On Thursday, the Altoona Area School Board voted to send students back to the classrooms full time and in person, beginning on March 15th. The vote was unanimous… 9 to 0. At yesterday’s meeting, just two parents addressed the board. One, a mother of two high school seniors urging board members to please vote to bring them back. The other parent who was there is a mother of two elementary students. She said virtual learning simply isn’t working, and she too urged the board to please let them come back to school. Despite the decision to move back to full time / in class learning, the district will continue to offer a virtual option and Cyber Academy. When the classrooms do reopen on March 15th, all staff and all students will be required to wear face masks, and social distancing will be enforced as much as possible… although they admitted that it will be difficult, and at some times perhaps impossible to guarantee 6 feet of social distance. Nevertheless, they said they feel confident that the situation can be handled safely and appropriately.