South Brunswick To Begin School Year With Remote Learning

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ - The South Brunswick School District is starting the school year virtually for all students, with Remote Learning Centers for registered students in need of childcare. The centers will provide space of students to complete their remote learning assignments and will not be staffed by teachers.

Superintendent Scott Feder and Jennifer Diszler, assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and administration, presented the district’s plan during a Board of Education special meeting last week

However, Feder said the plan might change as the state changes its guidelines.

The advisory committee and reentry planning team have been meeting weekly to listen to the concerns of parents and design a plan accordingly. Around 75 percent parents filled out a survey conducted by the district. Overall, 73 percent parents said they will not be sending their child to school.

The school district had a five-phase plan, but ultimately decided to reopen with "phase 4." The district hopes to eventually get to "phase 3" – the “hybrid model.” The district does not expect a complete return to school in the upcoming year.

Here are the phases:

• Phase 5: Remote learning, similar to the spring semester.
• Phase 4: Children start the year learning remotely, except those who can’t stay home. There will be no indoor lunches and busing to the learning centers. Contact athletics will remain suspended and classrooms limited.
• Phase 3, or the “hybrid model,” will blend remote with in-person learning. Under this model, parents have the option to opt for in-person classes, or choose to be completely virtual.
• Phase 2: Students will be at school all day and follow safety guidelines set by the CDC.
• Phase 1: In-person classes resume without restrictions.

Under the hybrid model, students and staff are required to wear masks while on campus. Hand sanitizer stations will be installed across campus and in every classroom. Disinfectants and cleaning supplies will be available to everyone, and every room will have a sign off sheet to show which places have or have not been cleaned.

Feder said the district has also ordered plexiglass barriers to be placed between teachers and student once the in-person instruction starts. “They are in back order all across the country," he said. "We hoped to get them early September, but now probably more mid-September.”

Staff will also have access to PPE gowns and gloves. No student or staff will be allowed to remove their masks at any time while they’re on campus, as per the governor’s orders. However, the district will allow “mask breaks” where they can go to an isolated area and remove their masks for some time.

Students are required to fill out a pre-screening document. Feder asked parents not to fudge the documents, and requested them not to send a sick child to school.

“Kids are asymptomatic a lot of the times. So, it’s about vigilance,” he said.

A sick student or child who has been in contact with a sick person, will have to isolate for 10 days. “On the 10th day, they have to be fever free for 24 hours,” he said. The same rules apply to any fever, not just COVID-19.

Students will not be sharing supplies and the board is yet to determine how students will travel through hallways.

School buses will operate at 32 students per ride, with window-to-window seating. Masks are mandatory on the bus and at bus stops, failure to follow rules might result in denial of entry and future ban from bus rides. Seventy five percent parents have waived off transportation, opting to drive their children to school.

Diszler said students and staff will be trained in social-emotional learning when they return to school. This will include self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, self-management and responsible decision making.

The reopening plan is being prepared under a strained budget, as the district has already lost $2 million this year. They've also lost revenue due to the inability to rent out facilities or host summer camps. Feder said the cost of PPE is nearing $300,000.

“We have massive revenue loss. We are not doing things we normally do to make money, and that’s a problem” he said. He noted that the district received a $500,000 grant from Digital Divide – an initiative to boost digital infrastructure to support distant learning. The board also received $363,000 from the CARES Act.

Feder said the health and safety requirements are impacting the district’s ability to provide high-quality in-person education to children.

“There is nothing we are talking about moving forward, that is school as we know it,” he said.