At the Whitehall-Coplay School Board virtual meeting Feb. 8, Whitehall-Coplay School District Superintendent Dr. Lorie Hackett gave a presentation on what the four-day instructional model will look like for each school, as well as the challenges it will present.

According to Hackett, Lehigh County is in the 13th week of substantial spread of COVID-19, though the positivity rate in Lehigh County is decreasing. The vaccine is currently only available for the 1A group. Six feet of social distancing and masks are still recommended. Pennsylvania Department of Health, Department of Education, Lehigh Valley Health Network and St. Luke’s University Health Network continue to recommend remote or blended learning.

Students will return to school four days a week for in-person instruction Feb. 16. They may remain virtual if desired. However, the blended model will no longer be an option.

Desks will be spaced as far apart as possible. Larger classes will be moved to bigger spaces, if feasible, and personal protective equipment will be provided for teachers, including N95 masks and Plexiglass in specific areas. Contact tracing and cleaning and sanitizing protocols will continue to be followed, and there will be an increase in the air flow and ventilation in all buildings, as recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The four-day model will allow for 3 to 5 feet of social distancing at Gockley and Steckel elementary schools, with 17-21 students per classroom, Thirty-three percent of Gockley students and 36 percent of Steckel students will learn virtually.

At Zephyr Elementary School, there will be 3 to 4 feet of distance between students, with 21-24 students per class. Thirty percent of students will be online.

At Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, there will be 3 to 5 feet of distancing, with 19-25 students per class and 25-32 in special subject classes. Approximately 5 feet of space can be maintained between sixth-graders, and 3 to 4 feet of space will be possible in seventh and eighth grades. About 43 percent of students are virtual learners.

Some elementary and WCMS students may have to switch teachers and schedules.

At Whitehall High School, 3 to 6 feet of distancing is possible, with 10-24 students in each class. About 57 percent of WHS students are learning online.

Hackett’s presentation continued to describe how lunches will work at each school. In order to maintain the distancing requirement when taking off masks, tables will be added to the gym and cafeteria, and some students will eat in classrooms. At WHS, the main gym will be used for lunch, which will interfere with physical education classes. The tables will need to be taken down daily to make room for after-school athletics.

Hackett said supervising lunches will be a challenge, and all elementary teachers’ schedules will need to change.

For Lehigh Career and Technical Institute students, the district has added bus runs, so students can be taken home to complete the necessary LCTI online learning, rather than the district trying to find space for additional students to remain on campus.

Hackett warned both the board and parents they should be prepared in the event schools would need to close suddenly due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, as there is no longer a three-day buffer for exposure and contact tracing. When a particular school is closed, she said, athletics for that school will also be suspended.

According to Hackett, staffing remains a challenge, and last-minute closures may arise due to staffing issues from positive cases and quarantine requirements.

Hackett recommended postponing the four-day week until Lehigh County moves from substantial spread to moderate and until a vaccine is available for all teachers and other staff.

Board member George Williams made a motion to remain in the blended model of instruction for all K-12 students until April 9.

The motion failed, with four members for and five against. Members voting in favor of remaining in the blended model included Williams, Wayne Grim, William Leiner Jr. and Tina Koren. Members against the motion included George Makhoul, Joseph Shields, William Fonzone Sr., Patty Gaugler and Nichole Hartman.

During the public participation portion of the meeting, multiple parents and other community members shared their opinions on the four-day week with the board.

Shawn Clary, a WCSD eighth-grade teacher for more than 20 years, is in favor of the four-day school week.

“We need to bring the students back in the buildings,” Clary said. “Simply put, we’re losing them. They’re falling behind, not only academically, but emotionally and socially as well. The engagement in lessons, the participation, just being active on Zooms has been getting worse with each week, and I don’t see that getting any better.

“I need to do the job that you pay me to do,” Clary added. “But I need the students in front of me to do that.”

WCSD parent Keri Kromer said the vote to approve the four-day-a-week instructional model left the community “blindsided,” adding the board did not allow public participation before the vote.

Kromer said she understands the concerns about academics, mental health of students and challenges faced by working parents but feels these are side effects of the pandemic that won’t be improved with the four-day instructional week. Kromer also said students and teachers have fallen into a routine, giving children a feeling of security.

“In a world where things are volatile and uncertain, that sense of certainty is essential for our children to feel safe,” Kromer said. “Moving to a full four-day instruction in the middle of a marking period, having students’ schedules completely rearranged and even having students starting with new teachers and classmates is disruptive.”

Kromer also stated concerns over safety are “not negligible” and the district should wait for the vaccines to become more readily available.

Antoinette Guedes, a WCSD parent, said when the board originally voted for the hybrid model, there was a seven-day average of 19 cases, with 50 hospitalized, and noted hospitalizations are currently at 270. Guedes said nothing has improved since then, and she understands how important it is for children to be in school for both academic and mental health reasons.

“This never was or will be a discussion of whether in-person schooling is important,” Guedes said. “What’s up for debate is how we can do it safely, and our district is failing us. My concern is we are losing any safe option for in-school learning for both our children and our teachers. The four-day model and our current community spread violate all recommendations given to us. The one consistent approach is social distancing, mask wearing and proper hygiene.”

She added some children are being diagnosed with pulmonary and cardiac issues, including blood clots in lungs and hearts, months after having COVID-19.

Juliet Saba, a WCSD parent of an elementary student, said she wanted to share her personal experience with the hybrid model from the perspective of a working mother.

“Zooms are often only happening once a day for 45 minutes and the assignment of asynchronous work for the rest of the day, not just on Wednesdays,” Saba said. “There is limited time with specialists and limited access to learning in their classrooms.”

Saba said her child struggles to finish and submit the online work independently during school hours, and she has to work with her child for hours each evening to ensure all assignments are completed.

“Please consider there are parents who are working during the day and often want to help their children during the day but cannot,” Saba continued. “Please consider that parents do want to see their children succeed and believe they can only do this through a four-day model. Please understand parents are struggling with working all day and coming home and working with a young child to complete all their work.”

School board members did not respond to any comments made.

The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. March 8.

Committee meetings on operations/transportation, finance/personnel and education/student activities will be 4 p.m. Feb. 22 and March 22.