Gloucester Township Schools To Return To Hybrid Learning Feb. 16

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township’s public schools will reopen for hybrid learning on Feb. 16 after a dramatic improvement in coronavirus-related data and updated guidance from health officials, the school district confirmed.

The district previously said it would remain in a full-remote model until at least Feb. 15 after three COVID-19 activity reports showed that Camden County remained at high-risk for coronavirus infections. Read more here: Reopen Schools Petition Opens As Gloucester Twp. Remains Remote

The district’s return to in-person instruction will begin with Cohort A students in preschool through eighth grade Feb. 16, Superintendent of Schools John Bilodeau said in a letter to the school community.

Students with special needs return to in-person learning the same day. Special education students will return to their assigned schedule that was being followed in November, before the transition to virtual learning due to increasing numbers of coronavirus cases locally. See related: Gloucester Township, Black Horse Pike Schools Going Full Remote

Cohort B students will return to in-person instruction the following day. All students, whether learning in-person or remotely, will have a full day of school Tuesday through Thursday. Friday, Feb. 19, will be an early dismissal day.

“Please be reminded that there are several health and safety protocols which must be followed by everyone,” Bilodeau said. “The New Jersey Department of Education requires face coverings for all students while inside a school building, regardless of social distancing. Exceptions to this guidance would be when students are at lunch or in cases of an individual’s health or for students with disabilities. The Department of Education’s guidance also tasks families and guardians with supplying masks for students, but the district will have certain quantities of disposable masks in all buildings.”

The district will continue to send daily screenings to all parents and staff every Sunday for the upcoming week. The district will continue to take the temperatures for all students and staff when they arrive at school each day.

“When our district begins, there will be significantly more buses on our streets and in our neighborhoods,” Bilodeau said. “I respectfully ask that you be patient as our transportation department resumes its operations. Initially, there may be some inefficiencies or delays, but our bus drivers do an excellent job each year by adjusting to and improving many issues for our students and their families. I want to thank everyone for their support during this most recent challenging period.”

The announcement comes as county officials announced two more coronavirus-related deaths in Gloucester Township, and 22 countywide. A Gloucester Township man in his 50s and a Gloucester Township man in his 60s were among the new fatalities, according to county health officials.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of 22 additional victims to this terrible disease,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “With Super Bowl weekend behind us, it will take a few weeks to know whether any spike results from parties and celebrations, but I am confident that Camden County residents largely heeded the call of officials to limit gatherings this year. We are in the final stretch of this pandemic, but that doesn’t mean that the threat we face has been diminished yet. Keep wearing a mask, social distancing, and working with contact tracers, and we will get through this.”

There were also 34 Gloucester Township residents among the 351 additional cases of the coronavirus reported countywide from Feb. 6-8. As of Monday, there had been 4,376 cases of the coronavirus reported in Gloucester Township since the pandemic began.

Countywide, there have been 37,369 cases and 983 deaths related to the coronavirus since the pandemic began. Trace investigations are underway in all new cases.

There have been 2,271 cases and 445 deaths among residents at the county's 56 long-term care facilities. The facilities have also seen 1,286 cases and seven deaths among staff members at these facilities.