JACQUELINE PALOCHKO and ANDREW WAGAMAN
THE MORNING CALL |MAR 13, 2020 | 3:49 PM
As the coronavirus continued to spread Friday across southeastern Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that all K-12 schools will be closed for 10 school days starting Monday.
The Wolf administration will decide at the end of the 10-day period, or March 27, whether to extend the closure into the week of March 29.AdvertisementPauseUnmuteLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%Remaining Time-0:31Fullscreen
“We understand that these are trying times and recognize the impact of the coronavirus on our students and communities,” Wolf said in a statement. “First and foremost, my top priority as governor – and that of our education leaders – must be to ensure the health and safety of our students and school communities.”
The decision followed Wolf’s directive Thursday that all schools in Montgomery County, the hardest hit by COVID-19 so far, close for two weeks. Earlier Friday afternoon, neighboring Bucks County had followed suit, canceling in-person classes for the next two weeks because of the number of employees who live in Montgomery County.
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Pennsylvania joined at least seven other states, including Maryland and Virginia, in closing all schools for at least a week. As of 2 p.m., about 22,000 schools had been closed or were scheduled to close, affecting at least 15 million students, according to Education Week. That didn’t include all closings in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Pennsylvania’s order affects more than 1.7 million school children alone in public and private schools.
Pennsylvania’s case count jumped to 33 from 22 on Friday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, including a pediatric patient in Monroe County. The Lehigh Valley’s first and only case of coronavirus so far was reported Thursday morning in Northampton County.
No school district will be penalized if it fails to meet the 180 day or school hours requirements, Wolf said in a statement.
Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy said he’s concerned what working parents will do for childcare now that schools are closed for two weeks. That was one of the reasons why Roy didn’t shut down Bethlehem Area’s 22 schools.
“It’s not like summer where there’s camps,” he said. “There’s nothing. It’s a major problem.”
Roy said the district is ironing out plans, such as whether it will have lessons for students and how to get meals to students who are dependent on the district for meals.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced Friday that it received a federal waiver allowing eligible schools to serve meals to low income students in a non-congregate setting, such as a drive-through or grab and go, during this closure. The department said it would work to assist school districts with its efforts.
READ MORE: Meals to low-income children will still be provided as coronavirus outbreak forces schools to close for two weeks »
In Allentown, 77% of its 17,000 students live in poverty. When the district announced it was closing Thursday and Friday because an employee was being tested for coronavirus, many were concerned about students receiving meals if the closure is longer.
Because of Allentown’s high poverty rate, all students receive free breakfast and lunch. Allentown, one of the state’s largest school districts, was the first in the Lehigh Valley to announce it was closing as a precaution because of the coronavirus.
Wolf has asked Pennsylvanians to avoid malls, movie theaters, gyms and other gathering places, and “strongly encouraged” the suspension of planned large gatherings, events, conferences of 250 individuals or more.
