GVSD Board OK's Move To All In-Class Instruction Or All-Virtual

MALVERN, PA — The Great Valley School Board on March 1 unanimously approved a timeline for returning students to fully in-school instruction, if their parents choose that, and if COVID-19 metrics remain within health department guidelines.

March 23 will be the first full day for all grades to return to school in-person. A portion of students will be brought back March 16-19 as hybrid instruction continues for the rest until its use ends on March 23.

The plan offers parents the option of keeping their children in virtual learning but eliminates the hybrid model that brought a smaller number of students into classrooms on alternating days to allow for distancing.

The Chester County Health Department's recent guidance updates reduce social distancing to 3 feet, and as COVID-19 numbers continued to improve, 4-5 days a week in-school instruction became an option for Chester County schools.

A Feb. 26 state Department of Health report said Chester County's incidence rate was 93 per 100,000, just below the 100 mark that moves the county out of the "very high" transmission risk category. The county's positivity rate has been 5.6 percent for the last two weeks, a rate that places Chester County in "moderate" risk transmission.

The school district is asking parents to once again select an instructional model for the rest of the school year. The window for selection has been open from Feb. 25-March 2.

Between March 3 and March 12 the district will finalize rosters based on parents' learning model choices and will notify teachers of changes to student instructional enrollment.

March 15 is an asynchronous day for all students. Then, March 16-19 students in kindergarten through second grade, as well as sixth- and ninth-graders, will attend school in-person if they are not in virtual learning.

March 22 is another asynchronous instruction day for all students. Then, from March 23-26, all grades will attend in-person if that was their choice.

Spring break will follow the full return, March 29-April 4, and classes will resume in the in-person instructional model on April 6.

The March 1 GVSD board meeting with Superintendent Dr. Daniel Goffredo's explanation of the plan's timeline can be viewed here.

GVSD Board President David Barratt announced in the meeting there will be no field trips for the 2020-21 school year.

The changes to physical distancing recommendations allowed school districts to expand in-person instruction to 4 or 5 days a week once Chester County transmission rates are below 100 per 100,000 people, and as long as percent positivity rates (PCR) remain below 10 percent.

The CCHD continues to recommend physical distancing of 6 feet to the greatest extent possible and at no time is less than 3 feet of physical distancing permitted. And, 6 feet of physical distancing is still required for staff in their interactions with students and each other.

Read a story about Chester County Health Department updated guidance here.

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