Petersburg School District Reopening Plan
August 13, 2021
Maintaining in-person learning was the #1 priority for students, staff, and families in the end-of-year survey results. Our focus is on keeping our students and staff healthy and minimizing disruptions to high-quality, in-person learning. With this goal in mind, the school board discussed the Updated CDC guidance as of 7.27.21 during a work session on July 30 and recommended protocols for the upcoming school year during the August 10 school board meeting. The American Rescue Plan federal funding program requires that school districts consider CDC recommendations and provide an opportunity for public feedback. We are weighing the impact to the community as a whole if Covid spreads within our schools, and striving to balance public health concerns with instruction and learning needs. There is concern about the highly transmissible Delta variant and how it will impact our school and community. There is also concern about universal masking for all students and staff and how it affects teaching and learning. Regardless of our personal beliefs or opinions, positive cases and close contacts are subject to Public Health quarantine rules, and will cause disruptions to in-person learning. If student learning is disrupted due to decreased mitigation strategies and increased transmission and quarantines, the district reserves the right to tighten protocols as needed.
The two biggest topics of discussion with regard to protocols are masking and travel requirements. Other than masking, nearly all other things will look very much like school has in the past (pre-Covid), and we want to keep it that way (i.e. no class podding in the middle/high school, using the cafeterias regularly, full course offerings available to students, extracurricular activities, etc.).
See the in-depth view of the mitigation plan and access a survey to provide feedback at this link: School Reopening Plan