State College shifts gears in elementary schools after 70% choose to learn in person
About 70% of State College elementary students plan to attend school in person this fall, prompting the school district to alter its reopening plan for those grade levels.
State College Area School District parents and guardians had until last week to select their learning plan for the 2020-21 school year. After analyzing the numbers, the district had to reevaluate its elementary education model, according to a letter to district families from Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Vern Bock.
With the high percentage of students choosing to learn in person, the district did not have enough teachers to cover both in-school and remote classrooms, according to Bock. Moving to a cohort approach, in-school and remote learning will be synchronous, and K-5 students will attend classes every day either online or physically.
“Without this adjustment, we would face serious space and staffing issues because of the final numbers,” Bock wrote.
SCASD plans to purchase cameras that will allow teachers to show remote students what is happening in the classroom.
With 2,739 elementary students, 837 families — 31% — selected remote or virtual learning for the upcoming school year. Under the previous plan, SCASD would have needed to reassign 27-30 teachers to teach virtually.
“This reassignment of teachers would have shifted some faculty to different grade levels and/or schools,” Bock wrote. “Additionally, class sizes would have increased for in-person learning, requiring classrooms to be moved to alternate spaces where possible, but in some cases, there simply wasn’t an available space.”
The cohort approach, Bock wrote, will provide opportunities for in-person and remote students to interact with each other and their teacher throughout the school day. Students can now stay with their homeroom teacher — whether in-school or remote.
“These connections between in-school and remote students will establish a classroom community and serve as a strong foundation to keep students engaged should we be forced into district-wide remote learning,” Bock wrote.
If the district must close its facilities during the year, the cohort will keep classrooms and learning intact, but Bock said the district has “no intention” of closing schools prior to Aug. 25.
“Our teachers are highly skilled and dedicated educators, among the best in their profession,” Bock wrote. “While this won’t be easy, we have the utmost confidence that they will be able to carry out this plan, and we are working on giving them the tools they need.”
By the original July 28 selection deadline, 70% of elementary students, 72% of middle schoolers and 77% of secondary students — including those enrolled in the Delta Program — were slated to return for in-person learning, according to survey data provided by the district. In total, 73% of all district students are expected to attend classes physically.
These numbers do not reflect any changes that have been made by families following the elementary updates, Director of Communications Chris Rosenblum said in an email Tuesday evening.
“We’re very pleased that nearly all of our families responded to our request to select learning and transportation options for the fall from three choices,” Rosenblum wrote. “This data will be critical for our plans to return to schools as safely as possible and provide robust opportunities with each option. We know and appreciate that this was a difficult decision for many families, and we’re grateful for their cooperation and patience during the selection process. In the coming weeks, we will do our best to prepare for an uncertain year and work to ensure our students receive a high-quality education regardless of where they’re learning.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
