Pittsburgh Public Schools lays out plan to get students back into classrooms

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Public Schools is looking at early April for a return to in-person learning, but not for all students.

April 6 is the target date to get students back in classrooms.

However, the school district has created new student support categories, which are mostly based on how students are doing with remote learning.

Pre-K and kindergarten students are the first category of students to go back to a mix of in-person instruction and remote learning. So are students with the greatest needs and most difficulties with remote learning.

The next category of students is scheduled to move to a hybrid model on April 26.

PPS cited new guidelines for schools that were recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The district said it exceeds the CDC’s mitigation strategies when it comes to things such as mask wearing, social distancing and cleaning.

Schools will be closed on Wednesdays for further cleaning and disinfecting. The district is also in the process of purchasing more than 200 air purifiers and filters.

PPS said it will let parents know which category their children are in by early March. A survey will also be sent out so parents can share their thoughts.

The President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers said it is meeting with PPS Tuesday to talk about the new reopening plan.

“Even though the PFT continues to get our members vaccinated, there are other safety concerns that we would like addressed, and we had a lot of trouble getting a meeting set up with the district. It is set up for today so we can talk about other concerns. Safety concerns,” Nina Esposito-Visgitis, Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President, said.

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Cox Media Group