School Closures Extended Through at Least April 6

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all Pennsylvania K-12 to remain closed through at least April 6 as the state continues mitigation efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

On March 13, Wolf said schools would be closed through at least March 27 while the state determined if longer closures were needed. Since then, the number of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania has grown to 644, with six deaths as of Monday. Centre County has three cases, and each of those patients are isolating at home.

Wolf additionally issued a stay-at-home order effective at 8 p.m. for seven counties that have seen the largest outbreaks — Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery and Philadelphia. The order is in place for two weeks and Wolf said people in those counties should only leave home for such needs as buying food, getting medication, seeking medical help, outdoor exercise or work at a life-sustaining business.

He added that the hope is to contain the spread of the virus in those counties where the biggest outbreaks and prevent a surge in cases that could overwhelm the medical system.

“These restrictions are unlike anything we’ve experienced before,” Wolf said. “… If we want to save lives, we must distance ourselves socially. This is going to be difficult.

‘Our roads will stay open, as will our pharmacies, grocery stores and other life-sustaining enterprises.’

For schools statewide, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said the closures could extend beyond April 6 if necessary. When it is determined that students can return to school, administrators, teachers and staff will be given two days to prepare classrooms, cafeterias,  transportation and other business operations. Students would return on the third day.

“Protecting the health and safety of students, families, teachers and all employees who work in our schools is paramount during this national health crisis and we must continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus,” he said. “The number of positive cases increases daily and we’re seeing it spread to more counties. We must adhere to the social distancing guidelines. Extending the closure will help every community in its efforts to mitigate the spread.”

Rivera said the state’s intermediate units are ready to provide technical assistance for developing continuity of education plans for all students.

“Beginning [Tuesday], all schools will be able to work with their local intermediate unit to develop instructional plans for all students, including those with disabilities and English language learners.”

State College Area School District on Monday began an optional remote learning plan for students, but students were not required to take part in those educational experiences.

‘The reason we are unable to move forward with requiring students to participate is that we would be violating federal law that dictates meeting the needs of all students,’ Superintendent Bob O’Donnell wrote in a letter to families. ‘If not every student can engage equitably with remote learning, then we cannot proceed with required lessons. Required participation also conflicts with the cyber stipulations added to Gov. Wolf’s edict to shut down.’

Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Boalsburg has been conducting online classes since the start of the closure, utilizing remote learning procedures it has long had in place and used on snow days.

“Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy has used remote learning options known to our school community as virtual days for school closures,’ Head of School Jennifer Mallett said in a statement. ‘As a college preparatory school, it is important to offer different instructional options for our students so that there is continuity in learning.Our administration and faculty have collaborated to learn about ZOOM meetings for classes and other instructional strategies platforms to enhance and enrich our teaching methods during this health crisis. We want our students to still feel connected to our school community.” 

Last week the Department of Education canceled statewide assessments, including PSSAs, Keystone exams and PASA. On Monday, Rivera said standardized testing for students in career and technical education (CTE) programs is also canceled for the 2019-20 school year.

Also on Monday, state and local officials began enforcing temporary closures of ‘non-life-sustaining’ businesses. Wolf said state police commissioner Col. Robert Evanchick told Wolf there were very few businesses found not to be in compliance.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said that mitigation efforts being put in place by Wolf are ‘essential public health measures,’ to prevent a large surge in cases, as has been seen in Italy and elsewhere, that would overwhelm hospitals.

‘The goal is with these prevention or mitigation efforts such as the school closures, the non-life-sustaining business closures and now the stay-at-home order for those [seven] counties, are put in place to emphasize the social distancing that is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19,’ Levine said.

Levine said there are currently 3,400 licensed ICU beds in the state and about 40 percent are available. There also are more than 2,000 ventilators statewide. Right now, Levine said, most hospitals ‘are not overwhelmed by COVID-19… and our goal is to provide resilience in that system and make sure we have the resources available to equip the hospitals and health systems with the resources that they need to deal with the surge in cases that we are trying to prevent but could happen over the next number of weeks.’