Second First Day of School

Covering more than a 2.1 million miles each year, the Transportation Department offers safe and reliable travel to and from Spring-Ford schools, serving thousands of students each day.

New for 2020-2021 School Year:

• Students will be required to wear a face mask before boarding and while riding on a school bus.
• Siblings will be required to sit together.
• Students should sit in same seat before and after school every day.
• Students should arrive to the bus stop 10 minutes prior to assigned time.
• Families can download the Bus App to receive notification if a bus would not be running on time.
• Log into Skyward and click on “Busing” to confirm Pick Up and Drop Off times.

Your patience is appreciated as we do expect delays for both bus riders and parent pick-up and drop-off. 

The Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) hosted a COVID-19 Parent Information Session with the Montgomery County Department of Health, Dr. David Rubin & Dr. Susan Coffin (CHOP).
 

K-6 IN PERSON LEARNING OVERVIEW: 

• Due to balancing classroom rosters, in-person students may also be shifted and assigned a new teacher. 
• Those students who return to school will be required to wear face coverings throughout the day. 
• To that end, we have removed classroom furnishings that are not absolutely necessary to maximize social distancing, however in most cases depending on the number of students returning for in-person instruction, six feet social distancing will not be achieved. 
• Students will also be required to wear face coverings when boarding, riding and exiting school busses. 
• Students will have opportunities to remove their face masks at lunch, where we will have students sitting a minimum of 6’ apart. We have also established procedures to clean high touch areas throughout the day. 
• Busses will be wiped down between runs, and cleaned thoroughly in the middle of the day, and at the end of each day.
• Click here to link directly to the In-Person section of the Toolkit

K-6 VIRTUAL LEARNING OVERVIEW: 

• Kindergarten through 6th grade students who choose to attend school virtually will be assigned to virtual only classrooms. This will require that many students will be taken out of their current classroom assignments and re-assigned to virtual only classrooms. This is the only way that a virtual option can be provided for families wanting to remain in a virtual instruction model.  
• Families choosing to remain virtual will be scheduled into virtual only classrooms for the remainder of the second marking period.
• Click here to link directly to the Virtual Overview in the Toolkit

7-12 Students: All students in grades 7-12 were offered the option of In-Person Hybrid, Virtual, or Spring-Ford Cyber School for MP2. Students will return to In-Person Hybrid following the schedule below:

• November 12, 2020: 7-9 Blue
• November 13, 2020: 7-9 Gold
• November 16, 2020: 10-12 Blue
• November 17, 2020: 10-12 Gold

In Days: Students will follow a normal six-day cycle, attending classes either M/Th or T/F. 

Home Days: Starting November 12, students will follow their normal Bell Schedule on Home Days. Instruction will be accessed through Livestream or Recorded video and will include Canvas Content.

Wednesdays: All students will complete work posted to Canvas, this day will be asynchronous. Teachers available for office hours by appointment. 

Click here to review the 7-12 Reopening Toolkit

7-12 Students: All students in grades 7-12 were offered the option of In-Person Hybrid, Virtual, or Spring-Ford Cyber School for MP2. Students will return to In-Person Hybrid following the schedule below:

• November 12, 2020: 7-9 Blue
• November 13, 2020: 7-9 Gold
• November 16, 2020: 10-12 Blue
• November 17, 2020: 10-12 Gold

Virtual students will follow a normal six-day cycle, attending classes either Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Students will follow their normal Bell Schedule from home. Instruction will be accessed through livestream or recorded video and will include Canvas Content. Teachers will be available for office hours by appointment.

Wednesdays: All students will complete work posted to Canvas, this day will be asynchronous. Teachers available for office hours by appointment. 

Q: If we opt for In Person, but have a change of mind, can we change to Virtual after November 12?
A: Due to the need to ensure the safety and efficiency of the delivery of the district's in person, virtual and cyber programs, the selection you make shall be viewed by the Spring-Ford Area School District as a commitment for you and your child to the selected form of education delivery until the end of the Second Marking Period at the earliest. At the Administration's sole discretion, review of current enrollments in all program options will be reviewed and modifications may be made during the course of the 2020-2021 school year as events present or allow.

