The Butler Area School District will be moving their secondary classes to remote instruction starting next Tuesday.
Superintendent Dr. Brian White sent an email to parents this morning saying the decision was based on the community transmission of COVID-19 and the number of positive cases in the school.
Secondary is classified as 7th through 12th grade. He says that the decision will not impact students in elementary and middle school. In the letter, White mentions how difficult it is to maintain social distancing at the secondary level.
He also said the district will re-evaluate the decision at the end of next week.
Students do not have school on Monday because it is an Act 80 Day.
White also laid out plans for how the district plans to proceed based on the data.
- If the data indicates that the spread of COVID-19 is below the thresholds we have established, we will return to in person instruction (Enhanced Green).
- If the data indicates cases have increased to “substantial,” we would continue in remote instruction.
- If the data indicates cases have remained in the recommended range for blended learning by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we could move to a cohort model at the secondary. A cohort model will include both in-person instruction and remote learning. If we remain in the recommended range for blended learning, our goal will be to get our cohort model implemented as quickly as possible so that our students may at least have some in-person instruction as soon as possible. As previously mentioned I am seeking guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
At this time, White says that athletic programs “will continue with the existing COVID protocols” as they have done so far this fall.
White also mentioned in the email, that the Butler County Vo-Tech is its own separate entity and that they determine their operating status. So far, the Vo-Tech hasn’t made any announcement that would indicate they are changing their instruction style.
View Dr. White’s full message here.
