School reopening requires approaches that support students’ and teachers’ physical and mental health and social-emotional well-being. These approaches should also protect students and educators from disease transmission at school, as well as from being exposed to the virus in communities that continue to experience high rates of community transmission. Robust, multilayered mitigation strategies—including masking, quarantine, testing, and contact tracing—can sustain safe in-person learning. Moreover, schools and districts that have safely reopened in the past during pandemics have done so with rigorous infection control procedures and strong engagement of staff and families.
In addition, schools should ensure that they can offer a full range of learning options and support student achievement. This includes providing access to online and blended learning, ensuring that schools are equipped with water and hygiene facilities, and developing training for teachers and administrative staff in handwashing and respiratory etiquette (coughing or sneezing into the elbow), physical distancing, and cleaning procedures.
The PDE provides guidance for LEAs on reopening with in-person and remote instruction, based on Governor Wolf’s plan of red phase (remote learning), yellow phase (in-person learning, with strict precautions), and green phase (reopening with normal in-person attendance). The guide covers areas such as school safety and security, health and wellness, academics, staffing, facilities, food services, budgets and funding, and social-emotional well-being.
The Tulsa Public Schools district outlines their methodical reopening process, which relied on robust communication with families and staff and a thorough stakeholder survey to determine when to reopen. The district’s survey questions included a wide range of issues, including social-emotional well-being, technology use, and transportation to and from school.
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