Northampton Area School District is open for business - the business of education.

“We’re ready to welcome back our students Aug. 31,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said after the Aug. 24 school board meeting.

Kovalchik welcomed back staff Aug. 24 to prepare for the opening of the 2020-21 school year.

NASD is using the hybrid model. Students, based on alphabetized sequencing of the first letters of their last names, will attend in-person classes Tuesdays and Thursdays or Wednesdays and Fridays and online classes on alternate days. All student are home Mondays.

“All of our staff members came back today (Aug. 24), and it was a very successful day,” Kovalchik said in his opening remarks to the school board.

NASD staff attended in-service days Aug. 24-27 with meetings held via Zoom.

“We’re going to meet virtually as often as possible,” Kovalchik reported.

Student athletes on NASD cross-country, golf and girls’ tennis teams began practice Aug. 24. The Konkrete Kids varsity football team’s first game is scheduled for Oct. 2.

Because the first day of the NASD school year is a Monday, students will be at home. However, students are required to be present for classes, as if they were in school. Teachers and administrators will be in the school buildings.

“Students will have to log on to their Chromebooks because they will have assignments that day (Aug. 31). Most (of the assignments) are COVID-related,” Kovalchik said.

In addition to the hybrid model, NASD offers Kids eLearning and Northampton Cyber Academy for the 2020-21 school year.

The administration is sending videos and emails to parents and guardians.

The latest video chat, which Kovalchik has been posting at least once a week on the district website, was to have been posted Aug. 26.

The student roster and class schedule were to have been distributed Aug. 25.

“This is the latest that we’ve posted it,” Kovalchik said, citing last-minute changes and executive orders from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf as well as guidelines from Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NASD schools were placed on lockdown March 13, when laptops were distributed for distance learning to NASD’s 5,500 students. The order for closing was extended through the end of the 2019-20 school year in the commonwealth in an effort to mitigate the community spread of the coronavirus.

Kovalchik said orientation programs for incoming kindergarten students and incoming sixth-grade students were presented.

“They actually came into buildings,” Kovalchik said.

Parents had a deadline of Aug. 21 to choose the hybrid model, Kids eLearning or Northampton Cyber Academy.

“We extended [the deadline] to 4 p.m. today (Aug. 24),” Kovalchik said. “Parents have the option to change it because of their personal stances and COVID.”

Kovalchik reported approximately 20 percent of the parents have opted for Kids eLearning or Northampton Cyber Academy. That breaks down to 1,250 students for Kids eLearning and 80 for Northampton Cyber Academy, he said.

Kovalchik reiterated school lunches are available for purchase by parents, even if their students are not attending in-person classes. Lunches may be purchased 10-11 a.m. at the students’ respective schools.

Kovalchik lauded Aramark, the district’s food service provider, saying 28,000 lunches were provided to NASD students during the summer.

“That will continue into the fall,” Kovalchik said.

Kovalchik said the First Student busing system is on schedule. Five bus drivers opted for retirement or resigned.

“It’s something that we’re going to have to monitor in the coming weeks, or even daily,” Kovalchik said.

Some parents have indicated they plan to drive their students to school, rather than have them ride the bus. However, Kovalchik pointed out some parents might only be able to drive their children to school and may need them to ride the bus at the conclusion of the school day or some parents might need their children to take the bus to school and can drive them home after school.

Kovalchik reported no NASD professional or support staff has resigned because of coronavirus concerns.

Kovalchik said he has been meeting with the district’s health care consultant from St. Luke’s University Health Network weekly via Zoom concerning coronavirus protocol.

“We’ll continue to consult with our health experts from St. Luke’s and Lehigh Valley Health Network. We check with them two times per week,” Kovalchik told school directors.

Kovalchik said he and superintendents from Northampton, Monroe and Lehigh counties also have been consulting via Zoom on a weekly basis, or more often, with input from Lehigh Valley Health Network.

The NASD Board of Education is next scheduled to meet 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the cafeteria at Northampton Area Middle School, 1617 Laubach Ave., Northampton.