Saved by the bell
Reading, writing and repeated sanitizing will be the order of the day when Butler County's religious schools open for the fall semester.
But the school year will be without Butler Wesleyan Academy, 590 Protzman Road, which will not reopen in the fall, according to Sally Zeigler, who with her husband, Teddy, have been the school's administrators and teachers since 1998.
She said a combination of circumstances unrelated to COVID-19 led to the academy's closing.
Zeigler said she and her husband are leaving because they are pastors at a church in Lower Burrell, and the school couldn't find replacements.
Also, only seven students were enrolled for the fall semester.
“I do know some of the families of the seven left have opted to home school,” said Zeigler.
“It may reopen in the future, but they've opted to sit tight for this year,” she said of Butler Wesleyan Methodist Church, which runs the school.Butler Catholic School has chosen flexibility as the best way to approach the coming school year, which will start Aug. 24.The school at 515 E. Locust St. has 231 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and 40 preschool students.Its principal, Sister John Ann Mulhern, said the school will allow families to choose between three flexible learning options:Traditional: Students will attend school in-person full time, but will have the option to attend virtually because of illness or quarantine;Virtual: Students will attend full-time through an interactive live feed into their assigned classrooms. Live feed will also be recorded for after-hours viewing if necessary. Students have the option to change to traditional classes or a combination at any time.Combination: Students will have a regular schedule in which they alternate between traditional and virtual schooling.For example, students might attend traditional classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and virtual classes Tuesdays and Thursdays.Students attending classes in person will be required to wear a face mask or face shield, according to Mulhern, as well as practice social distancing. The school will use its outdoor classroom as much as possible.That flexibility is also part of Portersville Christian School's fall semester plans.The school will have 200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade when the school year starts Aug. 26, according to assistant administrator Mary Barnes.It has a health and safety plan that emphasizes cleaning, disinfecting and ventilating spaces.Barnes said plans call for students and faculty members to clean desks, tables and other surfaces between classes, to have classes outdoors as much as practical, social distancing and pre-made, prepackaged school lunches.“We are still planning to go ahead with sports,” said Barnes.First Baptist Christian School will also begin classes Aug. 26.Crystal Gwilt, the school secretary, said the school will resume in-person classes five days a week.Because of the current state mandate, the school will ask its 51 students and 11 teachers to wear masks in the hallways and lobbies, but not in the classrooms, lunchroom or during recess.“We will be doing extra cleaning and daily sanitizing and will be temperature checking the students,” she said.She said parents of perspective students should see the COVID-19 reopening plan on the school's website.When St. Kilian's Parish School, 7076 Franklin Road, Cranberry Township, starts its school year Aug. 24, its 652 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will be able to attend in person or online. Parents can choose either option.A COVID-19 safety plan is in place, based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state Department of Health and Education Department, according to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.Ashley Bauer, principal of Holy Sepulcher Catholic School, 6515 Old Route 8 North, Middlesex Township, said, “We are planning to open our doors five days a week to students and staff starting Aug. 26.“If we have families that are not comfortable sending their children, we will stream classes, so they can learn with their peers from home,” she said.Bauer said the school has completed its health and safety plan and will send copies to the parents of its 150 students and publish it on the school's website Saturday.The plan calls for cleaning and disinfecting at the school and face coverings and social distancing for the students and staff.“I really think the issue's the face coverings. Parents aren't comfortable with that,” Bauer said.She is sure the school's plan, barring future mandates, “is the surest way to ensure a brick-and-mortar education.”Mark Palcsey, principal at North Catholic High School, 1617 Route 228, Cranberry Township, said his school is still planning five-days-a-week, in-person instruction when the school year starts Aug. 24.Palcsey said pandemic requirements will include all staff, students and faculty wearing face coverings, one-way lanes in the halls, an increased amount of sanitizer available during the school day and daily deep cleaning of the school and high-touch surfaces every night.“We are going to have mobile, Plexiglas dividers to move in the front of classrooms,” to keep teachers and students separated, he said.“We are going to live stream all classes every day, so students that have to stay home can attend class with their classmates online,” Palcsey said.To promote social distancing in the cafeteria, the high school has added a lunch period to allow for a smaller number of people in the cafeteria at any one time.Students will have their temperatures taken daily when they enter the school building and again when they enter the cafeteria.Palcsey said enrollment is still in flux, but parents of the school's 615 ninth- through 12th-graders have been emailed the school's safety plan. A copy of the plan is available on the school's website.“Parents have been super supportive. Parents want their kids to be safe in school, but they want them to be in school,” he said. “We designed this safety plan so that all faculty, staff and students will be as safe as possible while having a consistent and authentic Catholic school experience.”