Q: If we visit family out of state for the holidays and it is a state designated for quarantine would we need to keep our child home for 14 days upon return?
A: Yes, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health if you have traveled, or plan to travel, to an area where there are high amounts of COVID-19 cases, it is recommended that you stay at home for 14 days upon return to Pennsylvania. Click here for an updated No Travel State list.

Q: My child has seasonal allergies and/or asthma. How will you determine if they have allergies, asthma, or a COVID symptom?
A: Our School Nurses are trained to assess cases based on a differential diagnosis process. For instance, seasonal allergies do not usually cause shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, unless a person has a respiratory condition such as asthma that can be triggered by exposure to pollen. Symptoms vary from person to person and range from mild to severe. Because some of the symptoms of COVID-19 and seasonal allergies are similar, it may be difficult to tell the difference between them, and you may need to get a test to confirm your diagnosis. You can have symptoms of both COVID-19 and seasonal allergies at the same time. Your child’s school nurse will work with your family during the differential diagnosis process.

Q: Will my child have a different teacher in person than they have now?
A: Teacher reassignment for both in person and virtual is a possibility. Kindergarten through 6th grade students may be assigned new teachers, both in the virtual and in person environment.

Q: If for some reason my child’s teacher remains a virtual teacher, would it be possible for my child to remain in their virtual class? 
A: Kindergarten through 6th grade students who choose to attend school virtually will be assigned to virtual only classrooms, but not necessarily their current teacher if their teacher remains virtual. This will require that many students will be taken out of their current classroom assignments and re-assigned classrooms. This is the only way that an in person AND virtual option can be provided. Families should not made a decision based on what they think their current teacher assignment might be.

Return to School Commitment Data
All of our return to school commitment data has been collected and the following graphics illustrate building and grade statistics for in-person, virtual, or cyber instruction. While we did share publicly that any “no response” would be recorded as an in-person commitment, many of our building staff called parents to obtain that information. This information is accurate as of 10/26/2020.

Total students: 7,849
Total respondents: 7,338
Return to in-person learning: 5,136 (65.44%)
Return to in-person learning (w/unknowns): 5,647 (71.95%)
Return to either virtual or cyber learning: 2,202 (28.05%)

• Return to virtual learning: 1,815 (23.12%)
• Return to cyber learning: 387 (4.93%)

Unknown due to no response: 511 (6.51%)

Kindergarten – 6th Grade: 3,978 Students

• Average in-person:                                65.59%
• Average in-person (w/unknown):           66.73%
• Average virtual:                                    27.37%
• Average cyber:                                      5.9%
• Average unknown:                                1.14%

7th – 12th Grade: 3,871 Students

• Average in-person:                                65.23%
• Average in-person (w/unknown):           77.19%
• Average virtual:                                    18.84%
• Average cyber:                                      3.97%
• Average unknown:                                11.96%

By Grade:

By Building:

 

Virtual Instruction: Instruction that is taking place from home/outside of the school building. 

Live Instruction: Instruction that takes place via Zoom or Microsoft Teams at a specific time.  

Synchronous Instruction: Instruction that takes place at a specific time. For example, students will be expected to be working on their Period 2 content during the time in which Period 2 is scheduled in the regular building bell schedule. 

Asynchronous Instruction: online assignments via Canvas. Other activities may include offline activities which could also be completed during this time such as doing hands-on and/or paper and pencil activities.

Morning Meeting: teacher initiated meetings held on Zoom or Teams to build a sense of community in an online environment.

Spring-Ford Cyber Learning: Cyber learning offers individualized instruction and flexibility so that students and families can find a schedule that works best for them. This approach makes for day-to-day schedules that are unique for each student, so it’s difficult to pin down exactly what a day in the life of your student is truly like.