PUBLIC school students and their parents who are still worried about the face-to-face portion of the blended learning can get a doctor’s certificate so that the students can be excused, Education Commissioner Alfred B. Ada said.
Education Commissioner Alfred Ada, right, speaks during a Board of Education meeting on Thursday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
The Public School System is preparing for blended learning, which will start on Feb. 2. Private schools have been providing their students hybrid teaching, which involves face-to-face classes, since August or September 2020.
One PSS parent who requested anonymity said even if a classroom has been retrofitted and other safety measures are implemented, children may still run around campus or go to “other places where they can breach the protocols.”
Private schools that have reopened strictly enforce social distancing and other safety measures in retrofitted classrooms, on the campus, including restrooms, and even in the way the children enter and exit the school. Playgrounds, moreover, are off-limits.
In an interview, Commissioner Ada said parents should know that public schools are working with the Governor’s Covid-19 Task Force to ensure the safety of students.
Aside from strictly adhering to the three Ws — Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Watch your distance. — PSS is retrofitting its classrooms.
“Let’s give [blended learning] a chance. I can assure you that if we all follow the protocols I don’t think anyone will be in danger,” he said.
Meanwhile, the School Attendance Review Committee will continue to track student attendance.
“It’s the law — everybody who is of school age has to come to school,” he added.
Eric Magofna, the associate commissioner for administrative services, said PSS has $300,000 in Education Stabilization Funds for retrofitting classrooms.
A recent USA Today news report stated, “Millions of students attending school virtually [are] floundering academically, socially and emotionally. And as the pandemic heaves into a winter surge, a slew of new reports show alarming numbers of kids falling behind, failing classes or not showing up at all.”
