Most schools around the area are back in session and the Times News asked officials how the districts are doing with the return of in-person learning, health mitigations, mask mandates and the overall outlook of the school year.

Below are their answers.

Tamaqua Area

The Tamaqua Area School District kicked off its school year last Wednesday.

It was one of the few districts in northeastern Pennsylvania to keep its doors open all year for face-to-face education last school year.

According to Superintendent Ray Kinder, about 95% of TASD students are coming to school in person right now.

“We are excited about the possibilities for this school year,” Kinder said. “As a faculty and staff, we are committed to expressing positive energy each day and bringing out the best in our students.”

Kinder said everything started “according to plan” last week regarding the district’s health and safety plan. He hopes for an increasing return to normalcy as the school year progresses.

“Hopefully we will soon have a return to normal,” Kinder said. “Spectators in stands and the opening of our campus are two things we hope to accomplish this year.”

Jim Thorpe Area

Jim Thorpe Area School District currently has no plans for mask requirements when students return for the year on Thursday.

But administrators say they’re not ignoring the recent uptick in cases.

The school board voted this summer to make masks optional for students, staff and visitors.

During a special meeting Monday night, administrators planned to present the school board with information about the potential need for a mask mandate.

“We’re trying to take a data driven approach, not just Pennsylvania or Carbon County, but what’s happening here at Jim Thorpe in each of the buildings,” Superintendent John Rushefski said.

Administrators want parent input to play a role in the decision. Rushefski said responses from parents and staff have been split evenly for and against mask mandates.

After spending much of 2020-21 in a hybrid model, students will return to full in-person classes.

The district’s cyber school program, the Olympian Learning Connection, will be back this year. Instead of Jim Thorpe teachers, the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit will oversee the program.

More than 30 students have returned to the district from outside cyber charter schools after a campaign by administrators to promote what the district has to offer.

“We think the setup we have here at Jim Thorpe is the best option for our community and one student returning is a success,” Rushefski said.

Some of the district’s COVID-19 relief money went toward software designed to identify areas where students may have fallen behind during the pandemic.

The software helps teachers come up with ways to help students catch up in those areas.

“We recognize during COVID, whether it was the hybrid option or they were at home, we recognize it wasn’t the same experience and there was some learning loss,” Rushefski said.

Outside of COVID-related issues, administrators are excited about moving some existing special education teachers into new roles. The district will have new special education teachers in each building.

The teachers they replace will move into traditional classrooms and bring along their expertise in special education.

“What that’s doing is creating a workforce that’s cross-trained with a special education background,” Rushefski said.

Pleasant Valley School District

Pleasant Valley is opening with mask wearing as optional.

The school board did approve at their meeting on Thursday to authorize all teachers, therapists and substitutes to be able to work in homebound instruction if needed.

They also approved the purchase of 465 Chromebooks for $315.10 each. The total cost is $146,521.50.

And they extended the filing deadline for the 2020 Senior Citizen Property Tax Rebate to Dec. 31.

Panther Valley School District

Panther Valley changed course Monday night, mandating masks for at least the first two weeks.

When students returned to school on Monday, masks were still optional.

The district has seen COVID-19 cases already, which led to the cancellation of a football game Friday night.

“As we see the rise, we want to make sure we’re doing due diligence. We may change to a mandate, but that will be the board’s decision on Monday,” said superintendent David McAndrew Jr.

The district has brought back approximately 15 students from cyberschool.

It used portions of its COVID relief funds to purchase laptops for all students, and add two faculty members at the elementary school. The new positions are a second-grade teacher and a reading specialist.

The excitement level for the coming school year is high among students and teachers.

“We had an open house yesterday and it was probably the biggest open house they’ve had here in 10 years,” McAndrew said.

Northern Lehigh School District

Masks for students at Northern Lehigh School District were optional when students returned to their classrooms in the Northern Lehigh School District for the first day of school on Monday.

Superintendent Matthew J. Link said in July that the district’s guidance from PDE, along with the district’s legal counsel, is that on school buses, masks are required. In schools, they are not, and the district was making them optional.

“We don’t have any anticipated changes for the health and safety plan, but that could change if we see a spike in cases,” Link said. “We’re about 96% of the families have decided to return their children to our schools full-time, five days a week.”

Link said the district currently has about 45 students enrolled in its Bulldog Academy, but added it expects that number to “kind of ebb and flow for the next week or so.”

He spoke highly of the teachers and support staff in the district.

“We’re very excited to see what they’re going to bring to the district,” Link said. “They all come with different skills and backgrounds to help us move forward with what we do here with our students.”

Editor’s note: Other school districts were contacted but could not be reached in time for deadline.