The top priority for many local school superintendents is clear as another school year begins — They want students in school five days a week.
Challenges remain as COVID-19 and its variants continue to spread at a time when much of the student population remains too young to be vaccinated. And battles are being waged over school health protocols, such as mask mandates and vaccine requirements for employees.
Despite all that, school leaders say they are accustomed to the difficulties posed by the pandemic and hope for stability and consistency in a world still dominated by COVID-19.
“Having one year under our belt, it doesn’t feel as daunting managing this,” said Nancy Hines, superintendent of the Penn Hills School District. “We have procedures in place; they seemed to have worked relatively well [last year]. I think the bottom line is, we have to trust everybody — everybody who comes into these buildings, everybody whom we encounter.”
That trust — and the responsibility placed on school communities to maintain it — will be essential to what many superintendents appear to want most of all: in-person instruction all week instead of virtual learning. School districts in the region have prepared to reopen fully, but they might have to adjust quickly if faced with a coronavirus outbreak.
The fast-spreading COVID-19 delta variant, coupled with the recent rise in the number of children being infected with the virus, has worried school leaders. Numerous districts around the country where classes started earlier this month have already had to implement hybrid or remote learning models because of virus-related quarantines.
“My greatest concern is the delta virus impacting our planned instruction,” said Joe Maluchnik, interim superintendent of the Wilkinsburg School District. “Undoubtedly, in-person learning is the ideal educational setting to truly enrich and support our students. This is the best learning setting for our staff to create meaningful relationships and maximize student learning.”
John Kreider, superintendent of the Carlynton School District, said he wants students to be in the classroom more often than they were during the 2020-21 school year. He said disruptions caused by COVID-19 last year complicated instruction plans.
“What we recognized from last year was the number of quarantines due to either exposure or illness itself definitely had a substantial impact on the manner in which we could deliver instructional services to our children,” he said. “I think our goal is getting kids back in school for in-person instruction and maintaining that model throughout the course of the school year.”
Getting back into classrooms should do more than just boost the quality of education.
The ability to see friends, teachers and other school staff in person as well as having greater access to mental health and other services should help with the social and emotional needs of students who suffered without those supports last school year, experts say.
For some school districts, the need to bring the community together is a top priority.
In the spring, four Penn Hills students died in just over a month — three in shootings and one from an overdose.
The district helped to coordinate a vigil in late May to remember those students, rally against gun violence and attempt to allay the trauma inflicted on the community. Still, Ms. Hines said she believes many students grieved alone because they stayed home over COVID-19 concerns instead of coming to school.
“The resources are here, and we can expand them if we need to, and we’re willing to do that,” Ms. Hines said. “But getting the kids here is a big hurdle that we’re able to overcome, and I hope we’ll have a lot of kids who will make good use of the resources.”
Several school leaders said the pandemic made them appreciate how important schools are beyond the basics of providing an education.
“It was reinforced for us that we need to continue to recognize the varied needs of our students, that we need to make sure that safety is a high priority,” said Mr. Kreider of the Carlynton schools. “We’ve learned that no matter what it takes, we need to be available to our students and to our community regardless of the conditions that are around us.”
In addition to the increased focus on services, the buildings that students are returning to this year will be far different places than the ones they left in March 2020.
A big part of that change will be in the use of technology in classrooms.
“Our teachers learned new techniques and enhanced their own pedagogy that will be utilized during the pandemic or when we return to in-person learning,” said Mr. Maluchnik, the Wilkinsburg superintendent. “We all had to challenge ourselves and professionally develop how to implement a quality virtual curriculum, and [we] did so very well. Still, those new skills can support what we do daily.”
The Shaler Area School District provided iPads for students in grades 7-12 before the pandemic, but all district students now have them, according to Superintendent Sean Aiken.
He said he can’t imagine what schools would do without the devices.
“Teachers have just embraced learning differently, engaging with students differently,” Mr. Aiken said. “I’m sure there’s digital and virtual aspects of learning that our teachers are pulling in now on a daily basis.
“I think it’s going to change instruction and change learning forever,” he continued. “I don’t think this is just with the Shaler Area School District. I think this is with the region, with the state and from a national perspective, and also worldwide.”
Besides technology and the obvious physical changes, such as masks and ventilation, COVID-19 has also changed education on a more philosophical level.
“I believe it has given us the perspective to really appreciate the things that we tend to take for granted,” said Brian Miller, superintendent of the Pine-Richland School District.
“We have an incredible community. We have learned so much about technology and flexibility. I think it helps us — Pine-Richland and education in general — think differently about how we deliver our programs to students.”
Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1352. Staff writer Anya Sostek contributed.
First Published: August 29, 2021, 4:00 a.m.
Updated: August 30, 2021, 10:49 a.m.
