Brick Schools Moving Forward With Hybrid Model For September

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township students will start the 2020-21 school year with a hybrid of in-person and remote instruction, after the school district's plan was approved by state education officials.

Three-quarters of the district's parents wanted some form of in-person instruction, and 95 percent of the staff members were able to return to school, Superintendent Thomas Farrell said Thursday during the Board of Education meeting.

"The staff wants to come back as this pandemic has been stressful on them as well," he said.

The district previously announced that general education students will be divided into three groups: One will have in-person classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and remote instruction the others; the second will have in-person classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and remote instruction the others. The third group will have remote instruction Monday through Friday.

Special education students will have in-person instruction Monday through Thursday, with remote instruction on Fridays.

Farrell said it was the first restart plan in Ocean County that has been approved by the state without a need for revisions.

A week ago, Gov. Phil Murphy said school districts could apply to begin the year with fully remote learning if they believed they could not meet all of the health and safety requirements in the state Department of Education's list.

Farrell said the district was not considering a fully remote opening because they felt equipped to open safely with the hybrid.

"Governor Murphy has made it clear that there should be in-person learning," Farrell said.

The district will be operating on an early dismissal schedule through September, "so that students can transition back to school, get used to wearing a mask, and tolerate the heat," according to the district's Restart Plan Frequently Asked Questions. The district also has posted its full Restart Plan on its website.

To address issues with students who do not have computers or internet access at home, the district is renting hotspots that provide wireless internet access from Verizon and purchasing Chromebooks. The funding for those comes from federal Title 1 funds — money school districts receive to support efforts to educate children from low-income families — and from the district's $980,498 grant from the federal CARES Act passed by Congress to provide assistance with expenses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Children will be required to wear masks on the bus to and from school, entering and leaving buildings, and during any physical movement through the school. There will be face covering breaks to allow children to remove their masks and there will be accommodations for children who have individual education plans and individual health plans where wearing face coverings is a problem.

Parents who called in during the school board meeting praised the efforts of teachers and staff in the spring and in the summer's extended school year program.

Brenn Swanson Parziale, who has two children in the district and chairs SEAPAG, the district's special education parents advocacy group, said the summer program for special education students was a positive preview of what the fall should be like.

"It really broke a lot of barriers of things that were not working in the spring," Swanson Parziale said. "Everyone has a lot to look forward to, it's really stellar."

Allie Kennedy, who has two children in the district, said the teachers in the spring made the best of a difficult situation. She also praised the efforts the district has put into planning for the restart.

"The things that Mrs. McNamara and the staff thought of and put together, I was very impressed at everything that went into it," said Kennedy, who participated on the district's restart planning committee. "Parents should be comfortable and confident that you do have the health and safety of our children and staff in the forefront of your minds."

"I am beyond confident sending my children back in the building," Kennedy said.

The district will begin the school year with three days of professional development, and classes will begin Sept. 8.

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