Toms River Schools Set For In-Person Middle, High School Classes
TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional School District is moving forward with its plans to have middle and high school students begin hybrid instruction when the district returns to school after next week's fall break.
"All secondary students will return for blended learning beginning Nov. 9," Superintendent David Healy said in a letter distributed to parents and posted on the district's website on Wednesday.
Middle and high school students are the last group in the district returning to the school buildings in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, their first time back in the buildings since Gov. Phil Murphy ordered all schools in the state to move to remote instruction in March.
In August, as the number of staff members seeking accommodations for medical and child care reasons rose — more than 430 sought accommodations before classes began — and the district struggled to find enough substitutes, the district moved to start the 2020 school year with fully remote instruction.
Even as classes began, district officials worked to start bringing students in for the hybrid instruction that had been its plan before the staffing challenges arose. Preschoolers through first-graders returned to two days a week of in-person instruction on Oct. 5, and second- through fifth-graders returned to in-person instruction on Monday.
The announcement of the return of middle and high schoolers came as rumors swirled on social media that it would be delayed at Wednesday's school board meeting.
That meeting was listed as a special meeting because it was a deviation from the board's regular meeting schedule, but the "special meeting" designation fueled the rumors that the hybrid classes would be delayed. The meeting was not a last-minute addition; it had been announced in the Oct. 9 legal advertisement along with the public listening sessions for the superintendent search.
Healy, in his letter, praised the efforts and patience of the staff, and students and families, that has gone into the transition back to in-person instruction.
"Without the support, effort, patience, and resolve of our staff, students, and families, we simply would not be as successful as we’ve been in this safe transition back into the buildings," Healy said.
"These past months have been unlike anything any of us have ever experienced, and a brief reprieve from it all is both welcome and well-earned," Healy said, referring to the week off. He urged parents and staff to continue taking precautions against the spread of the coronavirus.
"With hopes for a complete return to school full time at some point, it’s imperative that we work to maintain and advance the progress we’ve made thus far," Healy said. "I therefore ask for your continued support, patience, and kindness for one another as we navigate the upcoming weeks and months."
"It’s difficult to operate under such constant uncertainty, as we’ve all learned, but one thing that does remain certain is our district’s commitment to moving forward and our goal to continue the 2020-2021 school year uninterrupted," he wrote.
Parents can log into the Parent Portal to get cohort information and download their child’s bus pass. Students will follow their current schedules, participating in virtual supports in the afternoon. Parents with questions are free to contact their school for more information.
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This article originally appeared on the Toms River Patch
