7-2 vote leaves option for in-person after four weeks

            Approximately four hours into what became a five-hour meeting, the Quakertown Community School District Board of Directors passed a motion to limit instruction for all grade levels to their hybrid and virtual options for the first four weeks of the school year. The motion included the need to revisit the decision at subsequent board meetings. This is a change from the previous model that allowed an option of all in-person instruction.

            School is scheduled to begin September 14 with shortened school days for all grade levels.

            Director Keith Miccucci made the motion, adding "There are just so many still unknowns to me."

            President Kaylyn Mitchell echoed the need to begin the school year with just the hybrid and virtual model.

            "I would much prefer a model that will allow students and teachers time to adjust to get used to the new normal of schools," Mitchell said.

            "This is the model that will give them that time," Superintendent Dr. William Harner commented. "It was a good call."

            Of the nine directors, Jonathan Kern and Chris Spear voted against the motion.

            Prior to the decision, the board and Zoom attendees were presented with information on instructional models, plans for substitute teachers and nurses as well as safety plans for each school within the district.

            Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lisa Hoffman presented an in-depth look at district plans for blended instruction, including curriculum, assessments and attendance through synchronous and asynchronous learning.

            Chad Evans, supervisor of Business, Family and Consumer Science, Health and Physical Education, Social Studies and World Languages added that the curriculum allows for both models to incorporate asynchronous, or student-centric, learning.

            "I think there is a large assumption that everything has to be done on a device and that is simply not true," Evans said of virtual instruction.

            Zach Schoch, chief operating officer for the district, detailed concerns around the acquisition of substitute teachers and nurses to ensure student and teacher safety. According to Schoch, the district needed an average of 31 substitutes per day during the 2019-2020 school year and had to leave seven of those daily positions unfilled due to a lack of available substitutes.

            The board also voted unanimously to up the number of onsite, available building-wide substitutes from eight to sixteen.

            Jeff Sweda, executive director of the Upper Bucks County Technical School, provided the board with an update on the school's plans, noting that, while the board has not yet made a final decision, efforts are in place to return to staggered schedules for in-person learning.

            "We just want to get in there and get it going in case it spikes again," Sweda said.

            Plans for the technical high school include frequent disinfecting of all tools, equipment and machinery, safety videos, PPE and COVID stations for sanitizing hands.

            Earlier in the meeting, the board interviewed candidates to fill two vacant seats. Both Dwight Anderson and Ron Jackson announced resignations at the July 9 meeting, leaving the seats open.

            Ron Jackson, who relocated from Region 3 to Region 1, was voted in again to complete Anderson's Region 1 term. Former Director Steaven Klein was voted in to complete Jackson's Region 3 term.