By Rachel Steffan
As the first day of school hurdles into view, administrators and staff are urgently scrambling to ensure all coronavirus preventative mandates are in place.
About one week before schools were scheduled to open their doors, the Department of Health issued an order establishing that all students must wear masks throughout the day.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education’s (PDE) Health Guidance on Face Coverings and Masks states that children two years and older are required to wear a face covering unless they have a medical or mental health condition or disability.
Accommodations for such students will be made in partnership with the student’s healthcare provider, school nurse, and IEP/504 team.
Prior to this announcement, most area schools were expecting to have staff in mandatory masks, and students returning full-time with masks recommended, but not necessarily required while socially distanced.
All student spaces in school buildings were adjusted to meet this need.
Since the new mask order, districts are problem-solving to make this manageable for students and staff.
Schools have developed various iterations of “mask breaks” for students at times during the day when it is safe to do so.
West Branch Middle School Principal Mark Mitchell expects school will feel much different this year because, rather than students changing classes and going to specials, teachers will be doing most of the moving around.
“Time schedules are staying the same, we are just limiting the transitions,” he said.
In order to regulate traffic flow, there will be a line down the middle of the halls at West Branch to remind students to stay on the right.
The cafeteria will now hold three students per table, rather than the usual 12-student maximum. This poses restrictions upon the ways that students can interact. “Socialization must be much more heavily regulated,” Mitchell said.
He estimates the greatest challenge for parents, in this new mode of the public-school experience, is knowing their children are safe.
“That’s why we are taking all these precautions, so parents can count on their kids’ safety when they come to school,” he said.
Along with West Branch, Curwensville, Moshannon-Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola School Districts are returning to a full-time, in-person plan with an option for students to take the cyber route.
Moshannon Valley is able to return full-time with face-to-face instruction because 25 percent of the students have elected to be in the cyber program.
“We are opening to those who want to attend,” said Superintendent Dr. John W. Zesiger. “It’s because so many have elected not to attend that we are able to social distance the rest of the remaining 75 percent of students.”
Zesiger believes the most difficult aspect of reopening is that the state has repeatedly modified its guidance and mandates for schools within a short period of time, very close to opening day.
“You constantly have to reevaluate and update,” he said.
Clearfield and DuBois Area School Districts are starting the year off with variants of a hybrid/blended model attendance schedule. This reduces the student population to create plenty of space for comfortable social distancing.
Clearfield students will go to school on alternating days depending upon the first letter of their last name while DuBois students have four learning options: in-person learning on alternating days, distance learning, hybrid learning or virtual.
Should they need to utilize a hybrid approach, the Curwensville, Moshannon Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and West Branch Area Districts have plans at the ready, which are very similar to the other districts.
“I think I speak for all superintendents in Clearfield County when I say that all members of the administrations and school communities really and truly have the health and safety of our students at the forefront,” Zesiger said. “I hope staff and families know that.”