As summer continues, school districts are quickly developing back-to-school plans mandated late last month by Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Department of Education in the form of a document called, The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education.
School districts have been tasked by the state with preparing for a variety of instructional methods this fall, including a return to in-classroom learning. But they have also been advised to update remote learning, in the event it is needed during the school year.
According to Superintendent Brian Repici of the Black Horse Pike Regional School District, officials are moving forward with various measures and precautions to keep students, teachers and staff safe in the schools.
“We are working hard to ensure our learners have equitable access to educational resources and experiences, while devising ways to do so in the safest possible environment,” Repici said in a written response to The Sun.
According to the district, a survey was sent to parents of the three regional schools with a variety of questions on education, health and safety topics. Through the surveys, Repici said the district was informed that 11 percent of the more than 1,000 survey responses from parents indicated their children would not be returning to in-person schooling. Another 32 percent of parents have not yet decided.
“A majority indicated that they would return, but the comments illustrated a concern over health and safety,” said Repici.
The superintendent told The Sun he understands some parental objections to in-school learning, given findings by the World Health Organization about COVID-19’s ability to spread indoors. The district is preparing numerous safety measures to offset that.
“Given this determination, in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, everyone will wear a mask at all times when in school,” Repici advised. “Unless there is a medical reason accompanied by a physician’s note, everyone will wear a mask.”
With regard to the school year’s start, the district is forming its Return to School Committee for each of the three schools, so principals can work with stakeholder groups on how to best deliver education this fall.
At the moment, the district has not selected a structure for the school week that will be followed this year, but Repici expects such plans to be available at the end of July.
“We anticipate making that decision during the last week in July, so as to provide adequate notice to families in case they have to shift their personal schedules to accommodate for the in-person or remote learning patterns of a child,” Repici noted.
“We will publish our plan to everyone on July 30, where we will do a presentation at a (virtual) board of education meeting.”
