50 Percent Of Students Back In School As Cherry Hill Goes Hybrid

CHERRY HILL, NJ — About 50 percent of the students returned to in-person learning in the Cherry Hill Public School District this week, Superintendent Dr. Joseph Meloche said on Thursday.

“We have about 50 percent of our students who are choosing to come in on hybrid,” Meloche said during a news conference alongside Camden County Director Louis Cappelli Jr. and Virtua Health Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Blaber on Thursday. “I think it has gone down a little bit this week. We have allowed parents to make that determination. On any given day, it’s been about 25 percent of our student population that’s been in our buildings.”

The students were in school for the first time since March due to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The district began the year using full-remote instruction, and was scheduled to return to in-person instruction Nov. 9 before more than three dozen positive coronavirus cases were identified in the district, further delaying the opening. Read more here: New Start Date For Cherry Hill Hybrid Learning After COVID Cases

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“It’s been great to see students,” Meloche said. “The students have been prepared. I was out in front of one of our middle schools this morning when the kids got off the bus, and they just immediately kind of fall in and keep themselves separated. I think that’s been one of the biggest concerns all along is how are the kids going to know what they need to do, and how are we as adults going to be able to help manage that and manage ourselves when the children are around. The kids have certainly lived up to what the expectations have been.”

The return comes as a spike in coronavirus cases hits the country and the region. Camden County is averaging 250 new cases a day, and has been among the top two counties in the state for new cases each day during the second wave of the pandemic, officials said. Reaction from the district’s staff has been mixed, Meloche said.

“I think there’s a level of anxiety that is different with this than in anything that any of them have ever experienced before,” Meloche said. “It’s enriching to see children, to be around children, to hear them, to spend time with them. There’s true joy in working with children.”

He said the district has maintained continuous communication with the teachers’ association about their concerns. With the return of in-person learning coming a week before Thanksgiving, Meloche is encouraging families to stay home.

“One of our biggest concerns is that folks will travel, or they’ll have large gatherings in the community,” Meloche said. “If they do, then we’re encouraging parents to keep their kids at home. Self-quarantine in your house. Do not send your children back into our schools. We have a full-remote option. It’s all live, synchronous instruction.”

He said other districts have the same position, as they are all trying to prevent coronavirus from becoming a bigger issue in schools. It seems to be working. Last week, communicable disease investigator Rianna Deluca said they aren’t seeing spread within the schools.

Meloche reminded residents that the decision about whether to close schools due to the virus is left up to each district, and there is no indication that Gov. Phil Murphy is considering closing schools statewide as he did in the spring.

As of Thursday morning, there had been 16,218 cases of the coronavirus and 588 confirmed deaths in Camden County since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been 2,014 cases and 157 deaths in Cherry Hill.