Central Dauphin School District moves to phase-in full in-person learning

“It’s going to be likely starting the school year all over.”

• Julia Agos/WITF
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  Julia Agos was a reporter and the host of All Things Considered for WITF.

(Harrisburg) – After using a hybrid education model since the beginning of the school year, one of the midstate’s largest school districts is planning to return to in-person instruction five days a week.

Elementary students at the Central Dauphin School District are slated to return to full-time, in-person instruction Tuesday, with middle school students to follow suit next month and high school kids in January.

Some parents lobbied the school board for such a move, arguing the hybrid model was impeding a thorough education for their children.

In a recent 5 to 3 vote, the board of directors approved the move against the wishes of some 20 district teachers.

One of them was Mike Williams, a second-grade teacher at Mountain View Elementary. He said teachers are worried about the health and safety implications of bring all students back into the classroom full time.

“We all want full in person learning, and that would be great in a normal year. But this is not a normal year,” he said.

Until this week, students were split into two groups, each getting in-person instruction two days a week with online instruction the rest of the week. But, Williams worries changing models halfway through the semester will disrupt their routine

“The groups are starting to work nicely together, and I don’t know how that is going to transfer,” he said. “Its going to be likely starting the school year all over.”

Now, Williams will have all 21 of his second graders back in his classroom, making social distancing difficult. He estimates he will only be able to space out three to four feet, rather than the recommended six feet.

The state Health Department recommends schools only move to full in-person learning, if their county’s incident rate per 100,000 people is below 10. That is lower than Dauphin County’s rate of near 60 last week.

Coronavirus cases have been rising across the commonwealth. The state Department of Health has reported more than 1,000 cases statewide for nine of the past 10 days.

The district also announced all bus transportation is canceled this week after a contractor tested positive for COVID-19.