Coronavirus: Brick Schools Planning For Online Learning

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Schools will be using a previously scheduled professional development day to prepare for the possibility of online instruction if the new coronavirus forces the school district to close, the district's superintendent said.

The half-day is scheduled for Monday, Superintendent Thomas Farrell said, and will be used to prepare for delivering instruction online.

Parents are being asked to fill out a Technology Accessibility Survey through the Parent Portal so the district can determine home wifi and internet access and device availability for students.

The state Department of Education has asked school districts to develop a coronavirus (COVID-19) preparedness plan in the event of a public health-related closure of schools.

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COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. There were 23 cases of COVID-19 in New Jersey as of Wednesday. One man, from Bergen County, has died. There have been no cases identified in Ocean County. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

In preparing for this possibility, Farrell said Brick schools are looking at a course of action to deliver our educational programs via a home instruction remote learning model. We will keep the community updated on our plan as we move forward.

The state education department has said that if school districts are ordered by either the state health department or local health official of the jurisdiction to institute a public health-related closure, the district may use home instruction to provide instruction.

"To be clear, this flexibility to count a day on which public school facilities are closed toward the board of education’s statutory 180-day requirement applies strictly to public health-related school closures and not to any other type of closure or other days on which public school facilities are not made available," the education department said. "Closures made absent a written directive from either the NJDOH or the health officer of the jurisdiction will not count."

"Thank you for your understanding as we all try to navigate this challenging health concern," Farrell said. "Your shared commitment to the health and safety of our school community is greatly appreciated."

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