Philadelphia schools: Most kids in class 2 days per week

District officials also warned that it’s “highly likely” that evolving COVID-19 conditions will require individual schools or even the entire district to shut down temporarily or even for the balance of the school year.

• By Michael Rubinkam

The Philadelphia school district announced Wednesday that it plans to resume limited in-person instruction in the fall, with most students in class just two days per week and learning remotely the other three.

District officials also warned that it’s “highly likely” that evolving COVID-19 conditions will require individual schools or even the entire district to shut down temporarily or even for the balance of the school year.

“This school year will challenge all of us in new ways,” Superintendent William Hite Jr. said in a video message. “This new normal will not be simple or easy.”

The school district had hoped to offer elementary students four days of face-to-face instruction, but said that plan was too costly. Special education students with complex needs and pre-kindergarten students will be at school four days a week.

While they’re at school, students and staff will be required to wear masks, with face shields offered as an alternative for younger students, according to the plan. Masks or shields will be required on buses, as well.

The district said it wants to limit classroom occupancy to 25 “when feasible,” and that schools should install Plexiglas barriers in classrooms that aren’t big enough to space desks at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart.

The School District of Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s largest, with an enrollment of about 200,000.