With breaks approaching, will Centre County schools make more calendar changes?
School calendars look much different for the 2020-21 year, but with the holidays around the corner and after Penn State’s decision to cancel spring break, some local districts are exploring more changes.
Earlier this month, Penn State announced it eliminated its spring break and replaced the week off with scheduled “wellness days.” To discourage travel during the pandemic, the State College Area School District last week began to explore changes to its spring break week.
Other districts don’t foresee more calendar changes but are planning ahead for the best ways to keep school communities safe after breaks.
State College students are in class for the majority of February and March, so Superintendent Bob O’Donnell said at a school board meeting last week that scheduling time off from learning would help alleviate the “long haul of winter.” SCASD’s planned spring break week is March 8-12.
“Having some break in there ... we think makes sense,” O’Donnell said. “I don’t know what that would look like.”
O’Donnell suggested the district consider time off in the middle of the school week, so students will be less likely to travel out of the county, taking a similar approach to Penn State’s “wellness days.” Board member Scott Fozard suggested the district consider ways to utilize the time.
“In general, the only reason we have a spring break is because Penn State has a spring break, so if they are not going to, then I would be a little more pointed than just exploring it. And really, I would be more changing that narrative to exploring what we’re going to do with that time,” Fozard said. “I just think this is an opportunity for us to take a step back and really look at a calendar that was developed prior to the crux of this pandemic and how this was going to affect us.”
Board member Lori Bedell said that exploring changes to the spring calendar makes sense for SCASD, though as a Penn State professor, she understands the impact of a canceled spring break.
“It is literally the time when I catch up on grading,” she said during the board meeting. “Being sympathetic to teachers who are teaching remote, the workload is truly an extra 50 percent or more of what you’re used to, so I would just encourage consultation with teachers so that they absolutely feel like they’re going to have some time to breath and catch up because it is such a slog.”
Board members agreed that giving students and staff a break from learning was a priority.
“This year is harder than any other that we’ve had, both on teachers and employees, and I know from personal experience that it’s harder on students because some kids are trying to navigate full-remote. Some kids are trying to navigate this weird back and forth, half and half thing that we’re doing,” student representative and State High senior Kyle Hynes said.
The SCASD calendar committee plans to evaluate changes and will present them at a future board meeting.
Other area school districts, such as the Bald Eagle Area, do not plan on revisiting calendars in light of Penn State’s spring break decision. BEA plans to stick to changes that were previously made to the academic calendar, Superintendent Scott Graham said.
“Because we started early this year, our students will end the year prior to Memorial Day,” he said.
BEA is not discouraging out-of-state travel during the holidays, Graham said, adding that the district does not require staff or students to quarantine if they travel to one of the states listed on Pennsylvania’s travel advisory.
“We ask staff and parents to monitor their health, and if they are ill or have symptoms related to COVID-19, to stay home and contact their doctor,” he said. “I have been very pleased this year on how proactive both parents and staff have been in keeping the district informed of symptoms, testing and results of testing.”
Nate Althouse, Penns Valley Area School District community relations director, said the district planning team meets regularly to discuss health and safety policies. In the weeks leading up Thanksgiving break, Althouse said the team will focus on ways to maintain district safety during the break and when students and staff return to school.
“At this time, we do not have a plan to alter the dates of our upcoming breaks, but we are still gathering information and documenting concerns,” Althouse said, adding that the district has not published any statements that outline its stance on visitation and travel. “We will consult with our school physician and nurses, our contact with the Department of Health, administrators and board members to finalize our recommendations.”
Penns Valley expects to continue its current cleaning and sanitizing protocols throughout district buildings. Althouse said it would be “naive” to think people will not spend time with friends and family during the holiday season over scheduled breaks, but the district is working to find a balance between connectivity and safety.
“It may not sound glamorous or revolutionary, but staying the course with enforcing social distancing when possible in our learning environments and strict adherence to wearing masks has helped us stay in school throughout the fall so far,” Althouse said. “But how we address the physical environment is only part of the process. We know we need buy-in from the community to encourage safe visiting and travel practices, as well.”
Bellefonte Interim Superintendent Tammie Burnaford said the district has no planned changes to the approved 2020-21 school year calendar.
“We will continue to follow our BASD health and safety plan which includes the description of the extensive cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting and deep cleaning that we do in our buildings daily and regularly,” she said.
The Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District has not announced any potential changes to their calendars, and a district administrator did not respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published October 26, 2020 at 10:42 AM.
