Bellefonte adds ‘hybrid’ option to fall reopening plan, updates face coverings requirement
After hearing community feedback and additional state guidance, the Bellefonte Area School District updated its preliminary fall reopening plan to include a third learning option and additional health guidelines.
Last week, the district announced that students will have the opportunity to learn in-person twice a week and attend virtual classes the other three days of instruction. This “hybrid” option aims to limit the number of students in school facilities and make compliance with social distancing easier, Marion-Walker Elementary principal and pandemic coordinator Karen Krisch wrote in a letter to families.
Children will be assigned to either an A or B group which will determine when they attend in-person classes. For remote learning, lessons will be completed on Google Classroom.
“The A group will attend school on Monday and Thursday; the B group on Tuesday and Friday,” Krisch wrote.
The district also updated its fall reopening plan to accommodate to the state Department of Health mandate that requires face coverings while at school. If parents decide to send kids to in-person school for the 2020-21 school year, students will be required to wear a mask unless a medical exemption is submitted to the district by a health care provider.
The district will hold a live Zoom forum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to address these changes and answer questions from families and staff. Questions may be submitted in advance online.
Each school entity in Pennsylvania is required to submit its Health and Safety Plan to the state Department of Education prior to the reopening of schools. In Centre County, Penns Valley and State College area school districts, Central Intermediate Unit 10 and Nittany Valley Charter School have submitted their plans to the PDE as of Monday.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 10:35 AM.
