Bradford parents will have a more complete look at what their children’s school days will look like next week.
That’s when each of the schools in Bradford Area School District will hold a virtual meet-and-greet with parents. The school board and administrators talked about the meet-and-greets during Monday’s school board meeting.
Board President Shane Oschman explained it would be at those meetings — and not Monday’s school board meeting — where parents would get more details about the school year.
Oschman explained they do not want to give misinformation, as each building will be running differently. Each building will hold a Q & A session for parents.
He said they are “very interested” in hearing visitors’ concerns, but noted, “It’s likely we will not respond to questions tonight.”
Superintendent Katy Pude announced some of the dates for the Q & A events:
• George G. Blaisdell Elementary School, 6 p.m. Aug. 20
• School Street Elementary School, 7 p.m. Aug. 20
• Bradford Area High School, 6 and 7 p.m. Aug. 18
The Q & A time has not yet been set for Floyd C. Fretz Middle School.
Also at the meeting, the board approved a resolution amending the required instructional period. In the event of an outbreak in the local area, the school district wants to change the required 180-day school year to a minimum hourly requirement — 900 hours for elementary school and 990 for the high school. Pude will apply to the state for a waiver.
The board approved an agreement between the school district and the Bradford YMCA for latchkey services and the 21st Century program, too.
YMCA’s Stacie Titus talked about what the programs will look like this year, explaining that she and Pude agreed it is important to continue to offer them.
Titus said that, for both 21st Century and the latchkey program, there are different plans developed for different levels of COVID-19 risk. For instance, if McKean County goes back into the yellow phase, they might limit capacity.
The YMCA has also started planning to help the district’s students if they need extra out-of-school learning, she said. Learning labs will be divided based on grade levels and will be set up with social distancing and cleaning in place.
Titus noted the organization will offer an “aggressive financial assistance program” so that services are available to those in need.
The board approved updates to the district’s health and safety plan, as well as the athletic health and safety plan for summer 2020, preseason and in-person sports activities. Pude is authorized to revise both plans with the understanding that the board will vote on any revisions at the following meeting.
Assistant Superintendent Sam Johnson expects the updated plans to be posted to the district website sometime today.
The updates are due to continually changing guidelines.
Pude said that on Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued school guidelines related to community spread of COVID-19 advising when classes can meet in person or when they need to be held virtually. For now, Bradford is relatively safe with low case numbers.
She said it’s “important for people to understand how fluid our plans are,” explaining they are “not trying to be evasive.”
Regarding sports safety, Athletic Director Mike Erickson said it’s unclear when fall sports will begin.
He explained that Wolf said last week that he didn’t feel there should be fall sports at all, which “triggered a rash of emergency meetings” as sports organizers tried to get clarification. Wolf then asked that youth sports be postponed until Jan. 1.
Erickson has been instructed to delay fall sports for at least two weeks while the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association tries to reach out to Wolf. Depending on how it goes, Aug. 24 potentially could be the first day of fall sports in Bradford.
For now, individual conditioning practices are ongoing, but no official practices are happening in Bradford, according to Erickson.
The board approved revisions to the district’s policies on admission of students, attendance and withdrawal from school. A fourth revision — on the use of livestream video on school property — was placed on the table for consideration. The board is expected to vote on the policy in September.
Additionally, they approved an interim resolution stating the district will comply with Title IX regulations that are going into effect Aug. 14. Title IX is federal law related to non-discrimination.
Johnson explained the solicitor hasn’t had a chance to review the new regulations, and a final resolution will be presented at a later time.
Toward the end of the meeting, Oschman acknowledged the extra work Johnson, Pude and the administration has put in lately and the “thorough, very comprehensive” plans they have been developing for school due to the ongoing pandemic. He added that this has been a frustrating time for parents, too.
A short time later, he thanked parents for their patience and assured them the district has everyone’s safety in mind.
In her report, Pude talked about the transition camps that are being held for students. She noted the elementary administrators have been “pleasantly surprised” with how well young students wore their masks or shields.
She added that the district just heard it will receive a $25,500 equity grant to be used for new computers for the online programs.
Pude said that Monday’s meeting — held via Zoom — was held virtually because they could not have more than 25 people in attendance. She prefers in-person meetings.
During the recognition of visitors, the only question was from someone who wondered if the school board meeting agendas could be made available online prior to the meetings. Pude agreed.
The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 14.
