Lacey Prepares For Possibly Going Remote In NJ Coronavirus Spread

LACEY, NJ — As schools prepare precautions for the novel coronavirus, the Lacey Township School District is preparing for the possibility of remote learning.

The district sent a survey to parents asking whether their home has internet access, technology or access to TV21, Lacey's student-run television station.

The survey asks whether parents have a computer or laptop, Chromebook, tablet or iPad or smartphone, plus whether each device has internet access or a data plan. Students will return the forms Thursday to teachers.

"Not all lessons would be conducted through the internet," Assistant Superintendent Stephen J. Decker told Patch. "That could be supplemental, as well as packets that were pre-created to maintain or retain content that was taught. So there would be some paper things going home as well."

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Schools would only close at the Ocean County Health Department's direction, Decker says.

There are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Lacey. State officials have reported 15 cases of the virus in New Jersey, including one death, as of Wednesday morning.

Dozens of school districts and colleges announced closures and changes because of the spread of the coronavirus. Read more: Coronavirus NJ School Closures: Here's The Latest (UPDATED)

And districts around the state face similar questions: what do you do about students who don't have internet access or necessary technology at home? What about students whose parents must work and can't supervise them during school days?

Lacey schools are awaiting instruction on how to handle the issue of adult supervision.

"To be honest with you, I don’t have an answer for that as of yet," Decker said. "We don’t have a directive on how to handle such a thing."

But Decker believes that keeping much of the learning to paper would mitigate the issue of technological access. And the district has the technology for this potential plan to not incur extra costs, according to Decker.

"The district’s technology department is structured in a way that we would be able to conduct certain types of learning models," he said.

See the district's coronavirus information page here.

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