Haddonfield Schools Delay In-Person Return 1 Week Amid Pandemic

HADDONFIELD, NJ — Haddonfield Public School students in Grades 1-5 will return to in-person learning five days a week on April 19, the district announced on Wednesday.

This is one week later than previously announced. The reason for the delay is the historic evidence of an increase in new cases following a lengthy break from school, the district said.

Haddonfield’s spring break begins Friday, and students resume class April 8. Officials also said there is no discussion of reverting to a hybrid model.

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As of Wednesday, there have been 539 coronavirus cases in Haddonfield since the pandemic began. With 167 new cases reported countywide, there have been 43,110 cases and 1,123 coronavirus-related deaths in Camden County since the pandemic began.

“We are continuing to see COVID-19 cases increase despite more than 97,000 Camden County residents having already been fully vaccinated,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “Holidays have been a particularly dangerous driver of increased spread throughout the pandemic. The majority of our community remains vulnerable to this disease. Please continue to be extremely cautious and follow all applicable public health measures.”

The case rate has increased over the past four reporting periods, and last week, Camden County was placed back in the “high risk” category for the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Camden County Commissioner Jonathan Young and Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher will address this, update the public on the county’s response to the pandemic and the vaccine rollout at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The address will be streamed live on Camden County’s Facebook page and at camdencounty.com/live.

Community transmission is also up, which is another factor the district considers when determining its course of action as far as in-person learning is concerned. Absent significant increases in data, the district said it will move into the next phase on April 19.

This calls for students in Grades 1-5 to attend school five days per week from 8:25 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the plan posted on the district’s website.

There will be five lunch/recess periods, outdoors when possible. Snack breaks will be provided, particularly for classes with early or late lunch periods.

Special subjects will take place in classrooms except for PE which will take place in the APR or outdoors. Kindergarten students will continue to attend in the mornings only, with a shorter day on Wednesday. Art will be in person. Other special area classes will be virtual but held during the school day and in the classroom.

Students in Grades 6-8 will attend school five days per week from 8:05 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch will be one hour in length, including recess, and will be held outside when possible.

High school students will attend school five days per week from 7:57 a.m. to 2:47 p.m. Lunch is 45 minutes long on Wednesdays, and one hour long on other days.

Dawg Time is for class meetings, homeroom, Peer Bias and RULER training, individual meetings, group work or collaboration with colleagues. Online office hours provide time for any student, but especially all-virtual students, to seek remediation or extra assistance.

Class periods on Wednesdays are 43 minutes in length. Class periods on other days are 70 minutes long. School lunches are free for all interested students. Online ordering will be available.

Full-remote learning will continue to be available, and the details are included in the Phase III plan posted online.

“In closing, we owe a great deal of the successes we have had thus far not only to the support and excellence of our teachers, support staff, and administrators, but to the diligence and cooperation of our district families,” Haddonfield Superintendent of Schools Charles Klaus said. “We cannot put enough emphasis on the importance of putting the community first by considering others when making decisions to keep our community safe and by following district COVID guidance, particularly when it comes to travel and completion of the daily COVID screening.”