Parents split on Portage return to school plans

Parents of Portage Public Schools students are split on the idea of a return to in-person classes, even if it’s half-time. Teachers are clear – they don’t want to do it.

Those were some of the takeaways of survey results presented to the PPS Board of Education on Monday.

Currently, Portage elementary students are taking classes in person while middle and high school students are learning virtually. PPS is considering moving its secondary students to a hybrid model.

PPS’s version of hybrid classes is different from many other area school districts. Under its plan, students who want to attend classes in person would be able to do so while live classes would be streamed online for students learning at home.

According to the survey, teachers are overwhelmingly uncomfortable with the idea. They cited the risk of COVID infection and the workload of teaching two classes simultaneously as the reason for their opinions.

You can read the full story on MLive.