Lower Merion Schools Developing In-Person Learning Return Plan

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — The Lower Merion School District is making plans to restart in-person learning at its schools, but fully in-person learning is still some time off and presents challenges for the district.

According to the district, members of the school community will be invited to take a survey on the willingness to send students back to buildings for in-person learning.

The survey will be used to help address challenges the district faces with resuming in-person learning. Challenges include how to handle lunch, dismissal, and supervision of students who are spread out throughout buildings.

Those challenges stem from the district's enrollment. The district said buildings do not have enough space to maintain 6-foot distancing if all hybrid students return to in-person.

"Parents/guardians chose the hybrid model for their students did so with the understanding that 6-foot distancing (and the other Health and Safety protocols) would be maintained," Superintendent Robert Copeland said. "They may not want to send their children back to school if that cannot happen."

With that in mind, Copeland said the district has yet to find an educational solution for families who are uncomfortable with sending students back for in-person learning, as the district is limited in providing teachers for its digital learning models.

District families will also be given future surveys as the district's plans become more concrete.

In the meantime, the district is still sourcing and working on logistics for items such as tents, useable outside spaces, plexiglass shields/dividers, and additional and replacement furniture.

Additionally, the district is continuing to expand its ACE-IT coronavirus assurance testing — which is testing about 1,000 staff and selected students each week and has caught about a half-dozen asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic positive cases — and work on vaccination options for district staff as it's unclear when vaccines will be more widely available in the region.

More details on the district's reopening plans are available here.