Black Horse Pike Schools Share Some Details On Reopening Plan

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — High school students in Gloucester Township will be split into four groups and split time between in-person and remote learning when schools reopen in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, administrators announced this week.

The Black Horse Pike Regional School District — which consists of Highland, Timber Creek and Triton regional high schools— has been working on a reopening plan for the fall. Administrators shared some details of that plan with the public this week.

“We recognize the importance of in-person learning for students,” Black Horse Pike Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Repici said in a letter to parents this week. “The pandemic has forced our student population to learn in a virtual environment for which they were not prepared. Although everyone took it in stride and worked very hard to keep learning, we know it is not the best way for students to learn content or develop skills.”

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To that end, the district has developed a plan that will see students broken up into four groups by last name. Most students will be reporting to school one day a week, where some students will be reporting for more than one day a week. On the days in which students don’t report to school, they will be learning through remote, live instruction at least one day a week. They will also learn through the use of technology applications, like Google, Repici said.

“The safety of our students and staff will remain our top priority as we navigate the challenges of delivering sound educational opportunities for all students in the middle of this pandemic,” Repici said. “We recognize that it would not be feasible for us to eliminate the possibility that a student or employee may fall ill to the COVID-19 virus while we open schools, but we will make every effort to mitigate the potential of anyone falling ill to the COVID-19 virus. To that end, everyone will wear a mask on the school campus at all times. We will work with staff and students to imbed safe and responsible ‘mask breaks’ during the school day.”

He said the district will cohort students as efficiently as possible to allow for social distancing, safety, and deep cleaning of schools. Class sizes will be limited to allow for safety while also providing in-person, in-depth instruction. More detailed information will be posted on the district’s website during the first week of August.

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