Allegheny Valley SB approves safety plan but not phased-in or full return to school

Allegheny Valley School Board on Tuesday approved its Health Safety Plan for the upcoming school year, but is still debating how students will return to school.

The district is considering whether to open school buildings to its more than 900 students at the same time or to have a portion of its students go to school buildings each day.

The district will offer a full-time cyber school and special consideration for students who would be highly vulnerable to covid-19.

The board plans to hold a special meeting at which it will listen to comments from the public and deliberate on specifics of its reopening plan.

“We are trying to make sure safety is in the forefront,” said Janice Nuzzo, director of student achievement and chairwoman of the district’s reopening committee.

“After the safety piece, then it’s about what the kids need and what is important to the students. After that, it’s what’s important to the families. And somewhere in the middle, it all has to gel together,” she said.

School board directors unanimously approved the administration’s Health Safety Plan, which includes all students wearing masks and staying socially distanced, along with increased sanitary practices.

Some board members took issue with how a phased reopening would work.

In its draft plan, the district is proposing one group of students physically attend school Mondays and Tuesdays, while a second group would attend in person Wednesdays and Thursdays.

When the students aren’t in the classroom, they should be able to attend classes live online, school board member Stephen P. Puskar said.

“It’s about students getting their work done every day,” he said.

Another board member, Joelle McFarland, said she was concerned about the students’ learning experience if they have five-day breaks from being in the physical classroom.

The ability for students to get their work done at home and for parents to be a part of that process can be difficult, said Paula Jean Moretti, a school board member whose daughter has taught cyber school.

“It takes a lot of commitment,” she said.

Other school members and some parents were concerned about the details of learning at home, especially students with special learning needs.

The reopening committee will continue to work on the details and present them to the public as soon as possible, Nuzzo said.