Black Horse Pike Reopening Plan Includes Mostly Remote Learning

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — High school students in Gloucester Township will be in school one day a week and will learn remotely the other four days as schools reopen in the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The exception is SCMD and ELL students, who will attend in-person classes four days a week, and SCBD students, who will attend class in-person two days a week. SCBD A students will go on Monday and Tuesday, and SCBD B students will attend on Thursday and Friday.

The Black Horse Pike Regional School District released more details on its reopening plan this week. The district — which consists of Highland, Timber Creek and Triton regional high schools — had its plan approved on July 30 as it prepares to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The district previously announced a plan that would see students broken up into four groups by last name. In a letter to the community this week, the district posted a schedule for hybrid learning.

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Each group will be in class one day a week and will be learning remotely each of the other four days. The in-person day rotates between groups, but Wednesday will be a remote-learning day for all four groups so the district can perform “deep cleaning” of the schools.

All students and staff will be required to wear a face mask at all times. Lunch will be 25 minutes. Students will eat in their fourth period class. Lunches will be available for purchase as well. Orders will be taken during first period. Every effort will be made for students to eat outside when the weather permits.

“We recognize the importance of in-person learning for students,” Black Horse Pike Regional Superintendent Dr. Brian Repici said. “The pandemic has forced our student population to learn in a virtual environment for which they were not prepared. Although everyone took it in stride and worked very hard to continue learning, we know it is not the best way for students to learn content.”

However, the district will offer a 100 percent remote learning option as mandated by Gov. Phil Murphy. The deadline to submit an application for the all remote-learning option is Aug. 14. After that, families can still enroll in the all-remote option, but they will have to contact the vice principal of their school directly. The remote-learning option can be selected at any point in the year.

Families who select the remote-learning option and want to switch to in-person learning can also do that, but only at the beginning of the next marking period and with 10-day notice. See related: Black Horse Pike Schools Share Some Details On Reopening Plan

In-person lessons will be 40 minutes per class, and remote lessons will be 20 minutes each for a total of 60 minutes per week. Live remote learning with teachers will be 30 minutes each. There will not be a common lunch.

The district has also been in touch with its independent bus vendors about transportation, Repici said. The “minimum standard” of 22 students on a 54-passenger bus with required face masks for the duration of the route will be the expectation.

The buses will be sanitized at a minimum of every day. The buses will load back to front and unload front to back. Bus windows will be open when the weather permits to allow for additional air circulation.

Anyone who doesn’t want to use the district’s transportation can indicate as much on the district’s Transportation Survey. However, once a family decides not to use the school’s buses, there will be no opportunity to change that decision.

More information on the reopening is posted on the district’s websiteand by emailing askboe@bhprsd.org.

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