The Bristol Township School Board voted Monday evening to expand in-person learning.
The board voted 8-0 to approve the updated health and safety plan.
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The approved plan would bring students back to classrooms five days per week starting in the fourth marking period starting April 6. The virtual option would remain, but the hybrid model will be ending.
Superintendent Dr. Melanie Gehrens said a five-days-per-week return for students was the majority option favored by parents who took the recent district survey.
The school board approved changes to the health and safety plan, including moving from mandatory 6 feet physical distance to 3 feet distance “where feasible” and adding more students to buses while remaining physically distant.
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The district also plans to use COVID-19 safety precautions for the upcoming 21st Century Summer Program at Mill Creek Elementary School and Harry S. Truman High School.
The Bristol Township School District is currently operating under a hybrid model and offering full-time virtual instruction for students who are staying home.
Brad Pawlikowski, an educator and president of the Bristol Township Education Association, urged the school board to look at safety and keep the physical distancing guidelines in place.
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“The simple truth is 6 feet of social distancing has been the accepted standard of safety entire pandemic,” Pawlikowski said.
The union leader said teachers understand the situation and also want students in schools, but they also want to keep everyone safe.
“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Pawlikowski said to the school board. “Don’t fumble the ball now.”
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Cathy Ivins, who represented the district’s paraprofessionals, raised concern about a lack of support staff as students return more days a week. She said the paraprofessionals are being stretched to fill empty positions from outsourced firms.
“The children need to go back. We need to go back to normalcy,” said parent Nancy Gieger, who is a frontline worker. “I know you will do the best job and that the students will do the best job.”
Returning to classrooms “is very important. The students need it (returning to classrooms) more than ever. We need to consider this just as critical of a need as closing schools last year, ” parent Carrie Mason said, adding the district has done a good job keeping students safe so far.
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One parent asked the school board to hold off until the new school year so there is a better understanding of where things stand.
School staff across the county are able to get the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Most students are unable to get the vaccine at this time.
Earlier this month, Gehrens said the district was hiring more cafeteria workers, lunch and recess monitors, part-time custodians, and bus drivers to assist with the return to classrooms.
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