Neshaminy Working On School Reopening Options

LEVITTOWN, PA — With less than two months to go before the first day of classes, officials in the Neshaminy School District are working to determine what back-to-school will look like in the age of coronavirus.

In a letter to the school community, Neshaminy schools Superintendent Rob McGee said officials have been meeting daily to hash out a state-mandated Health and Safety Plan for school reopening.

"Clearly, the safest plan as far as the spread of the coronavirus is for schools to remain closed in September. Just as the safest plan to not be in a car accident is to not get in a car," said McGee. "The essential questions we struggle to answer is how do we 'normalize' society with the virus and where does education fall in such a normalization."

McGee said Neshaminy officials are considering several options. In the letter, he listed four plans under consideration. They include a full, traditional in-person school model, a model in which students attend in-person every other day, a plan in which all students would start the year doing remote learning from home and one in which some students attend online while the rest do so in person.

At the end of July, McGee said, he will recommend a plan to Neshaminy's school board.

In the letter posted last week, McGee said support for starting the year with traditional, in-person schooling appears to be waning among area educators.

"When I first drafted this email, Plan A – all students in, every day – was leading the four-county thinking," he wrote. "(But) 10 days later, I am no longer sure that is the case."

Last month, Bucks County health officials released school reopening guidelines, offering specific safety measures the county's public school districts should follow as they plan for a fall reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The goal of the guidelines are to plan for a "safe and reasonably normal" reopening, said David Damsker, the director of the Bucks County Health Department.

Bucks County is recommending that, for in-person schooling, students be required to wear masks on buses and "possibly in hallways," but not in classrooms. Students and staff will be required to have a mask with them at all times in case it is needed. It's unclear how that guidance jibes with Gov. Tom Wolf's order this month that masks be worn in all public places.

Additionally, a minimum distance of three feet spacing is recommended for classroom seating, and seats should be configured to maximize on social distancing, the county recommends.

Other safety recommendations from the county include:

• Parents and guardians must screen children for symptoms before school each day, as must district staff before leaving for work.
• Masks will be required aboard buses, where up to two students will be allowed to share a seat.
• Staff who not able to socially distance from students in class must wear a mask or face shield.
• Frequent hand-washing or sanitizing, and regular disinfection of high-touch surfaces will be required.
• Ventilation in classrooms and common areas will be enhanced when possible.
• High-traffic hallway use will be limited by staggering the end of classroom periods when feasible, and masks may be required if staggering is not feasible.
• Cafeteria seating will be staggered, and possibly assigned, to enforce social distancing and assist contact tracing if necessary.

None of the recommendations are mandatory, the county confirmed.

The Bucks County health department has prepared a list of frequently asked questions about the reopening of schools. Those can be found here.