All those in attendance at the Bradford Area School District teleconference meeting Monday praised the hard work of all of the faculty and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several told stories of teachers that went above and beyond to help students and their families, with one teacher buying food with money out of her own pockets to provide food for a mother who was unable to pick up breakfasts and lunches for her kids.

“I’m extremely pleased with the staff and everyone in the school district that have put themselves at risk to make sure the community is taken care of,” said board president Shane Oschman.

During the meeting, superintendent Katy Pude discussed the district’s “continuity of education plan.” The main goal of the plan is to provide all students with appropriate and reasonable instruction during the school shut down. Due to the fact that not all families have the adequate technology to access online courses, the district will be offering instruction via the internet and by sending packets home with students.

During the discussion, administrator Kelly Compton noted how exciting it is to see students take ownership of their learning while participating in schooling remotely.

“As serious and devastating as our current circumstances are, I can tell you that I’m filled with such gratitude and pride,” she said.

In regards to graduation, Pude said though it isn’t definite, it appears schools will most likely remain closed for the remainder of the school year, though the district is currently looking into having a virtual ceremony on June 4 or postponing the ceremony until the end of summer.

“We haven’t had time to digest that,” she stated. “We will make it memorable for our seniors — I’ll tell you that,” Pude said.

Faculty will be assessing which students have enough credits to graduate and those who do not, as per the third marking period. A plan will be put into place to help students who were endangered in the third marking period.

The dates of many scholarships have been pushed back at this time in order to gather student input. While there most likely won’t be a big award ceremony, the school district will follow through with awarding students all available scholarships. More information will be shared soon when it becomes available.

Later in the meeting, the resignation was approved for Floyd C. Fretz music teacher, Lisa Fedak, effective May 5, after 19 years of service.

The board then approved Lucas Sisler to transfer from the position of part-time reserve bus driver to part-time bus driver for run #1, effective April 7. Additionally, the employment of six individuals for various coaching positions for the 2020-2021 school year was also approved, including Nathan Zitnik for assistant varsity football coach, Mitchell McEwen and Randy Ruffner for JV football coach, Michael Gow for head middle school football coach, Brett Petitt for assistant middle school football coach and Michael Medina for head middle school girls’ soccer coach.