Pittsfield Public Schools, along with other districts throughout the Commonwealth, have until July 31 to submit three plans of action to the state for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. The state's education department is requiring districts to create plans covering three different scenarios: in-person learning with new safety requirements, a combination of in-person and remote instruction and completely remote learning.

Before those plans are finalized and submitted, administrators are asking for parents and guardians of PPS students to submit their preferences and thoughts on what the new school year should look like. The form, which was created by administrators and the teacher's union, includes questions on in-person and remote learning, safety and busing. The district sent out emails, texts and phone calls urging parents to respond.

The Morning Show was joined by Pittsfield Public Schools Superintendent Jake McCandless and Deputy Superintendent Joe Curtis to discuss the influence parents have on the formation of these plans.

It's critical that we have every parent/guardian's input. The input is critical to plan.. let's say 'is a hybrid model possible?' How many students would we have in our buildings if we did an AM/PM model? Or if we did a a two day or three day a week model. And planning for busing. We need to know how many families would put their child on a bus with safety precautions.

PPS Deputy Superintendent Curtis

McCandless spoke on the challenges of finding a solution that works for 5,200 students who come from over 3,000 different kinds of families, and also noted concern for safety and well being of the over 1,200 staff members, who have families themselves, which is also a concern.

All parents and guardians are strongly urged to fill out the form which can be found here. 

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