Religious observance prompts North Allegheny to reschedule vote for return to 'in-person' classes
The North Allegheny school board has canceled its meeting planned for Monday night and moved it to Tuesday to accommodate members of the community who are observing the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The board’s virtual meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Yom Kippur is known as the “day of atonement” and is considered the holiest of days in Judaism.
The main issue up for consideration by the board is a proposal to return to in-person instruction five days a week for children in kindergarten through 5th grade beginning on Oct. 19.
If revisions to the district’s Health and Safety Plan are approved, families will be asked to sign their children up for full time, in-person instruction or the NA Cyber Academy for the second quarter, which ends on Jan. 28.
The registration period runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
Students in grades six through 12 will be asked to choose between in-person instruction using the hybrid model or attending classes through NA Cyber Academy. the registration period for those children runs from Oct. 5 to 9.
Students who decide to attend NA Cyber Academy must commit to staying in the program for a full semester. To make it easier for students to make the transition back to an in-school environment, the Cyber Academy’s curriculum will mirror the district’s in-person curriculum.
Under the hybrid model the district has used since the start of the school year on Sept. 8, students with last names beginning with “A to L” attending in-person on Mondays and Tuesdays and at home on Wednesdays using an online program of independent or “synchronous” learning. The “A to L” group attends classes online with a teacher on Thursdays and Fridays.
Students with last names beginning with “M to Z” follow the same education plan but attend in-person classes on Thursday and Friday.
Wednesdays will be used to clean and sanitize buildings and allow teachers to schedule office hours to meet virtually with students and families.
Tony LaRussa is a TribLive reporter. A Pittsburgh native, he covers crime and courts in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He can be reached at tlarussa@triblive.com.
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