SCRANTON, Pa. — The Valley View School District's cafeteria staff set up shop outside the high school auditorium in Archbald; they doled out bagged lunches, and hopefully, a bit of normalcy to the district's students.
The state freed up some federal money to allow schools to provide meals.
"Any student 18 or under can come in and grab lunch," Superintendent Mike Boccella said. "We're also giving cold breakfasts that students can take for the following morning."
Valley View, along with every district in the state, was ordered to close for two weeks.
Boccella said the national organization of Superintendents might suggest that schools stay closed longer, possibly through the end of the school year.
That's still uncertain, but school officials are asking staff, students, and parents for their patience and cooperation.
"Our maintenance staff who are doing a deep clean of our buildings, obviously our cafeteria staff who are here serving lunches, all our school leaders, our school board, our teachers," Bocella said. "Maybe most importantly, we want to thank our parents who have been, with almost no notice, forced into a tough situation."
Outside Jefferson Elementary in Mt Cobb, North Pocono School District teachers and parents were prepared to give out another essential.
They offered a free book swap to families, also stopping by for a meal.
"Parents can come out, we have from preschool to adult, and they can swap out some old books if they're looking to get rid of them and get some new books to keep their children busy and reading over the next few days, weeks," said Jen Stevens, North Pocono teacher.
The North Pocono book swap will be held in different locations every few days while schools remain closed.