Howell Schools Will Move To Phase 2 Reopening This Month

HOWELL, NJ - All hybrid-schedule cohorts at Howell Township Public Schools will move to four half-days of in-person instruction later this month, according to district officials.

In an Oct. 9 letter to district families penned by Superintendent of Schools Joseph Isola, it was announced that grades K-5 are slated to begin the new schedule on Oct. 19, with grades 6-8 to follow on Oct. 26.

“As we continue to move through our reopening plan, we find ourselves needing to pivot to the following to effectively increase in-person instruction for families who have chosen the in-person cohort,” Isola wrote.

Both A and B cohorts will be present in schools on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday following the Phase 1 daily schedule. Wednesdays will remain virtual for all learners, per the letter.

All-virtual students will remain learning from home until the end of the trimester. Families wishing to move children from all-remote learning to the hybrid schedule may do so once the trimester ends through a request to their building principal.

Families requesting an in-person to virtual transition may do so at any point in the school year, according to Isola. The district official also noted that, should public health conditions shift in the coming weeks, the start dates for Phase 2 may be postponed.

“While we migrate to the combined cohort model, we ask parents to increase vigilance as we continue to adhere to the requirements outlined in the parent compact, so that we may maintain in-person instruction for students with our priority of health and safety for our school community,” the superintendent continued.

“This next phase will require an even greater level of cooperation to continue progressing through our reopening process.”

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