Manheim Township School District has decided to go into the “green phase.” All students who chose to return to school face-to-face will report to school in-person from Monday through Friday starting September 14. 

The announcement was formally made at the MTSD school board meeting on September 10, although teachers were reportedly given the news during a staff meeting via Zoom the day prior. Though this has been the district’s plan since students set foot in the high school on August 25, the decision was unclear to some students. 

In a speech given to the school board, High School Principal David Rilatt expressed his satisfaction with students’ behavior during the yellow phase. 

“Our students have done a fantastic job during lunchtimes with social distancing, consistent seating, and cleaning up after themselves,” Rilatt said.

He expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming switch to the green phase. His sentiments were echoed by Christine Resh, the middle school principal. 

Despite the success of the school’s reopening, members of the school board have expressed concern about the switch to the green phase, as well as the online learning environment. JoAnn Hentz (D), a member of the school board, expressed sympathy for students and parents struggling to adjust to the new changes, as well as sharing her belief of the educational quality of the district’s return-to-school plan.

“We made something look like school. I’m not sure we made it look like an education,” Hentz said during the board meeting.

Daniel Reynolds, a teacher at MTHS, also expressed his concerns during the meeting. “You need to be aware that bringing almost all of our students back into the classroom is not compatible with social distancing of six feet,” he said. Reynolds wants teachers to be up-to-date on students who may contract COVID-19 while in the green phase.

For junior Bailey Miller, who is part of the face-to-face option at the high school, full-time in-person attendance is more beneficial than attending classes virtually.

“I know some people are concerned about going green because of safety reasons, but I feel like the school has done a really great job of keeping everyone safe,” she said.

Miller believes that if the school continues to sanitize workspaces and adhere to social distancing guidelines, contracting the coronavirus will not be an issue. She says, however, that everyone has to be responsible outside of school as well: deciding whether to attend parties or not, for example.

In response to the administration’s decision, sophomore Nolan Liang emailed a petition to district superintendent Robin Felty asking her to reconsider the decision to go to the green phase.

“I wan

ted to bring to your attention that a large group of students, faculty, and parents is feeling extremely anxious and distressed about the situation that will be unfolding next week,” the petition says. 

Aided by sophomore Simone Reisinger and junior Rachel Herr, Liang shared the letter with friends. The letter has since collected over one hundred signatures from students of all grades. 

“We expected the turnout for the email to be small, but it ended up spreading like wildfire,” Liang said. 

Reisinger, Herr and Liang created a petition on change.org, which has since gathered over four hundred signatories. The superintendent’s office has not yet responded to the petition. 

Baybars Charkas contributed reporting