EXETER — The Wyoming Area School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to return all students to in-person learning 5 days per week beginning April 7, with parents having the option of continuing remote-only learning.
Superintendent Janet Serino said after the vote that she did not know the details of how it would be done because the motion was just passed, but did say the district had previously planned for such a return and will quickly figure everything out and let the public know the details. The motion was not on the agenda posted on the district website prior to the meeting.
Serino did note that the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines allow students to be within three feet of each other if fully masked, and that should help get students into the classrooms safely, though they would still have to keep the old distance of six feet when in other areas such as the cafeteria or gym.
She also noted plans will hinge on how many parents opt to keep their children in remote-only learning. The more that do so, the fewer students the district will have to accommodate with safety protocols in the school. “We will do a survey immediately. we need to understand if parents are choosing a five-day week or virtual.” She stressed it’s important for parents to respond to the survey, in part because it will be needed to arrange a bus schedule.
The meeting began with Board Member Toni Valenti raising a concern about the minutes from a March 4 special meeting where the board voted to bring students back to school in hybrid mode. Valenti pointed out that she and three other members voted against that motion at the time, but that the minutes did not report the reason they gave. She said the four voted no because they wanted a return to 5 days per week in school with the virtual option (the system approved Tuesday). The minutes were amended and approved.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
