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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.