Pontiac Times

Students in the Pontiac School District will be allowed to return to in-person instruction under a new hybrid learning model, the district said.

On Monday, Oct. 26, pre-K, kindergartners and first-graders will start in-person instruction, with the addition of some special education students, The Oakland Press reported. Parents will be able to choose between sending their children to in-person school for a hybrid method of instruction or to continue with online instruction only. 

Every two weeks, Pontiac School District will be phasing in a new grade to in-person learning, Superintendent Kelley Williams said. But doing so will also depend on the number of COVID-19 cases in the district. 

“We are diligently continuing to work with the Oakland County Health Department and the state of Michigan to assess the safety of returning to partial in-person learning. From their insights and your feedback, we are planning to proceed with slowly and deliberately phasing students back into the classroom in a hybrid schedule, as outlined in our Return to School Plan,” Williams told The Oakland Press.

In the hybrid learning model, students will be alternating between the days they attend in-person instruction. One group will attend school two days of the week and the second group will attend alternate days. The remainder of the school days will be offered online. 

Students who participate in the hybrid model will be required to wear face masks while in school buildings. 

“This is an evolving situation, and we are guiding our decisions based on the COVID-19 numbers in our communities relative to the age of our student population,” Mike McGuinness, president of the Pontiac School Board of Education, told the Oakland Press. “The safety of our students and staff is the highest priority, and we’re committed to proceeding in the smartest possible fashion in Pontiac schools.”