Mayor Jim Kenney announced that Pre-K through 2nd grade Philadelphia students will return to school on March 8. The announcement was made Monday alongside district officials and representatives of the teachers union.
However, Kenney announced that schools will be reviewed in batches for their readiness for the safe return of students and staff, which means that not all of those students will return to school at once.
According to a 6abc report, Mayor Kenney said 53 schools have been approved, and students whose families have selected the hybrid learning plan will return on Monday, March 8. Meanwhile, teachers and staff in those schools will return on Wednesday, March 3.
Kenney said the goal is to return students to more schools each week, and have all schools approved by March 22.
Additionally, Kenney said that air purifiers will replace the window fans that have been installed in those classrooms that did not have adequate ventilation.
You can read: Philly teachers vaccination program is well underway
Superintendent Dr. William Hite said that the families who selected all-remote learning will remain remote. Parents of remote learning students will be able to change their selection to hybrid once all current hybrid students are back in the classroom.
Pre-K through 2nd grade students had been set to return to school on March 1, but it was postponed due to disagreements over coronavirus safety concerns.
To keep virus spread low
The district had said $65 million invested has been invested in measures to keep virus transmission low.
So far, hundreds of teachers have been getting vaccinated for the virus at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The district pointed out that getting a vaccine is not mandatory for employees to come back to work, however, it is highly recommended.
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