Students in the Northern Lehigh School District now have the option to return to school four days a week.

At a special meeting on Monday, the school board unanimously approved the measure after hearing remarks from parents, teachers and the head of its teachers association.

The Northern Lehigh Education Association president spoke out against the decision.

The board decided students will have the option to receive in-person instruction on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesday will remain fully remote/virtual for all students.

Students in Peters and Slatington Elementary Schools can begin four days a week in-person instruction on March 15, while students in the middle school and high school can begin on March 22.

However, the district said it needs parents’ help with scheduling and assigning students to teachers to achieve social distancing with more students in the schools.

Parents will receive a questionnaire to select which instructional model they want for the remainder of the school year. The questionnaire is also on each school’s home page under the announcements section.

Questionnaires are due by noon on Friday.

The choices

Superintendent Matthew J. Link told the board there were four options to consider:

• Maintain status quo for remainder of year, all currently available instructional models would remain.

• Transition to 4-5 day in-person option once Phase 1B is open for education workers to be vaccinated.

• Implement a phased return to 4-5 day in-person option by grade spans, such as K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12 or by building while allowing the vulnerable student groups to continue with 4-5 day in-person instruction.

• Return all students to 4-5 day in-person option simultaneously.

Director Bob Kern said the board needed to do something.

“Just because a kid is online and is in involved in the streaming of learning doesn’t mean learning is taking place,” Kern said. This is not the right environment; the haves are getting what they need, the have-nots are falling further and further behind.

“Our kids need to be in school, and whatever it takes to do that, and I’m even ready to say five days a week, but I’ll settle for four but I am a no vote until we bring our kids back at least four days a week.”

Kern said he believes they can find other safety procedures.

“I as an educator would make sure my butt was in that seat teaching those kids because that’s what I’m paid to do, and I’m not paid to do it virtually, because we all know technology is a resource; it is there to enhance learning, it is not designed to be the learning tool,” he said. “That’s why our kids want to come back, that’s why our parents want the kids to come back because we know that teachers are where it happens, where the rubber meets the road, that’s education, firsthand with the teacher present.”

Link recommended that the return be phased.

“If we’re going to do it, thank you for saying no Wednesdays, just doing it four days because we still need that time to be able to clean and to plan for multiple modalities of instruction,” Link said. “I would ask for two weeks, not one week, I would ask for two weeks to be able to implement such a plan.”

Reaction to decision

Tim Weaber, Northern Lehigh Education Association President, said the association was “very disappointed.”

“You’ve forgotten the one group that really makes this work in the end, the teachers,” Weaber said. “You’ve demonstrated that you’re willing to take the risk with our teachers and our families’ health and well-being. This decision is not acceptable to the teachers.”

He said not all teachers have been able to get vaccinated.

“Additionally, teachers have taken on the huge task of taking on mobile teaching models, this was a huge task, and now you’re asking them to change that again. This is not the right time. I want to ask you again to please reconsider.”

Several parents shared their thoughts.

“I think you guys are doing the right thing by trying to get the kids back in school,” Justin Jachowicz said.

Richard Roberts was opposed.

“Congratulations for everyone that is getting what they want, but now at the same time, my son and his classmates are potentially now, in the middle of March, being forced to forget about the rapport with their virtual teacher and their schedule and the way everything’s been going and now all of a sudden be put into a new classroom with new students and I don’t think that’s fair,” Roberts said. “So I’m hoping with this plan, you guys can figure out a way to allow the virtual world to stay the virtual world.”