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Stressing that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to opening schools in the state this fall, Pedro Rivera, state secretary of education, said that his department is sharing the "most current and endorsed data and information grounded in health and safety" with school administrators so that they can make informed decisions to best meet the needs of their districts.
Speaking on a telephone conference call with the press, Rivera and Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health, both agreed that opening schools in the fall is important for the students who have been out of school since the shutdown in mid-March.
"One of the things that we certainly have heard from students is that they are anxious to get back to school, but they also know that the actions we take now will determine what school looks like to them," Levine said.
The secretary emphasized that the guidelines released Thursday and the mitigation efforts that were announced earlier this week are important now in terms of how they will impact the spread of COVID-19, which will influence schools.
"There are things that people can do right now that will help our kids get back to the classroom," she said.
Levine highlighted some of the recommendations released by the Wolf administration which she state were a "framework for schools to follow for the best infection control procedures to protect students and to protect teachers and staff."
"First, please wear a mask," she stressed. According to the guidance from the state, masks must be worn by students and staff at school and on the bus.
Levine noted different situations, such as shopping or in a social setting, where people might not be following the mandatory mask orders, then it is important that individuals make a personal choice and leave.
"As much as our efforts are about laws and mandates, they are about your choices, about the public's choices," she said.
"Pennsylvanians want to go back to work. Pennsylvania children want to go back to school, but our actions as a community impact those things right now," she reiterated.
Some of the other guidelines released by the state today include instructing students or their caregivers to do a daily symptom screening before leaving school. In addition, students, teachers and staff are encouraged to social distance throughout the day. Along with this, if possible, classes should be held in gyms, auditoriums, other large spaces or outdoors where physical distancing can be maintained.
Another recommendation states that if breakfast and lunch are served, they should be individually packaged and served in classroom to avoid across-the-table seating. If they are served in the cafeteria, students must be six feet apart.
On the playground students will be encouraged to socially distance and in the hallways, student interaction would be limited by staggering class time, creating one-way walking patters and when feasible, keeping students in a classroom and rotating teachers.
Levine also stressed the importance of good hand hygiene. She said that the guidelines also address the issue of students and staff with chronic medical conditions and disabilities.
The Pennsylvania State Education Association, representing teachers across the state, sent a letter to the governor and Rivera asking the administration to begin planning for online instruction in schools this fall.
In the letter, Rich Askey, president of PSEA, stated, "It is extremely important for Pennsylvania's public schools to plan for the distinct possibility that further increases in COVID-19 cases will make it impossible to safely reopen Pennsylvania's schools for in-person instruction."
Noting the importance of planning in public education, Askey said, "That is why it is absolutely essential that every public school entity in Pennsylvania is prepared to deliver online instruction,"
He urged districts to include plans for online instruction in the health and safety plans that they are required to create before schools can reopen to students.
When asked during the news conference what was the safest scenario for providing education to students, either online only, in-person instruction with restrictions or a hybrid of the two, Rivera said that hybrid approaches are the best.
"When we look at the public health perspective, maintaining social distancing is the best practice from public health and we know that at the same time some form of in-person instruction is the most effective form of instruction for students in the classroom," Rivera said.
"Given that we're dealing through a novel pandemic and we continue to learn more of COVID-19 each and every day, if we have to take into account the best practice from a public health perspective and a public education perspective. I would say that as school districts are starting to plan today a hybrid approach is a good model that engages each of our communities," he added.
Levine noted that everyone agrees it is the best thing if students can be back in school, but she cautioned that people need to take COVID-19 seriously.