Gloucester Twp. K-8 Schools Still Plan For Hybrid Reopening

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Despite recent changes announced by Gov. Phil Murphy as it relates to remote schooling and in-person gatherings, the Gloucester Township K-8 Public School District still plans to reopen with a mix of in-person and remote learning in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Many districts have been changing their plans after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that school districts may begin their academic year using a full-remote option if needed.

However, Gloucester Township has decided not to pursue that option. The district's planned 100 percent remote learning plan remains in place. The plan has been submitted to the county and is awaiting approval. Read more here: Gloucester Twp. Schools To Offer Remote, In-Person Learning

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The district’s reopening plan was discussed during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting.
At that time, Gloucester Township Director of Curriculum and Instruction Tim Trow clarified that when Murphy announced the ability to begin the year with an all-remote option, districts were required to submit a plan that showed why they won’t be able to reopen for in-person instruction for the first day of school, and to provide a date in which they would be ready.

He said Gloucester Township will face the same challenges reopening whether they start in full remote mode or not, and he believes the district is ready to open for at least some in-person instruction.

Superintendent of Schools John Bilodeau said the Camden County superintendents all met on Friday, and there was an emphasis placed on opening in-person. Any district that wanted to open full-remote would have to provide a detailed plan showing why it was absolutely necessary, and giving a date as to when they will reopen for in-person learning.

In Camden County, there are three districts that plan to reopen with an all-remote option, including Camden, Collingswood and Haddon Heights. Read more here: NJ Schools With Remote Instruction To Grow To 180: Here’s Where

“It won’t be perfect on entry, but the district is ready,” Bilodeau said.

The district will be ready to go full-remote if needed. Schools will close if there are two or more cases linked across cohorts within 14 days. Schools would be closed for 14 days, according to a presentation made during Monday night’s Board of Education meeting.

Schools will also close if community spread continues to rise, and Camden County goes from being at “moderate risk” to “high risk.” The county has been at moderate risk since May 23, Bilodeau said.

Board Member Jennifer O’Donnell asked if the opposite was true; if the pandemic ended during the year, was a return to full in-person learning possible.

“If the science changes, and they believe the risk factor is low, we intend to go back,” Bilodeau said.

He added it wouldn’t be a quick return. If the pandemic ends during a marking period, the district would finish out that marking period as is and aim for a return to full in-person learning for the beginning of the next marking period.

“It’s a difficult question to answer because we don’t know where we’re going,” Bilodeau said.

The reopening plan presented in July includes a hybrid option that calls for students to be split into two groups. One group would attend school on Monday and Tuesday, and the other would attend on Wednesday and Thursday. On the days in which their group is not in school, students will be learning remotely. All schools will learn remotely on Friday. Students who choose the hybrid option will have the same teachers all five days.

There will be a separate group of teachers assigned to remote learning than those who are assigned to hybrid instruction.

During Monday night’s meeting, Bilodeau and Trow estimated that 30 percent of a school’s normal student population will be in attendance on a given day. Lunch will be eaten in the cafeteria, but they envision a scenario in which a large lunch table that typically seats 15-20 students will instead seat three, spaced out and all facing the same way.

They also clarified that all face coverings are to be made of cloth, with no valve. Parents should purchase more than one mask for each of their students, and the district has copious amounts of face coverings it will be able to give to students and staff in the event of an emergency.

See more stories about New Jersey's coronavirus recovery.

Students and staff will be screened daily at arrival and denied admission/sent home if they have an elevated temperature or other symptoms of the coronavirus.

There is a four-step plan in place in a case in which a student or staff member tests positive for the coronavirus. Contact tracing will be handled by the Camden County Department of Health.

Any student who becomes sick throughout the course of the day will be sent to the nurse's office as they would be under any circumstances. The nurse will immediately notify parents, and the parents will be asked to pick their child up as quickly as possible.

Read more here: Gloucester Township Schools Are Considering These Reopening Plans

Students who were prescribed medication that must be kept at school will still be able to keep their medicine with the nurse at their school.

Transportation will be offered to students. Many parents expressed the desire to take their children to school on their own. For those who take the bus, there will be assigned seating that will be strictly followed for contact tracing purposes. No more than two children will be assigned to a seat, and there will only be one where possible.

Chromebooks and other necessary materials will be provided to students for remote learning. All equipment, including safety and learning materials, has already arrived or will arrive by Sept. 8, according to officials.

Enhanced Instruction will blend live/recorded instruction and self-paced work under the supervision of the teacher. The teacher would receive updated/revised curricular and instructional guidance developed by administrative/teacher committees over the summer.

Daily attendance would be taken/required with the possibility of required/live classes particularly in the middle school.

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