As November approaches, the option for students to return to school in person is becoming less and less viable. 

With the number of COVID-19 cases continuing to climb in the state and county, the school should not reopen for in-person classes. For the period of Oct. 10-23, Blair County reported 272 new cases. On Oct. 23, Pennsylvania alone reported 2,258 new cases. These numbers are sure to grow if students are to return to school.

Right now, all high school and junior high school students are attending synchronous and asynchronous classes while elementary school students are split between the elementary schools and the junior high school. Now, this system isn’t great, but it is working. There hasn’t been a large outbreak of cases in the school community, and students are lucky to be able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Though some aspects of virtual learning can be difficult, it is the safest way to keep students and staff safe from COVID-19.

For many students, the reason why they want to return to school is selfish; they want to see their friends. Students don’t consider the dangers of going back to school and only consider the positives. 

Many of the faculty and staff in the school are over the age of 55, are immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions. Although anyone can catch the virus, those who are most at risk of serious illness are those who are over the age of 55, are immunocompromised or have underlying health conditions. Students are selfish for not considering the lives of the faculty and staff as they decide if they want to return to school. 

If school is to return to in person classes, it should return with a hybrid system where only half of the students are in the building at a given time. Students could be divided by last name or grade level and attend schools on Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday with Wednesday being used to clean and sanitize the school. This would allow for easier social distancing and contact tracing. If after a reasonable amount of time, there are not frequent cases, then the school could resume in person classes as normal with precautions put in place. 

The health and safety of the students, staff and the community are paramount to any dance, game or class, and students should consider this when deciding if they want to return in November.