Black Horse Pike Alters Return To School Plan To Help Students

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Black Horse Pike Regional School District plans to increase the amount of time students will attend school beginning on Oct. 19 in the hybrid format, the district announced.

The number of cohorts that the district is using will also be reduced from four to two as the district enters the next phase of its reopening plan, according to district officials.

The changes are being made to better meet the needs of students and staff, the district said previously. It recognized that the first phase of its plan has "slowed curriculum implementation, burdened teachers with juggling three methods of instructional delivery, and limits student access to academic extra-help." Read more here: Black Horse Pike Considers Changes To Return To School Plan

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Students will now be placed into two cohorts instead of four, and they will attend school for two half-days instead of one, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Repici said in a letter to the school community on Friday.

Students in Group A will have in-person learning on Monday and Tuesday, and Group B will attend in-person on Thursday and Friday.

On the two days students in the hybrid method are learning remotely, they will be logging onto their computer and streaming live classroom instruction.

Wednesday will remain as a remote, live synchronous learning day, and the full-remote option will continue, with students logging in every day for live instruction.

For students attending in-person, the day begins at 7:25 a.m. with morning announcements. Learning for all students begins at 7:45 a.m.

When in-school or while “streaming into” the class, students will participate in 57-minute-long classes. Students will complete posted assignments on Google classroom.

Teachers will test livestreaming between now and the week of Nov. 2. Starting the week of Nov. 9, full livestreaming integration is expected. According to the district, there are 1,545 (43%) students on remote-only instruction.

“Increasing access to remote, yet live instruction will benefit all students,” Repici said. Additionally, the proposed schedule will provide time for extra-academic help.”

Time will be set aside for teacher planning and extra help from 12:35 p.m. to the end of the school day every day but Wednesday. According to Repici, a high number of students have a failing grade in at least one class at mid-marking period.

“This is concerning and suggestive that our instructional model may need to better address the learning needs of all students,” Repici said. “This instructional model increases instructional time and provides opportunities for extra-academic support. The ability to ‘live stream’ in-class learning will allow greater access to curricula and increase at which curricula is explored.

“It is difficult to balance the needs of some learners with the anxieties and fears surrounding COVID-19, especially for students or staff that may go home to medically fragile individuals. However, we should consider a model where we increase instructional time and the number of days in school, in a fashion that still protects those in the school. A half-day schedule eliminates students eating lunch in school and decreases class changes, which reduces contact tracing variables.”

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