Jim Thorpe Area School District will reopen under a blended model with students taking a combination of online and in-person classes.

Roughly one in three students have opted to do full-time online learning through the district’s Olympian Learning Connection virtual program.

School board members voted unanimously Wednesday night to open school under the blended model. The first day of school is scheduled for Sept. 8.

“We really want to start school. We want to see activities like sports happen, but we want to do it in a safe way. And the moderate phase, the yellow phase is the safest option we believe where we can bring students back to school,” said Superintendent John Rushefski.

Students who did not choose full-time learning will have different schedules depending on grade. Grades K-5 will attend classes four days a week in person and one online. Grades 6-12 will attend two days in person, and three online.

For students in grades 6-12, each grade will be split into two groups - A and B. A group will attend in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday. B group will attend in-person on Wednesday and Thursday. The rest of the week, students will take classes online.

Rushefski said by having no more than one-third of the student body in class at a time, they should meet the recommended 6 feet of social distancing between students.

He said the blended model meets the state’s recommendations for opening school, while ensuring that the district meets the minimum hours of instruction - 900 at the elementary level and 998 at the high school level.

The state recently recommended that schools in Carbon County open with a blended or full online model, due to the current level of virus spread in the county.

Students in grades K-5 will attend classes in person Monday through Thursday, with Friday classes online.

The high school day will run from 7:50-1:45 p.m. The K-8 day will be 8:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m.

School days have been shortened in order to better serve students who are learning at home. Online learning will be live, with students participating in the classes as they take place in the school building. The district has purchased Swivl cameras which will stream video of their teachers as they conduct in-person classes.

When the district sought parent feedback on its online learning efforts in the spring, they found that extra time was needed to make sure online students were understanding lessons.

“Making that connection was vital. It’s also a lot of additional work on teachers to make up the lessons for the remote learners,” said Jerome Brown, the district’s designated pandemic response coordinator.

Masks, per the state’s order, are required. Parents can drop their children off and pick them up for school, and bus capacity is capped at 48. Masks are also required on the bus.

School board members praised the efforts by school administrators in preparing the health and safety plan. Scott Pompa summed up the difficulty of deciding how to move forward in unprecedented times.

“My children would probably kill me for saying this, but I truly believe we should do a full remote learning for at least the first quarter. However I will back the superintendent and his recommendation and vote yes on this, reluctantly,” Pompa said.

Danielle Derrickson contributed to this report.