Paramus Schools Expand On Reopening Plan

PARAMUS, NJ — Students in Paramus should get used to being in front of their computer, because virtual learning will play a prominent role in the school's restart plan.

In a Saturday letter, Superintendent Sean Adams announced expanded details on the district's reopening plans, including the cohort schedules, but also the first glimpse at the district's health and safety protocols.

The district will implement a phased restart plan, which begins with the "transition phase," slated to last approximately four weeks.

In the transition phase, students will be separated into two cohorts, as Patch reported last week. Each cohort will include roughly 50 percent of the usual student class size.

As is true in other districts, Paramus will also make efforts to place siblings within the same cohort.

The blue cohort will attend classes in person during the mornings of Tuesday and Thursday, and the red cohort will attend in-person classes on Wednesday and Friday mornings.

During the rest of the week, including the afternoons of in-person learning days, students will be asked to utilize a virtual learning model.

During their days in the school building, all students, staff and administrators must wear face coverings, and will be provided individual desk and table shields.

In addition to the masks, social distancing will be enforced in all school common areas, and each student and staff member will undergo a daily health check prior to entering the building.

Due to the shortened schedule, lunch will be eaten outside of school.

The next phase would be the orange phase, in which students will have expanded in person learning time, but will still be separated into cohorts.

Blue cohort students will attend class in person on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings, and red cohort students would attend in person during the afternoons.

All students will learn virtually on Wednesday.

According to the reopening report, the transition phase was necessary to provide students a period to acclimate to this new learning set-up.

"Due to the vast differences in how engaging in a physical learning environment will be for students compared to what it was last school year, it is important for a period of transition time to be built into the beginning of the school year that will allow for students to practice engagement in critical health and safety protocols, including the use of PPE, safe movement throughout classrooms and hallways, daily screening processes, and arrival/dismissal procedures," the report read.

"This period will also allow important time and opportunity for assessing and meeting social and emotional health needs."

Transitioning from the orange phase into the yellow and green phase is entirely dependent on the progress made on the coronavirus pandemic.

Though these phases have yet to be defined, the district said they will include further increases for in-person learning time, the reinstitution of lunch within the school day, and the potential for relaxed health guidelines.

District restart committees are still working to finalize details on the rest of the plan, which must be presented to the Bergen County Office of Education by July 31.

According to Adams, individual families will be made aware of their student's schedule on approximately Aug. 3.

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