Manchester Elementary Students Return To 4 Days In Person

MANCHESTER, NJ — Manchester Township elementary school students return to four days of in-person instruction on Monday, with desk dividers and provisions for lunches in the classrooms.

Wednesdays will be fully remote instruction to allow teachers to connect more with remote students, the district said.

Superintendent David Trethaway said district officials met with the staff at each of the schools to address specific concerns ahead of the shift to the four, five-hour days.

"Each elementary school has unique circumstances which they have addressed with their staff," he wrote in an update Friday. "For example, lunch periods at each school are addressed differently, depending on the number of students in each classroom."

He said the district received feedback that staff and parents felt elementary students should have some lunch before leaving school. While in most cases lunches will be in the classrooms, classes may be moved to larger areas when necessary.

"We will be monitoring the lunch situations in each school to ensure that we continue to provide a safe environment in each situation," Trethaway said. "If students are bringing lunch to school, I am asking parents to please have easy-to-eat lunches that do not require much preparation on the student’s part."

Kindergarten is remaining on a five-day, 2½-hour split schedule, the district said, due to issues with class sizes.

The district also is monitoring transportation issues.

"With an increase in the number of students coming to school, the buses will not have the room to accommodate the 6 feet of distance and may require students to sit in the same seat," Trethaway said. "While the students will be wearing masks, some parents may decide to provide their own transportation. If you decide to do so, I ask that you please notify your building administrator or the transportation department. We are preparing for more students to be driven into school so the traffic will be supervised at each elementary school."

Students are required to wear masks on the bus.

The district also has added desk dividers where social distancing in classrooms is difficult to achieve.

"I have met with staff and each teacher is well-prepared and excited about having an increase in class size," he said. "There are desk dividers in rooms where appropriate and this, along with the spacing of the desks, provide a safe and positive classroom environment."

Students also will have to wear their masks in class.

"We all know the importance of students returning to school safely but our staff will continue to provide instruction to students both remotely and in school," Trethaway said. "They have done an outstanding job in this regard. I also want to thank both staff and parents for their cooperation as we hopefully begin to find our way out of this difficult situation."

Note: This article has been updated to correct the purpose of the remote instruction on Wednesdays. Patch regrets the error.

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