Bristol Township Students To Return To In-Person Class

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA — Students in the Bristol Township School District will return to in-person classes starting next week.

Monday evening, the district's school board approved a hybrid model under which students will attend school two days every week, with the other three still taught remotely.

The plan follows guidance from the Bucks County Department of Health, which has said no evidence has linked children attending school with the spread of the coronavirus, but comes as the number of new cases of the virus is on the rise, both locally and across the nation.

Under the plan, half of Bristol Township students will attend classes in person on Mondays and Thursdays, while the other half will attend on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, 3rd, 6th and 9th grades will start back next week, which begins Monday, Nov. 23. Those in 1st, 2nd, 7th and 10th grades will start the week of Nov. 30 and those in 4th, 5th, 8th, 11th and 12th will start back the week of Dec. 7.

Parents who wished for their children to continue entirely remote learning were allowed to do so under the board's plan.

On Tuesday, district schools Superintendent Melanie Gehrens said the plan depends on guidance from the state and federal governments, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and could change.

"BTSD encourages our community to stay safe when leaving the home, including social distancing, wearing a mask, and frequent hand washing," Gehrens said in a letter to the school community. "Stay healthy and be well."

Details, including information on which students are in the district's black and gold groups, can be found on the Bristol Township School District website.