Reopening Our Schools
Fall 2020
Click here for the most recent update
As Manheim Township School District prepares for the reopening of schools for fall 2020, we recognize the need to address the recommendations/guidelines for health and safety from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADoH), and the World Health Organization (WHO). We are working to develop strong educational programming, interventions, and supports that first and foremost provide social interaction, a semblance of a return to normalcy, and full access to instruction for all of our students. The Manheim Township School District’s plan to reopen schools will seek to be differentiated, based upon the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s red, yellow, or green status for Lancaster County.
Manheim Township School District's leadership team (which includes personnel from health services, plant services, curriculum & instruction, and various other departments and district administrators), along with representation from the Lancaster County medical/health field, meet regularly to discuss planning measures to reopen schools for the 2020-2021 school year. Designated Task Forces that focus on the topics of Health and Safety, Instructional Programming, Student Services, Special and Gifted Education, and Operations will collaboratively present their draft plans for preparedness to reopen schools to a district-wide Steering Committee, who will offer feedback to the ideas. The Steering Committee is comprised of students, parents, district staff members, principals, district office administrators, and School Board members. A final plan to reopen schools will be presented and voted upon at the Thursday, July 30, 2020 Special Public School Board Meeting to be held in the MT High School Auditorium at 7:00pm.
Below you will find updates and district-wide parent communications regarding the district's plans to reopen schools. We are encouraging feedback from all MT community members (not just those on the Steering Committee) about the updates posted on our website. For offering comments and/or questions, please send an email to public_relations@mtwp.net. When emailing a concern or question, please include your contact information so someone can respond back to you.
We will continue to update the community via our website when there is updated information to share; we remain committed to keeping our community informed about our planning to reopen schools this fall.
July 1, 2020
Dear MTSD Families,
As part of our comprehensive planning process, we just facilitated our first of three Steering Committee meetings last evening. The large group of stakeholders, comprised of students, parents, teachers, school staff, principals, District Office staff, and School Board members, came together to hear the first presentation by our Health Services Task Force regarding the draft health and safety plan for reopening schools this fall. The first meeting involved a review of the draft plan which consists of detailed recommendations based on sound medical advice that promotes safety throughout our schools.
In order to share our planning efforts with all MTSD families, we are recording the three scheduled Steering Committee meetings and posting the videos on our website later this week. This will allow all interested families to listen to the information and send any questions or comments to us at the email provided with the video. Employing such an all-encompassing process that seeks to gather feedback from a Steering Committee, six Task Forces, and the greater MT community takes time, but the end result will be a well-vetted health and safety plan that incorporates feedback from many individuals. This final plan will be presented at a special School Board Meeting on Thursday, July 30, at 7:00pm in the high school auditorium. The Board Meeting will also be live streamed for public viewing.
At this time we remain committed to opening the school year as planned on Tuesday, August 25. Our continuous dialogue with other local school district leadership, local and state health agencies, several local health care providers, and the PA Department of Education, has also offered ongoing support and guidance to our planning efforts to reopen schools.
We will continue to keep you updated in our planning process by posting all information on our website on the Planning for Reopening of Schools Fall 2020 page. Our next communication will follow the second Steering Committee Meeting during the week of July 6-10. Thank you for your continued support as we plan for the reopening of schools this fall.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robin L. Felty
Superintendent of Schools
June 18, 2020
The following updates were provided to the MT School Board of Directors at the June 18th School Board Meeting
Superintendent Dr. Robin Felty presented information on the district’s process for Reopening of School in Fall 2020.
MT Athletic Director Mr. Jason Strunk, MTHS Principal Mr. David Rilatt, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dale Reimann presented to the School Board the Manheim Township School District Athletic Health & Safety Plan and the Extracurricular Health & Safety Plan.
To read the plan in full click here: Athletic Health & Safety Plan
To read the plan in full click here: Extracurricular Health & Safety Plan