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Pittston Area declares emergency, approves re-opening plan

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EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect that the Secondary Center is only looking to eliminate zippered lunch bags; backpacks have already been banned.
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				EXETER &mdash; During a virtual meeting Tuesday Wyoming Area School Board approved a re-opening plan that would split all students into two groups alternating between in-class and virtual lessons each day, meaning all would get in-person instruction five days every two weeks.
				The board was also presented with reasons the secondary center is pushing to eliminate use of zippered lunch bags by students.
				Superintendent Janet Serino said an all-online option will be available for parents and students who don&rsquo;t feel comfortable attending in-person lessons, and that the hybrid plan will be available to others. The two groups will be split geographically, with one group consisting of students in the Falls area of Wyoming County West Pittston and parts of Exeter while the second group will be those in Wyoming, West Wyoming and the remainder of those in Exeter.
				One group will attend live classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday the first week and Tuesday and Thursday the next week. The two groups would switch days the next two weeks. All students learning at home will be required to learn online at least 5.5 hours each day. All students will have access to a Chromebook computers.
				Students will be limited to one per seat on a bus, but Serino noted there will be half the students usually there because of the alternating in-person schedule. On the bus they will be required to wear masks. In school they will be required to wear masks in the hallways but should be able to take them off in class because desks will be at least six feet apart and each student will have clear plastic desk shields to separate them from other students.
				Students will also be able to remove masks in the cafeteria where they will be separated by social distancing and plastic desk shields. Meals will be pre-packaged to avoid lines. Temperatures will be taken daily for staff and students.
				Serino said the district is ready to go back to full-time, in-person instruction for all if that is possible but conceded that doesn&rsquo;t seem likely. The district is also prepared to go to remote-only learning if the COVID-19 pandemic that is forcing the changes gets worse and schools are closed.
				&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know what may happen,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know if things may change.&rdquo;
				At the start of the meeting Secondary Center Principal Jon Pollard explained why the center &mdash; which previously banned backpacks &mdash; is now asking students to only use lunch bags with no zipper closures. He said there have always been security concerns because of the many pockets and compartments to check, and that it will be problematic with the other checks necessary with the pandemic.
				He showed off a thermal bag with a Velcro closure that can be quickly opened and scanned. The push to move to non-zippered bags is only at the Secondary Center, Serino said.
				The board also voted to declare an emergency during the pandemic, a move many local districts are making to give superintendents more flexibility in determining how to meet state mandates for 180 days of school in a year, and a minimum of 900 hours for elementary school and 990 for high school.

UPDATED: Wyoming Area OKs re-opening plan, looks to Velcro lunch bags