The School District of Philadelphia announced a plan Wednesday that would allow public school students from kindergarten through 2nd grade to return to classrooms two days a week across the city beginning Nov. 30.

At each school, kindergarten through 2nd grade students will be sorted into two groups. One group will attend class in person on Monday and Tuesday and the other group on Thursday and Friday. All students will participate in remote learning on Wednesdays, according to the plan.

The plan is opt-in, so parents can also choose to keep students at home where they will participate in online direct instruction, independent learning and small group instruction. The hybrid plan could be scrapped for a particular classroom or school if the “vast majority” of students don’t opt in or if “significant numbers” of teachers are unable to teach in person, according to the plan.  Continue Reading

Students in grades K-6 who don’t have internet access at their homes can now visit the city’s Access Centers for digital learning. Access centers are located in recreation centers, libraries, Philadelphia Housing Authority sites, and community-based organizations and provide a safe, supervised environment for digital learning. Parents and guardians have to register their child or children to be able to participate in this program.

There are 10 Access Center locations in West and Southwest Philadelphia, including the West Philadelphia YMCA, Kingsessing Recreation Center, Cobbs Creek Recreation Center, and more. To find an access center near you please use this finder.  Continue Reading

The Board of Education has approved the School District of Philadelphia’s revised plan for the 2020-2021 academic year, which proposes 100 percent remote learning for all students from the beginning of the year until at least the end of the first marking period. The new plan was discussed at the Board of Education’s meeting last night. The Board has also approved proposed changes to the academic calendar, which included moving the first day of school from Monday, Aug. 31 to Wednesday, Sept. 2.

The District’s revised plan will have all public school students in grades K-12 engaging in online learning five days per week and receiving instruction by teachers from their enrolled schools through the first marking period, which ends on Nov. 17. Students may transition to a hybrid model of in-person and digital learning after that if it is deemed safe.  A 100 percent digital learning option will also be available at that time, and the District will explore opportunities for students to be taught by teachers from their enrolled school.  Continue Reading

The School District of Philadelphia has scrapped a plan that would allow most students to attend school in person a couple of days a week and announced today that all students will start the year online.

The district presented the new plan following public criticism of a plan introduced earlier this month that would allow most students to attend school two days per week. Students will attend school online until at least Nov. 17, the end of the first marking period.

The hybrid learning model, the district’s original plan of a mix of in-person and digital learning, will be reconsidered after Nov. 17.

The Board of Education will consider the proposed changes at its meeting this Thursday, July 30 at 4 p.m.

For more information on the revised plan, please visit the School District website.

Registration is now open for the School District of Philadelphia’s new “Digital Academy” for those Philadelphia public school students who would like to stay home while the COVID-19 epidemic continues. The digital academy allows families to opt in to a 100 percent virtual learning and instructional model for students enrolled in grades K-12.

Students registering for the Digital Academy must remain in that model throughout the first two terms of the academic year, and will only be able to transition out at the start of the third term.  Continue Reading

The School District of Philadelphia plans to open schools on Sept. 2 under a hybrid model that for most students will include two days a week in the classroom and three days a week online, officials announced Wednesday morning.

The plan calls for four-day-a-week instruction (Monday through Thursday) for special education students with “complex needs” and Pre-K students.

Students will also be able to opt-in to an all online “digital academy.” Registration for this program will begin at the end of July, according to the plan. Students who choose the digital academy will have to remain in that mode of instruction through the end of the first quarter and then can opt in to the hybrid model if they choose. More information on enrollment in the digital academy will be available later this month.  Continue Reading