The School District of Philadelphia announced today its plan to return to the hybrid learning model, which offers a mix of in-person and digital learning to students. The District will reopen its schools for students in pre-K through second grade on Feb. 22 and will slowly phase in older students after that (no additional dates have been announced yet).

Students opting into hybrid learning will attend school in person two days per week – on their assigned days only – and engage in digital learning the remaining three days.

In the fall, families were asked to choose between the hybrid model or 100 percent digital learning. More than 9,000 families chose the hybrid model, whish later was postponed until further notice due to a spike in coronavirus cases in the city. Pre-K-2 students whose families selected hybrid learning during the initial selection process in the fall will phase in first. 

Pre-K-2 families who chose to remain 100 percent digital during the selection process in the fall will have to remain digital at this time. They will have the chance to opt in at a later date when more students can be safely phased in. Families who opted into hybrid learning can choose to return to 100 percent digital learning at any time.

Staff supporting pre-K-2 students will return to school buildings on Monday, Feb. 8.

If the Health Department requires the District to temporarily close a classroom, a school or all schools to help stem the spread of COVID-19, students will immediately shift to digital learning from home until it is safe to resume their in-person schedules, according to today’s announcement.

District schools will have extensive COVID-19 safety measures in place, including personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff and students, plexiglass partitions in offices, hand sanitizing stations, and more.

The District will slowly phase in students while vaccines for adults become more available.

“We will continue to advocate for District staff to have access to the vaccine as soon as possible,” said Superintendent Dr. William R. Hite. At this time, the District doesn’t have information on when and how many doses of the vaccines will be available to their staff. Taking the vaccine will not be mandatory for staff but will be encouraged by the District.

For more information about the School District’s reopening plans, visit their website.