COVID-19 case numbers continue to fluctuate as McKean County remains at high risk of transmission. With that designation comes the potential for school districts to be ready for remote learning, and all superintendents in the area are prepared.
In McKean County on Saturday, 25 new cases of COVID-19 were reported; on Monday there were 16 new cases; and on Tuesday there were 19 new cases. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in McKean County since the start of the pandemic is 3,380, with 1,021 probable cases reported.
According to the state health department’s data, from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21, McKean County had 26 new cases in school-age children (age 5-18). The county has had 75 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in that age group since Aug. 16.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has set criteria this year for the potential to transition to remote learning. Those criteria include the following: 5% of the population in a school building is confirmed to be positive for COVID; or 25 or more cases occur in a single building; OR an outbreak occurs (defined as three or more classes or control groups with no other identified links for cause).
The state health department explained that, if the coronavirus cases in a district meet one of the above criteria, then the health department will determine if a switch to remote learning is necessary.
In Otto-Eldred School District, efforts have been made to help keep students attending school in person rather than remotely.
“We know that students are best served by being in-person with our staff. Our staff has been committed to maintaining our in-person instruction delivery method,” Otto-Eldred Superintendent Matthew Splain said. “Over the past few weeks, we have experienced a number of student and staff absences related to COVID. Our staff has adjusted and gone above and beyond to continue serving kids whether they are at home or in school.
“We have experienced a few days in which staffing levels were a significant concern. We have had to cancel a few events due to COVID concerns,” Splain added.
He noted that the students are prepared, but the real issue is internet access.
“If a remote instruction becomes necessary, we hope to limit the number of students and families that are impacted,” Splain said. “Our students have devices and are fluent in accessing our Office platform to access learning online. (But) no matter our level of preparation, inconsistent internet access is still a barrier around our region.”
Splain also said remote learning also may impact parents’ work schedules.
“We understand the significance of moving that direction and will carefully consider the impact of student learning and parent work schedules,” he said.
Bradford Superintendent Katharine Pude said that teachers and administrators have put in the work to prepare for remote learning, but it is all with the hope it won’t be needed. She explained district officials understand the importance of positive social interaction for students, as well as the ability to send students to school in person so parents aren’t scrambling to find childcare or face the need to miss work if students are home.
“Our teachers and administrators have worked very hard to create online courses in our Canvas Learning Management system and we have provided all students with devices should we need to go online for any reason,” Pude said. “However, we all know that students learn best in person and that it is very difficult for many children to learn on an online platform. Students also need the positive social interaction that school provides that virtual instruction is unable to mirror.”
So far, case numbers in the district have not reached the level for concern that remote learning will be the best option.
“Fortunately, we have not reached the 5% threshold in any of our buildings this year that would cause us to revert to online learning and we are hopeful that we will not reach this threshold using mitigation strategies,” Pude said.
The Kane Area School District has only experienced three positive cases of COVID-19 this year, and livestreaming is put to use to make sure students who are staying home are still learning.
“The district implemented a Chromebook deployment early on in the pandemic and if the district got to the point where we would have to move to remote instruction our faculty and students are prepared to do so,” Kane interim Superintendent Ann Kearney said. “We do have many families that do not have any Internet access but the district has purchased ‘hotspots’ to provide these families with accessibility so their children can continue with uninterrupted learning.”
Kearney said the masking mandate has made it possible to limit the number of students who are excluded from school due to a close contact situation within the district’s buildings.
Port Allegany School District sends a weekly email report to parents on the number of COVID-19 cases in the district’s two buildings. As of Sept. 24, the number of positive COVID cases in the elementary school over the previous seven days was one, while the number at the junior/senior high school was 13. In the previous seven day period, the elementary school had one case and the junior/senior high school had eight cases.
Both McKean and Potter counties have been deemed at high risk of transmission for the month of September by the CDC.
With these factors in mind, Port Allegany Superintendent Gary Buchsen has a plan in place in case the district has to adapt its learning plan. However, the hope is the trend follows last year in regard to remote learning periods.
“Should the district be required to switch to remote learning by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we would follow similar instructional practices used last year,” he said. “In 2020-21 Port Allegany was fortunate in that we only had to move to remote learning for seven instructional days at the high school. The elementary school was open for in-person learning for the entire school year.”
