Freehold Township Schools Go Remote Until 2021: Superintendent

FREEHOLD, NJ - Students in Freehold Township K-8 schools serve as some of the latest Monmouth County pupils to transition to a fully virtual schedule until the new year, according to district officials.

In a Dec. 9 message, Superintendent of Schools Neal Dickstein announced that all in-person instruction in the district will be suspended until January.

“Taking the data into consideration combined with the fact that our region continues to be in the
orange designation by the New Jersey Department of Health, it is necessary to extend our full
virtual instruction model of educating our students through winter break. In addition to the days
prior to winter break, the week of January 4, 2021 will also be virtual. This will provide ten days
of quarantine from school following New Year’s Eve. Schools will reopen in the hybrid model
on Monday, January 11, 2021.”

The district first transitioned to an all-virtual schedule in November.

Dickstein further detailed that students will attend school in their assigned cohorts following a forthcoming January 2021 cohort calendar. The tentative date for students to begin instruction five days per week is Feb. 1, 2021.

The district serves as one of several throughout Monmouth County that have opted for an all-remote schedule through the new year, following in the steps of districts in Hazlet and Freehold Boro. Related: Freehold Boro Students Won't See In-Person Classes Until 2021

“This decision weighed heavily on me as we progressed through the last week," Dickstein wrote. "However, I am confident that it is the best decision to balance educating our students and keeping our students and staff safe. Bringing back students and staff to in-person learning too soon could result in them being quarantined and out of school for a longer period of time as we implement protocols required when in orange status.”

Howell Township K-8 schools also made the all-virtual move this month, with Superintendent of Schools Joseph Isola announcing that requiring over 1,000 students and staff to quarantine at home created an increasingly “difficult to manage” situation. Read more: Howell K-8 Schools Switch To Remote Learning Until January

“As we continue virtual learning and embark upon winter break, please help keep our community cases of COVID down by wearing a mask and socially distancing," Dickstein added.

"Our ability to resume in- person learning effectively is contingent upon the number of positive cases of COVID in our community. Please do your part to help us resume our hybrid model and subsequently welcome students back to school five days per week successfully.”