Black Horse Pike Schools Get Results Of In-Person Learning Survey

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Black Horse Pike Regional School District continues to explore the possibility of increased in-person learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, the district said in a recent statement posted on its website.

The district recently sent out a survey to parents as it explores ways to return to in-person learning, as much as five full days a week.

About 1,050 people responded, with about 60 percent saying their children are participating in the hybrid learning model and would continue to do so if the number of in-person days increased, officials said.

“About 80 percent of those respondents asked to increase the number of half or full days a week students attend,” officials said. “As a result, we are investigating ways to address those survey results.”

The options in the survey included a return to the classroom five full days a week; four half days; five half days; and four full days. In the four-day options, Wednesday would remain a full-remote learning day. Read more here: Black Horse Pike Schools Explore More In-Person Learning Options

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Even with 48 percent of students learning in an all-remote environment, the district said it must design in-person learning that helps mitigate transmission of the coronavirus.

“We still have students and their loved ones who are not vaccinated. We still have educators and support staff personnel who are not vaccinated,” the district said. “The Department of Health, the Department of Education, our own school physician and nurses, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend six feet of social distancing in secondary schools. In order to increase the number of days students attend school a week, we will deploy additional air purification systems, increase fresh air intake when necessary, purchase additional desk barriers, and work with our transportation vendors to transport students within the bus capacity limitations.”

The district reiterated that there is no evidence of transmission of the virus between adults and students at Highland, Timber Creek or Triton regional high schools.

“This may be due to our mitigation efforts thus far. Nationally, there are still approximately 65,000 positive COVID-19 cases per day,” the district said. “Regionally, our percent positivity rate is where it was in July, so there is still a risk of contracting COVID-19 within our local communities. It is our hope to get as many of our staff members and community members vaccinated in the coming months, so that we can work towards a greater sense of normalcy. We appreciate your efforts to follow all of the safety guidelines…we are so close to getting back to normal operations…. with your help, we will get there safely.”