Check out this tweet from Pottsville Area School District’s athletic department on Sunday evening:
They weren’t the only school in Schuylkill County to send a similar message on Sunday. We saw similar messages from Tri-Valley, Minersville,North Schuylkill, Pine Grove, and others.
Sent just before 6 p.m. on Sunday, it reads: “Coaches of all PAHS sports teams are reminded that all school facilities are closed until March 30. Therefore, no practices are allowed. This extends to organizing any team activity “off site.”
Here’s the one we saw from Tri-Valley School District:
Coaches and athletes are reminded that it is not acceptable to schedule practices or a "get-together" at off-site locations. At no time during the shutdown should anyone plan, organize, or attend any activity involving a Tri-Valley in-season or out-of-season athletic team.
— Tri-Valley Athletics (@TVAthleticDept) March 15, 2020
These messages appear to be templates for athletic directors to copy and paste.
Friendly reminders? Or were these messages reaction to things they’d heard were happening?
We’d love to think it’s the first but suspect it’s the other.
You knew this would only be a matter of time. The idea that anyone would consider organizing school activities off-campus shows a blatant disregard to the situation.
Yes, we get it. There are 0, so far, cases of coronavirus confirmed in Schuylkill County.
That hasn’t stopped people from worrying and frankly, panicking.
Just two days before this tweet, the schools took an unprecedented step and suddenly shut down for 2 weeks. That startled a lot of families all over Schuylkill County. They’re scrambling to make plans to occupy those two weeks and there’s a lot of worry.
Not just about school but about family finances and family safety. Some wonder if they’ll be able to feed their children over the course of this time.
Lots of questions. Not a lot of answers.
Based on online discussions, it’s apparent there’s already some confusion about whether classes are being held during the break, if homework sent with kids on Friday should be done, etc. Now, it’s clear that someone is or is thinking of organizing some kind of “team activity” while the school is closed.
So, who’s above the coronavirus in Schuylkill County? Certainly not the schools and definitely not some coach.
Clean the school and then shut it down. That’s what the letter sent home to parents on Friday said would happen. And that’s what should happen.
FOR MORE …
SPECIAL SECTION: Coronavirus in Schuylkill County
Subscribe to Coal Region Canary
Get email updates from Coal Region Canary by becoming a subscriber today. Just enter your email address below to get started!Support Coal Region Canary
Like our reporting and want to support truly local news in Schuylkill County? Your small donations help. For as little as $5, your contribution will allow us to cover more news that directly affects you. Consider donating today by hitting the big yellow button below ...