Cherry Hill School Board Approves District's Reopening Plan
CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill Public School District Board of Education has approved the district’s plan for reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Meloche said on Wednesday.
The plan is now being sent to the State Department of Education for approval ahead of the first day of school on Sept. 8.
The plan includes a mix of hybrid and in-person learning. It was approved a day before Gov. Phil Murphy said school districts can choose to go all-remote when school restarts in September, but in-school instruction can resume immediately. Murphy said he's clearing schools and colleges to reopen for the upcoming academic year.
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Cherry Hill’s plan for all high, middle and elementary schools sees two groups of students on a five-day rotation, in which students physically attend school two days a week and learn remotely the other three.
One group will attend school on Tuesday and Thursday, and the other group will attend on Wednesday and Friday. On the two days students are not in school, they will participate in remote instruction with limited support from the teacher. On Mondays, all students will learn remotely.
“Our families may choose the option best suited to their children,” Meloche said in a statement following Murphy’s news conference on Wednesday. “To date, approximately 90 percent of our families have submitted their choices. Of those submissions, about 30 percent have chosen the full remote option; about 70 percent have chosen the hybrid option.”
The options for the plan were first presented in July, and updated two weeks later. The final vote on the local level came Tuesday night. Read more here: Remote, In-Person Learning On The Table When Cherry Hill Schools Open
"In-person instruction may fully resume immediately should institutions so desire and so long as social distancing among other protections are strictly adhered to," Murphy said on Wednesday.
At the same time, districts that cannot meet New Jersey's core health and safety standards for in-person instruction will begin the school year in an all-remote fashion, he said. Read more here: NJ In-Person School Instruction To Start; Districts Can Go Remote
For elementary students in Cherry Hill participating in 100% Remote Learning:
Students will attend the Cooperative learning day and will be assigned to an A/B cohort.
On the assigned cohort in-school morning, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction.
On the assigned cohort synchronous afternoon, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction.
Students are strongly encouraged to have their camera on during live instruction.
The teacher will schedule when the student needs to log on for class.
During assigned cohort remote instruction times, the student will participate in asynchronous instruction posted in Google Classroom.
For middle school students participating in 100% Remote Learning:
Students will attend the Cooperative learning day and will be assigned to an A/B cohort.
On the assigned cohort in-school morning, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction during the assigned class period time.
On the assigned cohort synchronous afternoon, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction.
Students are strongly encouraged to have their camera on during live instruction.
During assigned cohort remote instruction times, the student will participate in asynchronous instruction posted in Google Classroom.
For high school students participating in 100% Remote Learning:
Students will attend the Cooperative learning day and will be assigned to an A/B cohort.
On the assigned cohort in-school morning, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction during the assigned class period time.
On the assigned cohort synchronous afternoon, students will participate in live streamed synchronous instruction.
Students are strongly encouraged to have their camera on during live instruction.
During assigned cohort remote instruction times, students will participate in asynchronous instruction posted in Google Classroom.
“As we have said throughout the pandemic, our situation is fluid,” Meloche said. “Please understand that our plans may change as we move closer to the first day of school on September 8. Given the information shared by the Governor and Interim Commissioner Dehmer, we will be reevaluating our plan and discussing our options with Board of Education leadership, staff association leadership, and families. We are prepared to move to an all-remote learning model for all students and staff if necessary.”
For more details on the plan, visit the school district’s website.
See more stories about New Jersey's coronavirus recovery.
This article originally appeared on the Cherry Hill Patch
