Despite concerns expressed by its health and safety experts, the Gettysburg Area School District (GASD) Board of Directors voted Wednesday night to open its three elementary schools under a plan in which the students will be in class four days per week sitting as close as three feet from each other and wearing face masks.
The vote was 7-2 with board members Carrie Soliday and Kathleen Pratt voting against the plan.
The board rejected another plan, presented to them on Monday, in which elementary school children would attend only two days per week, allowing them to maintain six feet of separation during the school day.
Before the vote, Assistant Principal Dr. Christine Lay said the four-day per week plan was not the district’s preferred plan.
Lay said the average class size in the elementary schools was 21 with a range from 17 to 29 students.
Lay said she had talked with the elementary school principals who thought the two day per week plan presented Monday “was the safest plan for students and staff to reenter schools.”
Lay said “many, many resources were taken into consideration” in developing the Monday plan. “We were told the board would not support a plan that required students to wear masks all day, so we presented a plan that would allow our students to be six feet apart and be safe.”
“We were directed on Monday afternoon that that plan was no longer going to be supported [by the board]. And so we came with our plan and we stick by our plan,” Lay said.
“I worked with our team because we need to get an approved plan. We will honor this plan and we can make this plan work for our students and staff if we know there’s going to be compliance with students and families that they are wearing masks,” said Lay.
“That’s still an unsettling conversation with teachers and administrators about how much we can enforce that and how much that will interfere with our instruction and our day and discipline. But if this is the plan the board is comfortable approving we can be comfortable with it as long as we get support that it follows the safety guidelines,” Lay said. “They will not be six feet apart in the elementary classes. We compromised as we were asked to do.”
The board members thanked the district for the work they did on the plan.
Members who voted for the four-day plan said they thought it did a better job balancing the needs of the school with the needs of the community.
Board President Kenneth Hassinger said he was “comfortable that if there are problems the administration will come to the board and that the board would diligently change what it needs to do to assure the students and staff are successfully safe.”
The board unanimously voted to change the 2020-2021 school opening date until August 31, giving the district more time to prepare. Teachers will report on August 17.
Middle School students will follow a blended two day per week model, remaining in the same classroom all day and eating in the cafeteria.
High school students will also have a blended model but will change classrooms during the day.
The district said teachers would use Fridays to prepare for an all-remote learning environment that may be needed if schools need to close their in-person operations. The day off will also give the custodial staff time to do a deep cleaning.
Parents have a choice of three options for their children:
The in-person plan
An online curriculum taught by GASD teachers
An online curriculum with the Gettysburg Area Virtual Academy taught by outside teachers.
Lusk said students who choose either of the online options will still be able to access athletic and other extracurricular activities.
The plan will be revisited at the end of the first quarter.
Asked whether extracurricular activities would continue, Lusk said “we plan to offer as many outside activities as we safely can.”
Perrin said the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Health have provided guidelines for what the district should do if a child were to get sick. “They will make recommendations.”
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GASD to Open with All-Day Face Mask Requirement in Elementary Schools - Gettysburg Connection
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