Monessen schools to reopen virtually for 4 weeks

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com

The Monessen School Board has adopted a COVID-19 Safety Plan that calls for four weeks of complete virtual education to start the school year.
The school calendar was also modified to have teachers begin Sept. 1 and student instruction to begin Sept. 8.
“Many can argue that we’re doing too much, but I think it is better than finding out that we didn’t do enough,” said Monessen Superintendent Dr. Leanne Spazak. “The majority of our board had concerns about having our kids come back and they were worried about the teachers. This is still a time when people are going on vacation and may not be social distancing.”
The four weeks of all students attending classes virtually will give teachers extra time to adjust to the virtual educational platform before tackling the task of teaching students in class and at home at the same time, Spazak said.
“Everybody is at year one now,” Spazak said.
The week of in-service training before the start of classes will provide teachers with additional training on Schoology, the learning platform they will be using this year for virtual instruction, as well as learning techniques for recording sessions and using various applications on the learning platform. The month of virtual-only instruction will allow the teachers to continue to concentrate on those new skills.
Spazak said the plan calls for four weeks of virtual instruction for all students in the district followed by a hybrid model in which students attend a combination of in-person classes and virtual instruction days. At this time, the hybrid model is expected to begin Oct. 12 and will divide the students into two groups, one group attending school in person on Mondays and Wednesdays and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When they are not attending in-person classes, the students will still be attending school with their classmates virtually, with teachers addressing students at home and in the classroom at the same time, Spazak said. On Fridays all students will attend virtually.
“I know a lot of parents were looking forward to starting in the hybrid model. We just feel it is safer to start cautiously and to transition into face-to-face learning,” Spazak said.
“We did use recommendations that were given by the Department of Health and the Department of Education. I hope everyone can get on board with this.”
Spazak said the virtual classes will be very different from the on-line coursework offered last school year when the pandemic began and will involve live, real-time classes with the students and the teachers.
“This is a new program. This is our Monessen City School remote program. I’m really proud that our teachers have come to accept this and they can’t wait to see the kids,” Spazak said.
Spazak said plans are still being worked out to have elementary students meet in person with their teachers prior to the start of the school year to help get them acclimated to the new remote learning.
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.