Remote, In-Person Learning On Table When Cherry Hill Schools Open

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Families in Cherry Hill will have the option of keeping their children home full-time for remote learning or splitting their time between remote learning and some in-person learning, according to the plans presented by the school district Tuesday night.

The district has multiple plans for reopening at the high school and middle school levels amid the coronavirus pandemic, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche said at the Board of Education meeting.

The plans presented Tuesday night are under consideration. No vote was taken, and an updated presentation will take place at the July 28 Board of Education meeting. The final plan will be presented to the public by Aug. 8, one month before students return to school on Sept. 8.

The district is also prepared for the possibility that all schools will once again be forced to close due to coronavirus.

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The preferred plan for the high schools would see two groups of students on a five-day rotation, in which students physically attend school two days a week and learn remotely the other three.

On the two days students are not in school, they will participate in remote instruction with limited support from the teacher. On the fifth day, all students will learn remotely. The district would ideally like to send students to school the same days every week, but nothing has been finalized and days off would have to be taken into account.

The other two high school plans involve:

• Three groups of students on a six-day cycle, incorporating two days of in-person instruction with four days of remote learning; or
• Two groups of students on an eight-day cycle, with three days of in-person instruction and five days of remote learning.

The preferred middle school option would see all students in school two days a week on a straight schedule with no flex time. Students would engage in remote learning the other three days.

The alternative middle school plan is to send students at the John A. Carusi Middle School to school on a straight schedule with no flex time, while the schedule would remain normal with flex time at the Henry C. Beck and Rosa International middle schools. This is also a hybrid plan to involves two days of in-person learning and three days of remote instruction.

The only plan in play for the elementary schools would see students in school two days a week and learning remotely the other three. All middle school and elementary school students would need backpacks.

Only pre-school disabled students would be able to attend the Barclay Early Childhood Center, and they would follow a traditional schedule.

There would be limited availability in the district’s School Aged Child Care (SACC) before- and after-school programs, and children would only be permitted to participate on days in which they attend school in-person.

Parents would also have the option of all remote learning for their children through at least Feb. 1. The program would then be re-evaluated at that point. Applications for parents wishing to do so will be available on the Genesis Portal on the district website beginning Thursday.

The district will provide transportation for students attending schools, with the bus driver and students expected to wear face coverings at all times. Meloche said the district understands a lot of people will use their own transportation options to get to school.

In the schools, staff members and students will be required to wear masks at all times, and the district will adhere to social distancing and health guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To meet social distancing requirements, class sizes would ideally be cut in half, Meloche said. The district is also exploring options for eating lunch in classrooms.

See more stories about New Jersey's coronavirus recovery.

To come up with these plans, the district formed committees dedicated to what a return will look like in the buildings and separately for curriculum. All 19 schools in the district were represented on these committees, Meloche said.

It also surveyed students, their families and members of the community, who said safety was an important priority, but students also said they missed the social aspects of being in school.

Parents and guardians will be required to take their child’s temperature at home every day, and anyone who has a fever of 100.4 or greater will not be allowed to come to school that day.

The district wants children to be tested at home so they don’t come to school and then have to be sent home. All schools and buses will be sanitized when not in use and every night with cleaning products specifically designed to fight the coronavirus.

As for the social aspect, students who engage in 100 percent remote learning will still be permitted to participate in their school’s club activities and sports in-person.

The district is following the guidelines for playing sports that have been put forth by the NJSIAA, the state’s governing body for high school athletics, which have been delayed one month. To see the NJSIAA’s latest guidance, visit njsiaa.org.

See related: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know