Crestwood students with special needs would return to classes in February, followed by elementary students in March and junior and senior high school students in April, according to a plan that Superintendent Bob Mehalick outlined Thursday.
âThe ultimate goal here is to keep everyone safe . to bring back our students in the most consistent manner,â Mehalick said during a school board meeting.
Beginning Feb. 8, elementary students in autistic support and life skills classes would be the first to return to classes in person in Crestwood, where everyone has been studying from home since December because of the pandemic.
Most of their teachers will have vaccinations against COVID-19 by then, which will, âI believe, give everyone a layer of confidence,â said Mehalick, adding some teachers have been vaccinated already.
Crestwood schoolâs leaders havenât decided yet when elementary students will return to in-person classes, which the state recommended for the second semester that starts Feb. 1.
âWe will have an an announcement shortly,â Superintendent Bob Mehalick said Thursday during a committee meeting with the school board. âThere are a lot of things we are still working through. Our goal, our motivation is to get our kids back to some form of in-person instruction.â
If students return, Mehalick will recommend they spend a few days a week in classrooms and study from home on other days, as they did before Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, a resurgence of the virus led all classes to meet virtually. Buses and some classes would be too crowded for students to keep 6 feet apart if they returned five days a week, Mehalick said after board member James Costello asked how many days a week students would attend. If elementary students return a few days a week, Costello re