Bethel Park SD changes back-to-school plan, parents prepare for virtual to start

The Bethel Park School District’s back-to-school plan has changed once again.

This time, the school board made a decision to focus solely on online instruction for the start of the school year.

Last week, board members said they wanted to adopt a hybrid model.

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Parents said trying to figure out the back-to-school plan has brought a lot of stress, and the school board stated it wanted to do what is best for everyone.

After a lengthy board meeting held via Zoom, the school board made it official. It voted to start school virtually for the first four weeks.

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Students will then switch to a hybrid model on Oct. 5.

The ultimate goal is to go back to in-person instruction by January 2021.

The assistant superintendent told Channel 11 last week that with the number of cases rising, the district was prepared to update its opening plan to ensure everyone's health and safety.

District leaders in the past had told us these dates and time frames are subject to change, depending on the cases and status of the pandemic.

Parents and grandparents say it’s been a challenging experience.

“It’s gonna be a whole year that their lives have been disrupted. And it’s gonna be tough for them to be normal,” said Steve Stoyanoff from Bethel Park.

The first day of class is set for Aug. 26, but the school board is considering pushing back the start date to Sept. 1.

Full in-person learning could be scrapped in Bethel Park School District

Cox Media Group