In Holmdel, Some Teachers Will Teach In-Person Classes From Home

HOLMDEL, NJ – Monday, Sept. 14 marks the first day back-to-school – literally – for students at Holmdel Public Schools since the district shuttered in-person classes in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. But while students will commence the school year by operating on a hybrid schedule with two days of in-person classes, some teachers will be instructing entirely from home.

According to a Sept. 12 memo from the district, a statewide shortage of teachers has required the district to ensure that substitute teachers will oversee in-person classrooms while teachers instruct remotely.

Related: Holmdel Schools Release Fall 2020 Reopening Plan

“In these situations, our first priority was to find highly qualified teachers to fill these positions, but it has been difficult due to the overall shortage of teachers,” wrote the interim superintendent. “To address those vacancies, we have secured additional teachers and continue to search for others. We were unable to secure enough teachers to cover these vacated positions, forcing the District to seek other solutions for the 21 vacant positions to maintain the integrity of our instructional program.”

Some teachers slated to teach remotely include those returning from pre-planned maternity leave, according to the district.

“We are fortunate to have some of our exceptional teachers return from pre-planned maternity leaves to provide remote instruction to students while having a teacher or substitute in the classroom,” the memo continues. “This was not ideal, but the only additional viable solution to address the few vacancies we have in the District so that students in these classrooms will benefit from the expertise and experience of our teachers virtually as well as from an in class teacher supporting them and the virtual students.”

But despite a “limited number of teachers who, for a variety of documented reasons, cannot return to the classroom during this pandemic," the school district has still pledged to continue in-person attendance for students.

242 districts in the state have announced that they will commence the school year remotely as of Sept. 3. Several of those districts include Monmouth County’s Freehold Borough, Freehold Township and Freehold Regional High School District. Read more: 242 NJ School Districts Now All-Remote Amid Coronavirus

Freehold Regional High School District previously announced its staff shortage last month, with Superintendent Dr. Charles Sampson stating that "A significant number of employee workplace accommodations and leave requests will not allow us to adequately staff our buildings."

Although the high school district will not begin the year under the previously proposed hybrid model, officials expect staffing requirements to be met for the transition to a hybrid schedule by Oct. 19. Read more: Amid Staff Shortage, Freehold HS District Will Begin Remotely

“While some have questioned this model, the reality is that if we didn’t implement this option, we would have had to resort to a remote option only for all our students, which is not optimal,” wrote Holmdel Township Public Schools of the new plan.

“As we stated many times, our plan is always evolving and we hope to have all of our teachers back in the classroom as soon as possible. Until then, we believe that this model provides our students with an excellent classroom experience and we will continue to search for qualified teachers to address these vacancies.”

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