The Slippery Rock School Board on Monday night updated its Rocket Relaunch plans for going back to school this year.

More than 30 people attended Monday night's meeting, during which the school board updated its plans to return to school in a vote that saw no dissent.

The board approved “Rocket Relaunch” plans in June that have been posted on the school's website.

Slippery Rock Superintendent Alfonso Angelucci said the major change to its current plan came after the state's mandate that anyone older than age 2 must wear a mask.

Angelucci said there will be some opportunities for students to remove masks to be comfortable while learning.

“My feeling that once students are seated, they're at the seats and at their work station, I'm going to make it permissible for them to remove them at that time,” he said. “When they move to common spaces, they would be required to wear them at that time.”

Under the district's plans to reopen school, there are multiple options for students to return. One involves attending in-person classes, while another involves attending an asynchronous cyber school.

Assistant Superintendent Susan Miller said the district is also developing a synchronized online option, so teachers would be able to livestream lessons to students who remain at home. In this capacity, the student's curriculum, lessons and work would be the same as those attending in-person.

“Right now, we're looking at that for grades three and above,” Miller said.

Angelucci said the updated plan will be reposted on the website and submitted to the state for its records, but much of the plan will remain the same.

Like many other districts, Slippery Rock students will have to wear masks on buses and at school, unless they have a medical reason not to. The students will also have to properly social distance in the classroom and around school.

While much of Slippery Rock's plans are similar to other districts in the county, the state Department of Education has allowed for some flexibility in return-to-school policies.

Slippery Rock's plans differ from some other districts in their contingency plan in case Gov. Tom Wolf moves Butler County back to the yellow or red phase of COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

Under the red phase, all schools in the state would be forced to return to remote learning, but under the yellow phase, Slippery Rock students with last names from A to L would go to school Mondays and Wednesdays, and the remaining students would go to school Tuesdays and Thursdays. “On Fridays, everyone would participate in distance learning, for that being a day for our custodial staff to do a deeper cleaning,” Angelucci said.

Slippery Rock also differs on testing students and visitors at the door as some districts have decided to do.

“The state is recommending that those temperatures be taken at home by the parent, and not at school,” said Assistant Superintendent Susan Miller.

The district also encourages parents with questions to call the district office, which also has a relaunch-specific email address to which Miller has been responding.

Angelucci and Miller have made themselves available to the public for questions and comments from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Troy-Alan Stadium and again from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Moraine Elementary School.

“That's for anyone who wants to come and meet us, and talk to us about everything that's going on,” Angelucci said.