Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Pedro Rivera, directed all school districts in the Commonwealth of PA to move from providing “Enrichment & Review” activities to offering “Planned Instruction” to our students. The Lakeland School District will officially begin offering "Planned Instruction” on Monday, April 27th. Under this new state directive, student participation is no longer optional, so students will now be required to participate. Please click "Read Full Story" to reference the Frequently Asked Questions document for additional information regarding planned instruction, attendance, grading, and other district activities. This document will be continually updated as additional district decisions are made.
I hope this communication finds all of you doing well. This past week or so has been quite challenging for all of us as we deal with trying to quarantine, social distance ourselves, constantly wash our hands and absorb the constant barrage of breaking news on the massive spread of Coronavirus across our country.
At 2:59 p.m. today, Gov. Wolf issued the following press release concerning Pennsylvania's schools and the coronavirus:
PRESS RELEASE
March 13, 2020
Governor Wolf Announces Closure of Pennsylvania Schools
Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced that all K-12 Pennsylvania schools will be closed for 10 business days effective Monday, March 16. The administration has been working with school districts as well as state and local officials to gather input on this decision. The Wolf Administration will continue to monitor Covid-19 in the commonwealth, and at the end of 10 days will reevaluate and decide whether continued closure is needed.
All Northeast Intermediate Unit school districts will be closed during the week of March 16- March 20, 2020. The rapidly changing circumstances surrounding the spread of Coronavirus require this response. The decision is made out of concern for all staff and students in our schools, especially those who are most vulnerable. Each school district will monitor developments closely and consult with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies. All NEIU districts recognize the impact school cancellations can have on families and communities. Timely and transparent updates will be provided by each district to its local communities.
The School Districts in the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit include:
Gov. Wolf, Sec. of Health Outline COVID-19 Mitigation Guidance for Montgomery County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Governor and Secretary of Health Take Aggressive Action to Stop Spread
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine this afternoon provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts, including one new presumptive positive case in Pike County, bringing the state’s total to 22, and guidance on how to reduce the spread of the virus.
“In Montgomery County, we are aggressively moving to a mitigation phase, and statewide we are providing guidance to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” said Gov. Wolf.
The governor provided applicable guidance to reduce the spread of the virus in the state over the next 14 days, specifically for commonwealth facilities and public buildings in Montgomery County, which with 13 cases has the most presumptive positive cases in the state.
Ensuring the health, safety and wellness of our students and staff is our highest priority in the Lakeland School District (LSD). LSD remains in close communication with the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health, along with the Center for Disease Control. We are utilizing the guidance from all of these state and national experts to make informed operational decisions, as we move forward with an abundance of caution as this Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve. As of this date, there are no identified cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Lakeland School District. However, we are continuing to implement proactive measures to minimize risk to students, employees, and families relating to the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Additional guidance regarding prevention, student attendance, enrollment, re-entry of students, field trips and competitions are included below.
