McKeesport: First day of school may be moved to Sept. 8
By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com
The McKeesport Area School District may consider pushing the start of the 2020-21 school year to Sept. 8.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Holtzman said during Wednesday’s agenda meeting that the board is set to vote at next week’s meeting on whether to formally move the start of school back from Aug. 20 to Aug. 26. The district has already announced on its website, Facebook page and YouTube account that the start of is being pushed back to Aug. 26.
During Wednesday’s meeting, school board Vice President Mindy Sturgess, a teacher who works in Pittsburgh, asked Holtzman if the board should consider delaying the start of school until all electronic 1:1 devices — specifically Google Chromebooks — are delivered for students and teachers to use for remote learning.
MASD and many districts across the state have been working since schools shut down in March to raise or secure funds to purchase enough 1:1 devices to supply one to each student and each teacher.
At the end of last year, MASD handed out all the iPads it owned in an attempt to put at least one 1:1 device in the hands of each family. Those families were responsible for returning the iPads to the district this summer.
In recent weeks, Holtzman announced via a series of YouTube videos in which he talked about reopening plans that MASD will be able to provide each child in the district with an electronic device.
Because of the high demand for electronic devices from schools and other institutions attempting to work remotely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many superintendents have reported that the devices are on back order.
Holtzman told Sturgess that Chromebooks for teachers have started being delivered, but that student devices may not arrive until the end of August.
“Is there a possibility that with that technology having the potential not to be in, that we may push that start date back?” Sturgess asked.
“The latest we could kind of get started is immediately after Labor Day,” Holtzman said. “I think that’s something we can discuss as a group. … I think that’s something to consider considering the circumstances we’re in.”
Holtzman told Sturgess that the reason the administration asked for the first day of school to be moved from Aug. 20 to Aug. 26 was in part because it wants staff members to participate in professional development and train on the use of Google Classroom and other virtual learning platforms.
“The technology is going to be a huge piece of any scenario we have or are provided with moving forward,” Holtzman said.
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