We, the North Penn Community, petition the North Penn School District Board of School Directors (“Board of Directors”) to move forward with the reopening plan that was approved on July 30, 2020. The Board of Directors has repeatedly stated that the decision to not allow in-person instruction is science-based and data-driven. However,

• Per Governor Wolf’s Phased Reopening Plan, districts may resume in-person instruction when the county meets the criteria for the Green Phase. Montgomery County has consistently met those criteria since June 26, 2020.
  • https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID-19/SchoolReopeningGuidance/K12/Pages/ConditionsResInstruction.aspx
• On August 10, 2020, Governor Wolf released guidance on determining instructional models during the Covid-19 pandemic which is based on the incidence rate and the percent positivity. Since then, Montgomery County has consistently remained well within the thresholds of offering Blended (Hybrid) Learning Model which is defined as:
  • Any model in which the number of students in a school building is reduced to allow for social distancing of 6 feet. This may be accomplished in many ways, including split schedules, schedules that rotate by day or week, or similar approaches. For these recommendations, blended learning also includes scaffolded approaches that treat grade levels in a differentiated manner.
  • https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID-19/SchoolReopeningGuidance/ReopeningPreKto12/Pages/DeterminingInstructionalModels.aspx
• Montgomery County has consistently maintained a 14 day PCR positivity rate below 5% since June 18, 2020. The 5% threshold is guidance from Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh which the Board of Directors has cited.
• On August 13, 2020, Governor Wolf released the Covid-19 Symptomatic K-12 Student or Staff Process Flow and Recommendations for Pre-K to 12 Schools Following Identification of a Case(s) of Covid-19 for guidance on how to handle symptomatic individuals within schools. Not having this guidance was cited by the Board of Directors as a factor in removing the two in-person instruction options.
  • https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Safe%20Schools/COVID/GuidanceDocuments/COVID-19%20Symptomatic%20K-12%20Student%20or%20Staff%20Process%20Flow.pdf
  • https://www.education.pa.gov/Schools/safeschools/emergencyplanning/COVID-19/SchoolReopeningGuidance/ReopeningPreKto12/PublicHealthGuidance/Pages/SchoolClosureRecommentations.aspx
• Montgomery County Covid-19 test result turnaround time has dropped significantly, from 2 weeks to 12 hours. This turnaround time has been maintained since Mako Medical Laboratories began processing tests on August 17, 2020. Results are contractually obligated to be returned within 36 hours which is still under the 48 hour target the Board of Directors discussed.
  • https://montco.today/2020/08/montco-turns-to-nutritional-dna-company-for-covid-19-testing-cuts-turn-around-time-for-results/
• On July 30, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced it partnered with Insight Global to hire 1,000 paid contact tracers. On August 18, 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced it is launching an anonymous contact tracing app which will improve tracing among people who are unaware of potential exposure as well as those who do not wish to give names to contact tracers. It will also decrease the workload for contact tracers. This app is expected to be released in September 2020.
  • https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Documents/Diseases%20and%20Conditions/August%202020%20Contact%20Tracing%20Report.pdf
  • https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/pa-smartphone-app-will-use-bluetooth-to-trace-virus-spread-close-contacts/2505003/
• At the August 11, 2020 NPSB Finance Committee meeting, Mr. Skrocki announced that bids for all of the requested PPE for the entire school year into next school year had been secured. Not having received bids during the initial request was cited as a reason for removing the in-person instruction options.
  • https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/npenn/Board.nsf/files/BS65F60FFB40/$file/2020-08-11_2020%20MCIU%20Joint%20Purchasing%20Agreement%20Final.pdf

If there are any remaining metrics that have not been met, we request the Board of Directors publish those metrics as well as their targets so the North Penn Community can have visibility and transparency into the situation and make decisions for their families accordingly. We request that this dashboard be communicated on a weekly basis to North Penn families.

Furthermore,

• The CDC has outlined the importance of reopening schools.
  • https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html
• The New England Journal of Medicine has outlined the additional importance of reopening primary schools.
  • https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms2024920
• The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly advocates that all policy considerations for this school year should start with the goal of having students physically present in school.
  • https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/
• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine states that weighing the health risks of reopening K-12 schools in fall 2020 against the educational risks of providing no in-person instruction, school districts should prioritize reopening schools full time, especially for grades K-5 and students with special needs.
  • https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2020/07/schools-should-prioritize-reopening-in-fall-2020-especially-for-grades-k-5-while-weighing-risks-and-benefits
• Many local daycares, camps, activities, preschools, private schools and other organizations serving groups of children have been successfully running since July or earlier.
• Several surrounding school districts have resumed in-person instruction or will be doing so within a few weeks.
  • Souderton
  • Perkiomen Valley
  • Boyertown
  • Daniel Boone
  • Twin Valley
  • Pennridge
  • Quakertown
  • Wissahickon
  • Central Bucks
  • Council Rock
  • Neshaminy
  • Wissahickon
  • Lower Merion

We do not ask that everyone is forced to return to in-person instruction. We simply request that families are allowed the opportunity to make decisions based on their own risk profiles. Covid-19 is not the only health (or other) risk facing our community so we ask that the North Penn School District Board of School Directors moves forward with the reopening plan as approved by November 9, 2020, if not sooner.