Cherry Hill Schools To Hold Town Hall On Remote Learning

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill Public School District will hold a virtual town hall meeting on its remote learning plans Dec. 14, the district announced on Friday. It will take place at 7 p.m. via a Zoom link that will be shared at a later date. It will be the second virtual town hall the district has held in a month.

Cherry Hill Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche made the announcement in a letter to the community to explain why the district would maintain its remote learning status despite a recent report from the state that shows Camden County was deemed “orange/high risk” rather than the predicted “red/very high risk.”

“While it may seem simple to interpret an orange/high risk designation in Camden County as a ‘green light’ to open schools, there are many factors we must consider as we weigh the risks, benefits and feasibility of opening,” Meloche said. “The county has seen the positive infection rate of COVID-19 rise from 11.65 percent last week to 16.65 percent Thursday, December 3, 2020. This trend does not bode well for next week. Part of the issue is the greater likelihood of infections sweeping through our buildings and compromising the health of our nearly 11,000 students, 1,700 staff members and their families. When we switched back to all-remote learning, we were already challenged with classroom coverage due to teacher and educational assistant absences/permission to work from home, as substitute teachers are in short supply. This challenge will likely be exacerbated by the upward trend of COVID-19 cases.”

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He also said the district faces challenges s with classroom coverage as teachers take sick time, are granted permission to work from home, and take leaves of absence for a variety of reasons. At the same time, the substitute pool is very small, Meloche said.

“We also are doing our best to have teachers with appropriate experience and certifications (e.g., grade level and subject matter) teaching the specific classes for which they are trained. This means there is not a ‘magic number’ of teachers that will satisfy our ability to offer effective in-person instruction,” Meloche said.

He noted that while students are strongly encouraged to keep their cameras on for remote learning, but they are not required to do so.

“Students who choose to keep their cameras off are still expected to participate in class, respond when called on, etc.,” Meloche said. “If students are not on camera and are not responsive to a teacher during class, the teacher and/or school counselor or school principal will follow up with the parents. Parents with specific questions or concerns should contact their child’s teacher or principal. We want all of our students to be connected and learning, and comfortable during the experience.”

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

The students returned to school for a few days before return to a full-remote learning model Nov. 30 following a meeting between the Camden County Department of Health and superintendents throughout the county. They are scheduled to remain that way until at least Jan. 15. Read more here: Cherry Hill Schools To Return To Full Remote Learning Amid Spike