News

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released updated guidance on July 23 for the reopening of public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The updated plan stresses the importance of in-person learning.  New items include recommending that schools group students and teachers into isolated cohorts or “pods” meant to limit in-person contact. There is also a checklist intended to assist parents […]

The Department of Education has launched an online map which tracks all back to school plans submitted for schools and school districts across the state.  These are the plans that have been approved by local school boards and sent to PDE.  The plans can be found here.

On July 16, the PA Department of Education and the PA Department of Health released their Public Health Guidance Regarding COVID-19 for Phased Reopening of Pre-K to 12 Schools.  The report aims to assist schools in implementing and developing plans to safely reopen classrooms for in-person instruction for the 2020-21 school year.  The new guidance limits

The mandatory face mask order applies to all individuals while in school entities, including public K-12 schools, brick and mortar and cyber charter schools, private and parochial schools, career and technical centers (CTCs), and intermediate units (IUs). Students and staff are considered to be members of the public who are congregating in indoor locations. As such, they are

We are sure many of you are seeing tentative back to school plans with three forms of operation which include: opening in full instruction mode, a hybrid of in-school and remote instruction, and a full remote learning scenario.  Districts are already stating that, with the current number of COVID cases in Pennsylvania, they are looking

The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Mid-Atlantic and Mathematica, a social policy research firm, authored a new report prepared for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The report examined current data and research on COVID-19, conducted interviews with public health experts, education leaders, and other stakeholders, and ran predictive modeling of disease transmission under different reopening approaches.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced on June 3 that elementary and secondary schools in the state’s yellow and green phases may resume in-person instruction and activities beginning July 1.  The phased reopening approach first requires schools to develop health and safety plans based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and

While the main goal for the 2020-2021 school year is to open as normal, the coronavirus pandemic has forced school leaders to consider alternate options in the event that schools cannot open safely under normal conditions. Last week we held a member-wide Zoom meeting where we discussed the new guidelines put forth by the Center

This week, May 4-8, 2020, marks the official Teacher Appreciation Week.  We are so grateful for the hard work and dedication you put into your craft, not just this week, but every day throughout the school year. This year, especially, you have been asked and have gone above and beyond previous expectations to ensure that

Due to the continued rise of Coronavirus cases within Pennsylvania, Education Secretary Pedro Rivera has issued a state order requiring all K-12 public and private schools remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. Governor Wolf had recently closed schools indefinitely.  This new order mandates Pennsylvania students be educated through remote learning platforms