Schools in Schuylkill County, the Lehigh Valley, Hazleton and Pocono Mountain districts will have 3-hour early dismissals Monday.

In a letter to parents, Pocono Mountain School District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Robison wrote that the Pennsylvania Department of Education would allow the district to hold an Act 80 Day with early dismissal “due to concerns about possible eye damage if students try to watch the solar eclipse without the appropriate eye protection as they board their buses at dismissal time and ride the buses home.”

Schuylkill County schools are also choosing to dismiss early because of safety concerns. Parents were notified Wednesday.

“This is an exciting event that many are looking forward to viewing,” Tamaqua Superintendent Raymond J. Kinder said of the eclipse. “However, the timing of the eclipse during our dismissal times presents challenges for us to ensure the safety of all students and bus drivers in the district.”

With the early dismissal, students will be home before the event gets underway.

Looking at the sun - even for a short time - can damage eyes permanently or even cause blindness, the American Academy of Ophthalmology notes.

“You absolutely cannot look at the sun without eye protection at any time during the upcoming eclipse in our area,” Bergstresser noted. “The only safe time you can observe the eclipse without eye protection is for the few minutes of totality, and within our state, that will only occur in Northwest PA.”

The eclipse is expected to peak in our area at 3:23 p.m. and end around 4:34 p.m.

“While we would love to use the actual viewing of the solar eclipse as a wonderful teaching moment in our schools, we do not know how to ensure all 8,000 plus students take the appropriate safety measures to protect their eyes while boarding their buses and riding their buses home,” Robison wrote.

Schools in Carbon County, including Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton and Weatherly school districts, will have a normal day Monday. Pleasant Valley is planning a regular day.

Letters to parents and guardians of students in those schools call the eclipse “a rare and exciting astronomical event presents an opportunity for students to learn about science, space, and the wonders of the natural world.”

They also include links to resources and information about the eclipse from NASA and the American Astronomical Society, along with tips on how to safely view it.

Dr. Christina Fish, Lehighton Area School superintendent, said the district will provide solar eclipse glasses to all not only all the students in the district, but anyone competing in athletic activities - home and visitors - after school.

Dr. Fish said the glasses have already been purchased.

In addition, there will be varied solar eclipse education throughout the district.

Dr. Fish gave a presentation to the Lehighton Area School Board regarding the ecliptic plans. She said the actual eclipse is scheduled to begin sometime after 2 p.m.

The National Science Foundation says the total eclipse will be seen in an arc from Mexico to Maine that will actually be west of our area. Erie will be a focal point for viewing the full eclipse.

A may on the website of the National Science Foundation shows locally over 90 percent of the eclipse will be visible.

The Science Foundation stresses that viewing the eclipse without protective glasses could cause eye damage.

The foundation also warns:

“Do NOT use sunglasses, solar filters meant for cameras and telescopes, smoked glass, welder’s goggles, photographic or X-ray film, potato-chip bags or DVDs to view the partially eclipsed sun. None of these methods are safe.”

This will be the only total solar eclipse visible in the United States until 2044, say scientists.

The current National Weather Service forecast for Monday calls for sunny conditions, which will be ideal for viewing the eclipse.