The start of the 2020-21 academic year is like no other for Whitehall-Coplay School District students returning for the blended model of in-person instruction Aug. 31.

Half of the students will attend Mondays, and Tuesdays and the other half Thursdays and Fridays. Synchronous and asynchronous instruction will take place the other three days. No in-person instruction will occur Wednesdays.

Students also had the option to choose the learn-at-home model or the Whitehall Virtual Learning program.

Pennsylvania Department of Health is requiring all students to wear masks or face shields at all times, even when students are able to remain 6 feet apart. Children with disabilities may be granted an exception by their IEP or 504 teams, and students with medical or mental health conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask will need to provide medical documentation in order to be considered exempt.

Masks can be solid colors or patterned, and words and symbols on the masks must be appropriate for school. Gaiters, bandannas, buffs or masks with exhalation valves are not permitted due to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found these types of face coverings can transmit droplets into the air. Parents should ensure children’s masks fit properly and that children can breathe easily.

Students in all grades who do not follow mask and social distancing rules will result in parents being contacted, and students may be sent home and/or enrolled in the learn-at-home model if offenses continue.

Prior to students boarding buses, parents are asked to take their children’s temperatures and screen them for COVID-19 symptoms, including fever or chills, a temperature higher than 100.4 degrees, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, new or worsening dry cough, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat not related to seasonal allergies, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Students who have been exposed to someone who tested positive in the past 14 days should contact the school nurse and their medical provider for further instructions, as well as self-quarantine for 14 days. Children seen by their doctor or other medical provider must provide a note, email or fax to their school nurse, stating the result of the visit. WCSD also reminds parents to keep track of states listed under Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s quarantine recommendations.

Students who take the bus will be sitting two to an assigned seat and must wear masks. Siblings or students who live together must sit together on the bus. Students and parents should wear face coverings when waiting at the bus stop, and drivers will be wearing masks or face shields as well.

If a person attending or working in the school district tests positive for COVID-19, the administration will notify the parents of children in the affected school, though the infected person cannot be named due to confidentiality laws. Anyone who has been within 6 feet of a person who tested positive for more than 15 minutes will be contacted by the local health department.

Whitehall High School is holding a Chromebook, schedule and ID card pickup day 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 27. In addition to receiving the electronic device, students will receive a charger and a bag. Whitehall-Coplay Middle School and Gockley, Steckel and Zephyr elementary parents will be contacted with information about Chromebook pickups.

WHS will be following a block schedule rather than the bell schedule used in the past. WHS will have three lunch periods, ensuring 6 feet between each student.

WCMS will have between 15 and 16 desks per classroom, which will allow an unobstructed path in and out of the room and space for teachers and paraprofessionals to move around the front of the room. WCMS students will eat lunch in the cafeteria and gymnasium, and two serving lanes will allow students to have enough time for lunch. Eating areas will be properly sanitized between lunch periods, and the use of only two locations will allow for continuous supervision of students.

At Gockley, Steckel and Zephyr, mask breaks will be incorporated into the day. Fewer students will increase the ability to social distance, allow teachers to offer individual and small group instruction and offer more chances for activity-based learning. Students won’t be required to eat lunch in classrooms, and there will be constant supervision in eating areas.

According to WCSD administration, fewer students attending on a daily basis will allow for a more thorough cleaning and sterilization of shared spaces, less congestion in hallways and lead to a better learning experience for all students. It also helps with staffing and bus driver shortages. Administration hopes the blended model will reduce the chances of an outbreak, allowing students to remain in school longer.

School will undoubtedly be a big adjustment for students and staff, and the model being followed can change at any time depending on guidance from Wolf, the Department of Health and the Department of Education. The hybrid model will last at least until the end of the first marking period, Nov. 4, and a decision regarding the second marking period is expected to be made by Whitehall-Coplay School Board before that date.