Greater Latrobe sets graduation options, plans survey to prep for fall instruction

Greater Latrobe School District is holding out hope for a belated commencement ceremony for the high school Class of 2020.

But district officials note those plans, and options for instructing remaining students next fall, will depend on the status of the covid-19 pandemic. A survey is planned to solicit district families’ input on fall options.

For now, the district is planning to conduct graduation exercises on June 25, with a possible backup date of July 22. In case of rain, the respective dates are June 26 and July 23.

A 7 p.m. baccalaureate service is proposed for June 24 — held in-person or virtually, depending on pandemic-related restrictions on social gatherings. July 21 is the backup date for that service.

A proposed seniors-only Senior Spectacular, tentatively slated for June 19 as an alternative to the canceled prom, has itself been canceled. The event was to have been held at Giannilli’s II restaurant, but dining in restaurants remains a prohibited activity in counties, including Westmoreland, that are in the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan for gradually easing restrictions and beginning to restart the economy.

“Things are changing on a daily basis, sometimes on an hourly basis,” Superintendent Georgia Teppert said. “We will not just sit back and wait. We will continue to plan for whatever plan we need to implement.”

As it stands now, if Westmoreland County doesn’t progress to the least restrictive green pandemic phase by the end of the summer, all students will start the fall semester with continued remote learning, Teppert said.

Greater Latrobe also will have to be prepared for students who may want to continue learning at home, even if district schools reopen.

In a green phase, she said, the return to bricks-and-mortar school buildings will be subject to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for controlling potential spread of the covid-19 virus.

“In the green phase, we will still be social distancing,” which could mean limiting the number of students in each classroom and at lunch periods, she said.

Use of school bathrooms would have to be adjusted, and staff would need training on new health protocols, including “handling of a student who may present with illness,” Teppert said.

One possibility would be a hybrid model, where groups of students would alternate between days reporting to their school and others spent engaging in lessons from home.

The frequency of students rotating between school and home is one of the variables that would have to be determined.

“We’re continuing a discussion of what that will look like,” Teppert said. ” A survey will be distributed to families in the next few days to devise the best possible schedule and instructional learning options to meet the needs of our students and families.”

She said the district also is considering altering the daily class schedules for the senior high and junior high so that students at the adjoining buildings would begin and end their school day at the same times.

The synchronized schedules would allow “much greater opportunities to use our staff effectively,” Teppert said.