Portage students going back to school in-person

Portage Public Schools will provide the option of online learning to everyone, but will allow elementary school students back into the classroom. The board of education approved the plan Wednesday.

That comes after parents, teachers, and other district staff protested plans for in-person learning.

Not everyone is on the same page. Some people attending the virtual meeting Wednesday urged caution in reopening schools, while others asked board members to consider in-person classes for secondary as well as elementary schools.

In the end, the board approved the multiple option plan based on surveys filled out by parents.

Parents of students up to fifth grade will be able to choose between all-virtual classes or in-person classes four days a week with a virtual fifth day.

Parents of sixth- through 12th-graders will attend classes virtually with the option to be physically in a school building Mondays through Thursdays for virtual classes.

One other alternative would allow students of any age to attend classes virtually through the KRESA with support from PPS staff.

The district will enforce COVID-19 prevention measures such as mask wearing and regular cleaning of facilities.

One PPS employee, Kim Palmer, pressed the board to pull back from in-person classes.

“Nothing about this time is normal,” she said in a message to the board. “And it’s time we stopped pretending that we can make it that way.”

You can read more here.