Trending
MILL HALL -- For students at Bucktail High School and Central Mountan Middle School, there is good news on the horizon.
They're heading back to in-person classroom instruction on Monday.
Keystone Central School District superintendent Jacquelyn Martin made the announcement at Thursday night's school board work session.
"I did learn this afternoon that Bucktail High School is going to be able to have their students come back seven through 12 beginning on Monday," Martin explained, "and Central Mountain Middle School -- with some adjustments to their lunch schedules -- are going to welcome back all of their students five through eight on Monday as well."
And she challenged the secondary principals to make certain that students are maintaining social distancing, especially during lunch, by coming up with some creative solutions to get the students six feet apart when unmasked.
"We really are striving to get all of our students back to school five days a week," Martin said. "The biggest obstacle is lunchtime."
Martin said she's hopeful that community spread of COVID-19 continues to drop.
"Hopefully … we will have everyone back in a safe manner and continue along (with) the instructional goals that we have because, ultimately, learning is our fundamental purpose," Martin said.
Meanwhile, she gave a progress report about COVID-19 cases among staff.
"The cases among our staff and students are very low as we continue to track them according to the DOH and PDE guidelines," Martin said.
On Friday, an email from Martin to families said there is one confirmed, active case in one school.
Martin said the district will once again have its "Curriculum Showcase." The showcase is in its third year. It will be held virtually this year.
"Unfortunately, we cannot have an in-person program or tours due to the COVID safety precautions. So our team has put together a pretty awesome virtual curriculum showcase that highlights our curriculum options, including our virtual academy, our career and technical education programs as well as our core curriculum," Martin explained.
She said the showcase also features a video by school counselors regarding the scheduling process and next steps, video presentations by each of the district's program leaders by department and a question and answer segment. Questions can be submitted electronically.
Martin also explained the district's use of snow days over remote learning days.
"The primary reason is that not all of our students yet have their own devices. Many of our staff and students don't have full access to reliable internet service yet. There are several situations in which the delivery of specialized services for our special education students are very difficult to deliver in a remote format," Martin explained.
According to Martin, there's a big difference between a closure due to COVID-19 and a snow day.
"When we were forced to close, based on the state requirements due to COVID, we didn't have a choice. We had to deal with it. However, on the inclement weather days, if it's at all possible, I'd like to make up those days so those services can continue," Martin said.
She also said that some families still enjoy a true "snow day."
"Some families really relish snow days and having those days off … letting their kids stay in their pajamas all day and so forth. A lot of families really do rely on our students to help with snow removal or watch their siblings on snow days as well as not all family members get snow days off," Martin said.
There will be free meal distribution for children ages 1 through 18 in the KCSD community again this week. Bundled breakfasts and lunches will be available from 5-6 p.m. at: Bucktail High School (main entrance), Robb Elementary (main entrance) and Central Mountain High School (bus loop entrance in parking lot B). Meals will be distributed on Monday and Thursday.
The Keystone Central school board will meet again for a voting meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11. That meeting will be held via Zoom and accessible through the district's website.