Posted on March 1, 2021
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Categories: News from SDP

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March 1, 2021

Dear Parents and Families,

I am pleased to share that the City-led third-party mediation process between the School District and the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) has successfully concluded. We have agreed on a plan to begin safely reopening our PreK-2 school buildings in phases as joint readiness reviews are completed by the PFT over the next few weeks.

Here’s the timeline for the phased reopening plan:

Monday, March 8

53 schools welcome back PreK-2 students whose families chose hybrid learning in the fall

*SDP and PFT readiness reviews for these schools have been completed

  • PreK-2 teachers and support staff for these schools will return to buildings on Wednesday, March 3rd.
  • All PreK-2 students across all schools will resume a full day of instruction as scheduled by their teachers.
  • PFT school readiness reviews for remaining schools in progress.

Monday, March 15

The goal is for the second group of schools to welcome back PreK-2 students whose families chose hybrid learning in the fall

*To date, SDP readiness reviews completed. PFT reviews are still underway.

  • Specific schools TBD based on completed readiness reviews.
  • PreK-2 teachers and support staff for these schools will return to buildings on Wednesday, March 10th.
  • PFT school readiness reviews for remaining schools in progress.

By Monday, March 22

The goal is to have the return dates for all PreK-2 students whose families chose hybrid learning in the fall announced 

*To date, SDP readiness reviews completed. PFT reviews are still underway.

  • PreK-2 teachers and support staff for these schools will return to buildings the Wednesday, prior to the determined return date for students.
  • PFT school readiness reviews for remaining schools serving grades 3-12 in progress.

The 53 schools opening for in-person learning on March 8 are: Chester Arthur School; John Barry Elementary; Mary McLeod Bethune School; F. Amedee Bregy School; Henry A. Brown School; Joseph W. Catharine; Cayuga Elementary; Cook-Wissahickon School; Anna B. Day School; Julia De Burgos; Stephen Decatur School; Thomas A. Edison High (PreK ONLY); Franklin S. Edmonds School; Ethan Allen School; Dr. Ethel Allen School; Thomas K. Finletter School; Fitler Academics Plus; Edward Gideon School; Joseph Greenberg School; Albert M. Greenfield School; Andrew Hamilton School; John F. Hartranft School; Edward Heston School; Henry H. Houston; Julia Ward Howe School; John Marshall School; Juniata Park Academy; Kenderton Elementary; Henry W. Lawton School; Abraham Lincoln High (PreK ONLY); Alain Locke School; William H. Loesche School; William C. Longstreth School; Mayfair School; John F. McCloskey School; William McKinley Elementary; John Moffet School; J. Hampton Moore School; Hon. Luis Munoz-Marin Elementary; Olney Elementary; Overbrook Educational Center; Overbrook Elementary; Penn Alexander School; Penrose School; Rhodes Elementary; Shawmont School; Isaac A. Sheppard School; Southwark School; Edward Steel School; Thurgood Marshall School; John H. Webster School; Frances E. Willard School; and Richard R. Wright School.

PreK-2 families who initially chose to remain with 100% digital learning will be able to opt into hybrid learning after all PreK-2 hybrid learning students have successfully phased in. The goal is for other groups of students to then begin slowly and safely phasing in for in-person learning.

Also, as part of the agreement, air purifiers will replace the window fans that have been installed in classrooms that did not have adequate ventilation.

To prepare for in-person learning, I encourage you to view these Safe Return to School and Clean and Healthy Schools videos, and visit philasd.org/aes to learn more about the many layers of safety we have in place and how we can all do our part to keep ourselves and each other protected.

Thank you once again for your patience as we work toward safely reopening as many schools as possible for in-person learning this school year. We are very excited to welcome our students back for the first time in nearly a year and can’t wait for more students to return soon.

Sincerely,

William R. Hite Jr., Ed.D.
Superintendent
The School District of Philadelphia