Return to school smooth but with different feel in Penn Hills School District - TribLIVE

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Penn Hills School District officials said the first couple of days of school were relatively smooth, considering the completely different atmosphere because of the covid-19 pandemic.

“It went really well. We’re excited to see kids back, and I think they were excited, too,” Kristen Brown, principal of Penn Hills Elementary School said Sept. 9.

Brown spoke to the Tribune-Review on the school’s second day of school, where the district’s “A” cohort came to school for in-person instruction. Thursday and Friday will be reserved for the “B” cohort.

The elementary, middle and high school buildings are all using the hybrid, cohort model, according to Superintendent Nancy Hines.

At the elementary school, 325 belong to the A cohort and 334 are in the B cohort. There were 633 students who decided on a 100% virtual learning model and two enrolled in the district’s cyber academy, Hines said.

In Linton Middle School, 132 belong to the A cohort and 156 are in the B cohort. There are 382 students enrolled in the 100% virtual learning model and 39 enrolled in the cyber academy.

The high school has 256 students in cohort A and 296 in cohort B. There are 510 students enrolled in virtual learning and 47 students in the cyber academy.

Brown said she was concerned with younger students having issues wearing a face mask all day. But surprisingly, she said, they have done well.

“They did a good job. No teachers are reporting issues of students not wearing masks,” Brown said. “I think kids have gotten used to wearing them. I think the parents choosing to send their children into school may have thought about mask wearing and talked to them about the importance of them.”

Sandra Barker, Linton Middle School Principal, said students did well with wearing masks. Both schools, she said, have 10-minute “mask breaks” for students, which helps.

Barker and Brown said bus transportation has gone on without a hitch.

The only thing Barker noticed about being back in school with only around half of the students each day is how quiet it is. Brown agreed.

“In my 30 years in education, this is definitely a unique start to the school year. But we have a great team here,” she said, adding she’s confident both staff and students will adapt.

Eric Kostic, the high school’s principal, did not respond to requests for comment.

On the technology side, Hines said, all students have been afforded the option to borrow a device for remote learning. The final distribution date is Sept. 11, but the devices have been distributed to students for a few weeks prior to the first day of school.

Hines said the school district experienced an issue with delivery, which forced them to switch vendors after initial orders had been placed earlier in the summer. It led to a small delay in delivery, she said.

“Thankfully, our board had already opted to move the first day of school from Aug. 25 to Sept. 8,” she said.

Hines said, staff members have not reported any connectivity issues to the devices.

“We are encouraging families with limited internet access to reach out to Comcast directly regarding their Internet Essentials program that is available to our families at no charge. We are also working to expand hotspot access in the main parking areas and driveways of our three schools,” Hines said in an email.

Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Dillon at 412-871-2325, dcarr@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Local | Penn Hills Progress