Freehold Regional Schools To Eliminate Hybrid Option In April

MONMOUTH COUNTY - The Freehold Regional High School District is slated to eliminate its hybrid learning option and bring back more students to the classroom during the fourth marking period of the school year.

Parents in the regional school district were given the opportunity to choose between one of two learning options in a district survey sent earlier this year. Starting April 21, students will either attend in-person instruction for five days per week on a partial-day schedule or full-time remote instruction on a partial-day schedule.

The Freehold Regional High School District includes six secondary schools serving eight municipalities: Freehold Township High School, Freehold Borough High School, Colts Neck High School, Howell High School, Manalapan High School and Marlboro High School. As of 2019, the school touts an enrollment of over 10,000 students from Monmouth County.

Related: Freehold Regional Schools To Lose $6M In State Aid Next Year

In February, the district began sending students who opted for full-time back to the classroom at the beginning of the third marking period. Parents could choose between full-time, hybrid and remote instruction for the Feb. 4 survey. Read more: Freehold Regional 'Considering' Full-Time Classes By February

As reported by Central Jersey, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Charles Sampson noted that the district aims to bring more students into the five-day learning program. As of March 11, over 50 percent of FRHSD students are on the full-remote program, according to the publication. District parents had until March 25 to opt into a full-time or virtual schedule for the upcoming marking period.

The publication also reports that, at a recent Board of Education meeting on March 11, Sampson said a full-remote instructional program will also be available during the upcoming school year through 2022.

State officials have said otherwise.

During a March 25 press conference, when asked if parents would have the option to enroll their children in remote learning at the start of the next school year, Gov. Phil Murphy said that, as of right now, the answer is no.

"As we're sitting here now, no," Murphy said during his Wednesday news conference. "We are expecting Monday through Friday in-person. Every school, every district." Read more: NJ School Remote Learning Amid COVID Stops Next Year: Gov. Murphy