Governor Wolf announced earlier today that Pennsylvania schools will be closed until April 9th.  Please continue to follow our web site and check automated messages as we deliver information regarding plans to provide continuous educational services to the extent allowable by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the United States Department of Education and the Governor.

Hello everyone. As we all deal with the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Berwick Area School District is planning to provide a “hybrid” approach to education until the Governor lifts the school closure order. Currently, schools in Pennsylvania are closed to students until April 9th. Employees of BASD will return on April 7th.

The district is committed to a “good faith” effort to provide continuity of learning and will combine technology with traditional in making every reasonable effort to provide instructional and enriching learning opportunities for all students. Our goal is to provide educational materials that will ensure that all students on track to move forward by grade level or from course to course will still do so, and that our school year will not extend beyond June 12th for grades K-11 and June 5th for seniors.

This is provided that waivers of daily and hourly requirements are approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and signed by the Governor. We’ve been led to believe that it is likely that these waivers will be approved and executed by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education, as relayed by Intermediate Unit #16 is providing great flexibility to local districts, as it pertains to the plan for instruction each district develops. Berwick Area School District teachers will utilize technological capacities whenever possible, and when necessary, will also reach out to students without the capacity to utilize a technological device. Many of our teachers have already begun this process since the initial closure on March 16.

Efforts of the teachers are being coordinated at the building level, with building principals being an additional point of contact beyond the teachers. Distribution of “learning packets” will be a component of our plan for those without technological capacity. This distribution will be coordinated at the building level and will bear some resemblance to the manner in which the BASD distributed lunches and breakfasts.

We are pleased to report that we anticipate having distributed more than 4,000 meals to students by the end of this week. We feel the same level of communication and patience will lead to our educational plan being as successful as circumstances allow.

If you or your child hasn’t had communication from the district by the end of the day on Friday, please contact your building principal Monday according to the following schedule.

Last name beginning with A-G – 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Last name beginning with H-R – 11:00 a.m. – noon.

Last name beginning with S–Z – noon - 1:00 p.m.

 In addition, we also ask that the following points be considered in furthering the education of our students.

• Older siblings may be a great resource in assisting younger siblings, especially during less structured times.
• Encourage all students to read on a daily basis.
• Encourage all students to exercise on a daily basis, even within the home.
• Maintain a positive attitude with students, taking a day-by-day approach with the reminder that although the crisis is real, it is temporary.
• We consider physical distancing to be more pertinent than social distancing. Many young people have a great capacity to communicate without being in the presence of others. We encourage appropriate continuation of contact with friends, teammates, relatives, etc. We do not recommend that any child be socially isolated during this crisis.

Sincerely,

Wayne Brookhart

Superintendent

Wendy Kupsky

Assistant to the Superintendent for Student Services

Robert Croop

Director of Curriculum and Instruction