Middletown: Phased-In Return To In-Person Learning Starts Feb. 16

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — For those parents who choose to send their kids back, Middletown schools will be returning to full-time in-person classes starting Feb. 16, for select groups.

Middletown school superintendent Mary Ellen Walker announced the news Tuesday in this letter home to parents.

Middletown schools ended 2020 and started 2021 on a hybrid schedule, with a rotating mix of in-person classes and learning at home. Students were divided into cohorts.

This is a phased-in return to in-person learning: Middletown students will go back in phases, with the youngest learners (K and first grade) and the oldest (high school) going back first on Feb. 16.

• For Kindergarten and first grade students whose parents would like them to go five days a week, in-person instruction may begin on February 16.
• Second and third-grade students will tentatively begin on March 1 and fourth and fifth grade students will tentatively begin on March 15.
• Middle School: Additional information will be forthcoming to the middle school community next week. Once finalized, it is anticipated that revised schedules will be implemented on/around February 22.
• High School: The cohorts will be combined beginning on February 16.

Any Middletown public school student who wishes to remain hybrid or fully virtual can do so.

Walker said she made this decision on the advice of several parent-teacher committees that were formed last week. Some members of the Middletown teachers' union wanted the district to revert back to fully virtual this January. Gov. Murphy has not yet provided an answer on whether school teachers will be given priority in getting the coronavirus vaccine.

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe