Covid Reponse

"I would like to thank the administration for the incredible job that was done this past Spring in reacting to this crisis. It was well organized and the teachers did an incredible job."

"Thanks for working so hard to make things safe for the students as they return to school. "

" I was extremely impressed with the school's ability to adapt last year to virtual learning. You did not skip a beat like all of the other schools and the teachers were prepared and flexible. Thank you for making that transition successful. "

"Thank you for all of the time, love and energy that you are putting into everything all of the time."

Please click here for important updates.  

On March 13th schools across Pennsylvania were abruptly closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.  In less than 24 hours, Pope John Paul transitioned all classes to online learning.  Schools across the Archdiocese were among the first in the state to make a successful transition.  During the 12 week shutdown, our teachers used various online platforms to communicate with students, created their own learning content, and met with students via video conferencing.  Our students still experienced the structure and accountability for which Catholic schools are known.  Students submitted high quality work and continued to receive grades for their efforts.

Pope John Paul: Moving Forward Together

As the country prepares to reopen, the administration and faculty of PJPII are hard at work planning for our school reopening in September. While we are excited to see the students and their families again, our first priority, as always, is for their health and safety. We have received guidelines for reopening PreK-12 schools from Governor Wolf’s office and the Department of Education. Based on the guidelines we anticipate being able to fully open the building for all grade levels. We assembled a Pandemic Planning Committee which is currently working with these guidelines to put together a strategic plan for providing for our students’ health and safety when they return to school. The plan will include procedures and policies for the school for each of the phases (green, yellow, red). It will also include a plan for transitioning between phases as the need arises. We are in the process of purchasing PPE and are making some building modifications to ensure student and staff safety.  Once the plan is accepted by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Department of Education, we will publish it for parents. 

Little Saints Academy summer program is open as of June 22 with a small group of children, as is the recommendation of PDE and DHS. During this time we will closely monitor the health and comfort of our children and staff and make any necessary adjustments to our procedures and policies to best provide for them.

Catholic Schools Onward: Archdiocesan Plans for Reopening Schools

The Archdiocese established a new task force called the Catholic Schools Onward, Best Practices and New Opportunities as We Move Forward, (CSO) referred to as CSO. The CSO is made up of about 30 people, each person brings a specific expertise or represents a particular stakeholder group within our schools. Some of these groups include principals, nurses, business members, teachers, religious, parents, board members, and central administration.

Prior to the first meeting, each member was provided the guidance from the State of PA regarding school reopening expectations, guidance from the CDC, and plans from schools that have already reopened. It is their plan to take the guidance provided and support each school with specific and practical procedures to start school in a safe manner. To accomplish this, the task force is organized into a number of different subcommittees that have already begun to tackle the role of developing the specific practices that our schools will use.  Listed below are a list of these subcommittees.

Subcommittees:

Playbooks: this subcommittee will provide specific guidance on procedures in the case of a student, staff, or  family member contracting COVID-19.

Building Operations:  this subcommittee will develop guidance regarding daily cleaning procedures, procedures for monitoring the daily health of the students and staff, how to safely travel around the building and other procedures such as lunch and recess.

Classroom Operations:  similar to building operations, this subcommittee will examine everything that takes place within the classroom. This will include such things as building cohorts to reduce unnecessary exposure to others, seating arrangements, the use of recording lessons, strategies for personal materials, and how to eliminate the need for shared materials. 

Virtual Learning:  this subcommittee examines how we can enhance the virtual learning process and how it may be utilized. 

Mental Health: This subcommittee examines the process to reintegrate students back into the building. Most students have not been in groups such as a classroom in many months. Some have been isolated. This subcommittee is looking at procedures to help reintegrate our students into the new normal. 

Additionally, there are subcommittees looking at procedures for Procurement of PPEs and other supplies, communications regarding this process, procedures specific to our  Pre-K programs as well as, after school activities and CARES.

Catholic Identity, as you are aware, is the purpose of our schools and we want to make sure through everything we do, it remains at the forefront of our mission. It is easy to focus on all of the guidance and procedures and we want to make sure that our Catholic Identity is at the forefront of all we do.

Click here to read AOP Guidelines and Procedures during Covid-19.