Bristol Township is the latest school district to expand its reopening plan and offer more in-person instruction to its students.
During its meeting on March 16, the board of school directors voted unanimously to offer five-day instruction for the fourth marking period, which begins next month. The current cohorted hybrid model will be dissolved, and families must choose whether they want 100 percent in-class or remote learning for the remainder of the academic year.
Superintendent Dr. Melanie Gehrens read the results of a survey that was recently distributed to families. She stressed that, with over 5,000 students in the district and only 2,500 responses, the survey wasn’t representative of the entire community. However, each school was represented.
When asked if they’d prefer an all-in model, despite a chance that desks would be separated by less than 6 feet, 58.2 percent said “yes.” A total of 53.1 percent said they’d still let their child ride the bus if social distancing was to be decreased.
Several parents spoke up during the public comment portion of the meeting. Most were on the same page – they want their children back in the classroom.
One mother, a frontline healthcare worker, witnessed the deadly impacts of COVID-19 firsthand. Yet she pleaded with the board to give students some “normalcy.” Another shared statistics on how high schoolers regularly cheat in virtual learning, and will end up failing in school and life if they don’t return to the buildings soon.
A paraprofessional expressed concern about the staffing shortage, and how that will be impacted by the influx of in-person students. She urged the district to actively search for more staff, even a few substitutes.
The only public comment participant adamantly opposed to a full reopening was Brad Pawlikowski, president of the Bristol Township Education Association. He expressed fear that COVID-19, including the more-infectious variants, will spread in the classrooms, especially if students are eating lunch without masks while separated by less than 6 feet.
“When we lower the safety standards, we elevate the risk,” he said. “Now is not the time to relax safety protocols.”
Visit bristoltwpsd.org/ for more information and updates.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
