by TyLisa Johnson
Pittsburgh Public students won’t return to brick-and-mortar school buildings until April 6 at the earliest, following a decision by the school board Wednesday evening and a two-day, 127-speaker public hearing in the days leading up to the decision.
The board approved a resolution in a 7-2 vote, following amendments, to keep students at home in remote learning through the beginning of the school year’s fourth quarter.
Board members Sala Udin and Devon Taliaferro voted against the amended resolution, signaling a desire to bring students and teachers back sooner than April.
Board members Pam Harbin and Terry Kennedy presented an amended version of the original resolution at Wednesday’s meeting, which had more than 1,000 stream viewers, with additions to address transportation challenges and growing student needs.
- Among the changes to the resolution: The district is expected to conduct a current survey of student needs for support, transportation availability, staffing levels and building health and safety protocols.
- A parent/guardian survey will be circulated on or before Feb. 15 to gauge how comfortable parents are with in-person learning and transportation availability.
- Learning cohorts AA/BB/C/D were dissolved with the approval of the resolution, with the intent that new cohorts will be formulated based on these needs assessments by the district.
The directors will vote again on the in-person phase-in to instruction in March, when they will monitor state and federal COVID guidelines of the moment, as well as the progress of vaccinations, to determine whether in-person instruction will begin.
The administration building of Pittsburgh Public Schools in Oakland. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
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