REOPENING DECISION | Reading School District will begin the 2020-21 school year with all students and teaching staff working off site through FULL REMOTE LEARNING during the entire 1^st Quarter. The school board voted 8-1 during a special meeting on Wednesday, August 5 in support of this learning option.

School will begin on August 31, and the 1^st Quarter ends on November 4. The school board and district leaders will continue to assess learning options and health/safety conditions throughout September and October. The district intends to implement a scaffolded model as soon as we are able to do so in a safe manner.

Here’s what FULL REMOTE LEARNING means for our Red Knight families:

• All students will work from home.
• The district will launch a 1-to-1 Chromebook Program for K-12 students who did not receive a chromebook in the spring and who do not have access to their own computer at home. Siblings will no longer be encouraged to share a district-issued chromebook.
• Mandatory, graded assignments will submitted through Google Classroom.
• Grades will return to the standard A-F grading system for Grades 2-12, and we will no longer use the Pass-Fail grading system. Younger grades will use the number scale grading system.
• Daily attendance will be taken.
• The school day will be structured, and students will follow a set class schedule. For elementary and middle school students, the schedule will include a Morning Meeting with their teacher, on-demand video lessons and daily, small group live instruction with their teachers throughout the school day. High school students will follow a modified block schedule based on their course load, with attendance taken during Bell 5.
• Grab-and-Go meals will continue at our designated meal distribution locations.
• All extra-curricular activities, including sports, will be suspended. At this time, we do not know how remote learning will impact our Reading-Muhlenberg Career and Technology students, as the RMCTC plan is still being developed.

For RSD families that feel they cannot follow the set FULL REMOTE LEARNING daytime school schedule, we encourage you to enroll in our cyber school – Reading Virtual Academy.

Reading Virtual Academy is expanding to grades K-12 this school year (2020-21), and it provides access to student supports and RSD activities that are not offered at other cyber schools.

With RVA, students receive on-demand virtual video lessons and work assignments that they must complete by a designated date. While students would not have a full-time RSD teacher, they would have access to RSD teachers who are available to assist with tutoring, as needed. More information about RVA and how to enroll is available at www.readingsd.org/virtualacademy. If you have a specific question, contact RVA Director Mary Agnew at agnewm@readingsd.org.

We thank you for your patience as we continue to navigate the pandemic. The district will continue to share information and FAQs on our district Facebook page, our district mobile app and our district website at www.readingsd.org/reopening. You can also view our FAQs page at https://www.readingsd.org/domain/3931.Visit www.readingsd.org/backtoschool for information about the 2020-21 school year.