Pittsburgh Public Schools to offer online-only option to students in the fall

There is still no concrete plan for how Pittsburgh Public Schools will reopen in the fall — or what brick-and-mortar learning will look like — but administrators on Thursday said parents will have the option of all-online learning for the 2020-21 school year.

Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said during a virtual news briefing that there will be a “definite online, full-time learning component.” The in-school option will blend online learning with in-classroom learning, he said.

“We know … that even if we had a brick-and-mortar option, some parents just do not want to send their kids back to brick-and-mortar school,” he said.

The goal, he said, is to give families options.

More than 300 stakeholders — staff, faculty, parents, students, community leaders — have made up five committees that together have 14 subcommittees. All are working on different pieces of the plan to ensure the district is ready for students, regardless of which option they choose.

Because plans have yet to be finalized and approved by the school board, Hamlet declined to give specifics about either option.

“I don’t want to say anything that’s going to be contrary to the recommendations we get,” he said.

Pamela Capretta, the district’s chief operations officer, said her office is working to make sure social distancing guidelines can be followed during in-school instruction.

“We’re looking at school layouts to identify social-distancing within every one of our educational spaces,” she said, noting that much of those procedures have been drafted based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other school leaders are working to ensure all 32,000 students have the technology they need for online learning, while still others are revamping bus routes to make it easier for students to sit one to a seat.

A draft of the reopening plan will be presented to administrators, principals, parent groups and other partners on July 14. The board will vote July 22. The plan will be presented at the Aug. 4 education committee meeting.

President Donald Trump this week threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that do not fully reopen in the fall. Hamlet said he hopes it won’t come to that.

He said federal money makes up 7 to 10% of the district’s budget.

“The administration and board will do what’s safest for our faculty and staff and for our families,” he said. “Hopefully, we’re not trying to barter or broker the safety of our students and staff and faculty to reopen our economy.”

Families that plan to opt in to the fully online option are asked to let the district know via the school’s reopening plan webpage.

More information regarding the options and plans for education in the fall can be found at https://www.pghschools.org/allin