Monroeville area reacts to coronavirus

As confirmed and presumed positive coronavirus cases continue to rise in Pennsylvania, organizations in Monroeville are taking precautions to keep residents safe.

The number of positive cases in the state rose to 33 by Friday morning, up from 28 earlier that day. There are no positive cases in Allegheny County.

Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s state-wide directive that all schools close, Gateway School District buildings will close for 10 days starting March 16.

Wolf’s announcement said school districts will not be penalized for failing to meet the 180-day requirement.

Therefore, Gateway officials will wait to send home school lessons, whether printed or online, until it becomes necessary to use the district’s five Flexible Instructional Days, said school board president Mary Beth Cirucci. The district was approved for FIDs by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

When that becomes necessary, lessons for students in Gateway High School and Gateway Middle School will be electronically delivered through Google Classroom.

Moss Side Middle School students will also receive lessons through Google Classroom. To make this happen, iPad tablets will be distributed to students on March 13. The iPads will be designated to complete lessons from home.

The three elementary schools, housing kindergarten through fourth grade, will send grade-specific course assignments home with students.

All extracurricular activities and sporting events at the schools have been postponed. Reschedulings have not yet been announced. The SAT testing scheduled for March 14 was canceled.

The district uses Skyward, software that communicates with parents via email and texts. Letters have also been sent out to parents and the district’s website contains updates. To sign up for alerts via Skyward, visit the website, click on the “Resources” tab, then “Parents.” In the right column, click on “Skyward.”

The school board will still hold its monthly voting meeting starting at 7 p.m. March 17, but it will be held in the high school’s Large Group Instruction room to “practice social distancing,” said Cirucci.

The Monroeville Public Library and the Monroeville Senior Center will both be closed March 15-29.

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