‘It’s like a dystopian version of school’: A day at Philadelphia’s Richard Wright Elementary
For the students who came on Thursday, all in kindergarten, it was their first day ever of in-person school, and the only normal they know.
4 years ago
Philadelphia school district pre-K through second-grade students returned to in-person learning starting March 8, 2021, at Juniata Park Academy in North Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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The School District of Philadelphia is set to reopen 35 more elementary schools for in-person education on March 22.
Children in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade will come back to the schools for two days of in-person instruction a week, joining young children at 102 other schools that have reopened their classrooms in a hybrid model since the beginning of March.
So far, parents of young children who did not sign up for hybrid schooling last November have not been able to send their children back to the classroom. But they will soon have the option: from March 16 to March 23, the district will reopen its learning model selection process, allowing the families of those young students to opt in.
All school buildings that have reopened have all been cleared by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which has been negotiating with the district for months with guidance from a city mediator over when and how to return to classrooms. Staff at the buildings set to reopen Monday have been asked to report to work March 17.
In a release, the School District of Philadelphia said it hoped to announce the return of young children to all remaining elementary schools by March 22. Initially, district leaders hoped all elementaries would be offering in-person options by then.
After those schools are cleared, district officials hope to begin planning for the return of students grades 3 through 12. The next priority would be students with disabilities, those learning English, and high school students taking technical courses that require hands-on learning.
Below is the list of Philadelphia elementary school buildings slated to open March 22.
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