces. Following newly updated guidance at the state and federal level that the six feet limit can be lowered, Dietrich gave an update Thursday night on the latest stats for those who have returned, and on the roughly three dozen students that could not be fit into classrooms before lowering that limit.
“You see an increase in the number of students in five days, you see movement from hybrid into five days, you see a slight reduction in virtual: 33.5 (percent) is down to 31.9 (percent),” he said.
Those specifics: as of Feb. 23, 34.5 percent of district students had chosen to return to five days of in-person instruction, a percentage that’s now up to 44.2 percent as of March 16. The percentage receiving hybrid instruction has dropped, from 32 percent on Feb. 23 to 24 percent on March 16, while the virtual percentage fell from 33.5 to 31.9. At the elementary level, 46.7 percent of students were back in person in February, and now 59.1 percent are; the middle school number has grown from 24.4 to 31.9 percent, and the high school from 18.8 to 24.5 percent, Dietrich told the board.
“We do have some students that we have on a waiting list, if you will, at the elementary schools. These are areas where there are students that we would have to go closer than six feet, to be able to accommodate those requests,” he said.
That breakdown includes nine students at Nash Elementary, seven at Montgomery, five at Oak Park, four at Gwyn Nor, two at A.M. Kulp, and one each at Knapp, North Wales, Walton Farm elementaries. At the secondary level, staff have identified a total of six such situations at North Penn High School, none at Pennfield Middle School, seven at Penndale Middle School, and 25 at Pennbrook Middle, Dietrich said, showing the breakdown via videoconference to the board and public.
“We’re going to go six feet to the greatest extent possible, and if necessary we can go closer than that. But no closer than three feet in the classrooms.” — Superintendent Curt Dietrich
“There are a lot of mitigation measures that do happen in classrooms — masking being extremely important, certainly washing of hands, and just taking care,” he said.
Based on the most recent CDC rulings, staff are recommending the reduction in distancing in the district’s health and safety plan from six to three feet only where needed, and targeting March 29 for a date to put that plan in place, at the elementary level, in conjunction with teacher conversations. Dietrich said that date was chosen due a wave of teacher vaccinations done the week of March 11-14, meaning the 29th would allow two weeks for those teachers to build immunity to COVID-19, and April 19 would be the target date for remaining students interested in returning to do so.
Board member Jonathan Kassa asked how communication with parents would be handled, and Dietrich said that would be done “to the greatest extent possible,” largely through school principals. Kassa added that he heard on recent visits to schools that teachers and students would like to have smaller single desks rather than large tables back in classrooms, and Dietrich said facilities employees would do that as much as possible.
“It was a joy to hear more noise in all of those buildings, and to hear the feedback,” Kassa said.
Board member Elisha Gee added clarification that students will stay six feet apart while eating, since masks will be removed, and Dietrich said school staff have identified spaces in each school that can be used for lunches, like stages, classrooms, or perhaps tents, as weather warms.
“Lots of different ideas are being kicked around, but that is one of the understandings we have through this whole process, that we will continue to maintain that six feet of social distancing during the lunchtime,” Dietrich said.
Gee also asked if teacher vaccination status would impact student returns, and Dietrich said the “overwhelming majority, virtually all if not all” teachers who wanted the vaccine have been able to secure it already.
Several parents voiced their thoughts during the public comment of the meeting, both before and after the board unanimously approved the change. Owen Wilcox of Hatfield said he thought the reduction was “a positive step in the right direction.”
“I think anything the administration and board can do to continue to support the requests of parents who feel more comfortable, to have their students come back, is important, so everybody gets the education they desire and deserve,” he said.
Jason Lanier of Lansdale said he thought “the data points to the fact that the model should be opening up as much as possible,” and asked the district to post as much data as possible showing COVID case counts and vaccination numbers. Katie Hersh of North Wales added that the last round of decisions for parents to send their kids back was made based on six feet of distancing, and asked that the district survey those families again.
“To echo Dr. Dietrich, it’s more about the masking than the three feet. So if you’re not willing to make that decision, then at least ask the parents what they’re comfortable with,” she said.
North Penn’s school board next meets at 7 p.m. on April 6; for more information visit www.NPenn. org.