Moorestown Schools Reopening Plan Altered By NJ Gathering Limit

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Public School District is shortening its in-person school day after Gov. Phil Murphy limited indoor gatherings to 25 people earlier this month amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Aug. 3, Murphy said he was limiting indoor gatherings to 25 people and to 25 percent capacity per room, reversing a previous increase to 100 people. Read more here: NJ Reverses Indoor Gathering Rules As Transmission Rate Rises

This development impacts school lunch service in the district, Moorestown Superintendent of Schools Scott McCartney said during Tuesday night’s board of education meeting. As a result, students will go home for lunch and everyone will engage in remote learning in the afternoon.

This week, Murphy announced that school districts may begin their academic year using a full-remote option if needed. However, Moorestown has decided not to pursue that option. The district's planned 100 percent remote learning plan remains in place. Read more here: NJ To Offer Remote-Learning Option For Schools Amid Coronavirus

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Schools will continue to support the hybrid model, in which students in all grades will be split into two groups. One group will attend class in person on Monday and Wednesday, and the other will attend in person on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday will continue to be a full-remote learning day.

However, the days students will be in school will now be half days. Students will have the option to pick up a lunch from their school’s cafeteria before heading home. Early dismissals at each school will take place on the following schedule:

• Grades 1-3 will dismiss at 1:10 p.m;
• Grades 4-6 will dismiss at 12:35 p.m.;
• Grades 7-8 will dismiss at 12:01 p.m.; and
• Grades 9-12 will dismiss at 11:59 p.m.

Students will have roughly one hour to eat lunch before the day resumes in a remote learning environment. Classes will meet together in the afternoon, and teachers will build on lessons that began in person that morning.

Preschool classes will be reduced to two hours instead of three. Kindergarten is moving to a cohort model, and students will attend every other day. Kindergarten students were previously scheduled to go every day.

The kindergarten switch was made to increase the amount of in-person instruction students will get every other day, rather than reduce in-class time to two hours every day. It gives kindergarten students an extra 2 ½ hours a day in school each week, according to district officials.

Families will have until Aug. 21 to notify their school’s principal by email if they want to change from their original decision about whether they want to send their children to school remotely or in person. Schedules for all students are now scheduled to be released on Aug. 26.

The rest of the plan presented on July 28 remains the same. Read more here: Moorestown School Reopen Plan Includes In-Person, Remote Learning

The Board of Education approved the core reopening policy on introduction Tuesday night, but the appendices to the policy had to be removed so the changes could be made ahead of the second reading.

The next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15. The first day of school is set for Sept. 8.
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