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AFT Pennsylvania President Arthur Steinberg (center) joins Mayor Jim Kenney (left) and schools Superintendent William Hite to announce a plan for reopening some Philadelphia school buildings. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Updated 3:39 p.m.
Philadelphia school officials and union leaders have reached a compromise that will allow some schools to reopen their buildings on March 8 roughly a year after the district last welcomed students into classrooms.
The deal, announced Monday, calls for pre-K through grade 2 students at 53 elementary schools to attend classes in-person twice a week, if they choose.
The School District of Philadelphia had planned to reopen 152 schools in February in its first phase of in-person learning. School officials and the union agreed that more schools will become eligible for in-person learning on a weekly, rolling basis until all pre-K to second-grade classes have returned. Announcements will be made each Monday.
Date announced for return of some Pre-K to 2nd grade Philadelphia students
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However, unlike previous return plans, not all of those students will return at once.
During a news conference on Monday, Mayor Jim Kenney announced that schools will be reviewed in batches for their readiness for the safe return of students and staff.
Kenney said 53 schools have been approved, and students whose families have selected the hybrid learning plan will return on Monday, March 8.
Teachers and staff in those schools will return on Wednesday, March 3.
The city said the goal is to have the return dates for all Pre-K to 2nd-grade hybrid learning students announced by March 22.