In December, Warren County School District’s board and administration made a decision to go to full-virtual instruction.

They set an end date, with students to return – barring any changes – on Tuesday, Jan. 26. That is the start of the second semester for the district.

And, although the vast majority of students would be attending from home, some particular portions of the student population were allowed to continue attending in-person.

On Thursday, Pennsylvania Education Secretary Noe Ortega and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced some recommendations.

They left final decisions up to districts, but advised that, if possible, at least elementary students should be allowed to return to in-person attendance upon the start of the second semester.

They also said it was important to provide the opportunity for in-person instruction for some particular student groups.

The Times Observer and Warren County School District Superintendent Amy Stewart attended the Zoom briefing.

Stewart said she emailed the details from the briefing, including how well the district’s actions and the recommendations lined up, to the board immediately after.

“I am confident we have been doing the right thing, and it is nice to see the state moving in this direction,” Stewart said. “I think people are starting to realize we can’t avoid this, instead, we have to manage it.”

“We are monitoring cases and numbers of employees impacted, and at this point, I believe we will be able to return as planned,” she said.

In December, the district acted on its own in closing down and setting a tentative return date.

“We were just provided this guidance today,” Stewart said.

The guidance is so closely aligned to the district’s actions that it seems possible – although not certain – that the state liked what it saw from the district and used it as a guide.

“We have been asked several times to submit our model to the state, so I know they have been monitoring what different districts are doing,” Stewart said. “They are learning more all the time, and I think everyone is starting to realize the consequences of children being home for so long.”

“There are districts out there that haven’t had their kids in school since all of this started in March,” she said.

In that regard, the district is fortunate. Conditions in Warren County did not warrant a closure at the start of the year.

The board made the call after a post-Thanksgiving surge resulted in a dramatic increase in cases and was starting to result in quarantines that led to a shortage of teachers who were available to teach in the buildings.

“We are all continuing to learn what is working and what is not working with regard to managing the virus,” Stewart said. “Lessons learned all around the globe as well as closer to home are helping to shape decisions going forward.”

It hasn’t been easy. Teachers are trained for years how to educate students in particular circumstances. Most of the district’s teachers have years of experience with in-person education and, before March, little or none with instructing online.

“Honestly, things are tough,” Stewart said. “We are in a situation where we are criticized no matter what we do.”

“Teachers would tell you teaching online is not easy,” she said. “Reinventing an education system is not easy, and our people are working hard to get our students the very best education we can offer.”

“Everyone is being forced to do things differently, and all of our employees are stepping up to the challenge, but I can tell you that stress levels are at an all time high,” Stewart said.

Teachers and administrators aren’t the only ones in new and potentially stressful situations.

“The stress goes beyond our employees to our students, our parents, to the community, to those agencies supporting our students, to our local businesses and employers, and the list goes on and on.,” she said.

The district agrees with Ortega’s assertion that in-person education is the best option available.

“Our teachers are committed to doing their very best to keep the students on track, but there is simply no comparison between what we can offer in person vs. online,” Stewart said. “We are committed to working hard to get our students back in school on the 26th.”