Officials 'Very Hopeful' Montco Schools Will Reopen In The Fall

NORRISTOWN, PA — Leaders in Montgomery County expressed optimism on Friday that schools in the county would be able to reopen in the fall, provided that area residents and businesses continue to adhere to social distancing recommendations. However, things might look quite different from what students are used to.

County officials hold discussions every 10 days with Montgomery County's 22 school district superintendents on plans moving forward. The optimistic note sheds some important light on where leaders perceive the county to be at in its battle against the virus, as the timeframe for resolving the crisis has long remained murky.

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"We're all very hopeful that schools will reopen in the fall," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Friday. However, "there's a very good chance that things will look very different than when they closed in March."

Among the possible changes Arkoosh mentioned as being discussed were staggered schedules to reduce the number of children in classrooms, changing the configuration of classrooms to promot social distancings, using other, larger rooms for expanded and additional teaching spaces, and more.

"I firmly believe that if there is any safe way to open schools in the fall they (the superintendents) will find it," she said.

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The possibility of reopening is entirely dependent on how well residents and businesses comply with social distancing guidelines. A premature relaxation of standards, or residents ceasing to follow basic precautions, could easily increase the case load and undo the progress that's been made up to this point.

"Just a handful of people going rogue can really mess this thing up," Arkoosh said.

In order for Montgomery County to reach the state's final "green" phase, where major mitigation measures are lifted, and schools can reopen, the total number of county cases must be down to an average of 30 per day, or a total of 415 new cases over a 14-day period.

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That is still a long ways off. The county announced 119 new cases on Friday, and has seen more than 2,000 new cases over the past two weeks.

Schools have been closed to since March 13 due to the outbreak, and the remainder of the school year was cancelled shortly thereafter. Districts have moved to remote learning in the weeks since.

There are a total of 4,310 cases of coronavirus in Montgomery County as of Friday afternoon, along with 293 deaths.

>>Full coronavirus updates in Pennsylvania.