Greensburg Salem plans return to full in-person classes this fall

Jun. 24—The Greensburg Salem School Board approved a plan for the fall semester that will give students the option of attending classes in person five days per week or learning remotely through the district's e-academy program.

"If a student is sick, our teachers are able to still engage with them outside the building," said Ken Bissell, coordinator of secondary education. He noted, "The strength of this school district is the adult-to-student relationships."

Superintendent Gary Peiffer, who is leaving the district at the end of the month, said he expects requirements for wearing masks and social distancing in school buildings that were followed this past year no longer will be in force for the 2021-22 school year. But, he said, given that younger students still are not eligible to receive a covid-19 vaccine and a more contagious variant of the virus is spreading, parents will continue to be urged to keep students at home who are feeling ill.

The district also will continue to follow contact tracing and quarantine procedures when positive covid cases are reported, he said. Greensburg Salem will continue to offer voluntary covid testing and covid vaccination clinics, which are conducted in partnership with Hayden's Pharmacy.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .