Millburn Township Schools To Add More In-Person Classroom Time

MILLBURN, NJ — Millburn Township Schools will be offering students more in-person time in the classroom at all levels with changes to the schedule set to begin on Monday, district superintendent Christine Burton said in an email to parents and staff last week.

The first changes will impact elementary school-aged children starting Monday. The district announced plans to extend the school day by 30 minutes for kindergartners through fifth graders, Burton said. Students will be in the classroom five days a week for 4 ½ hours per day under the new schedule.

Students from kindergarten to fourth grade will begin their school day at 8:30 a.m. and go through 1 p.m., while district fifth graders will begin the day at 8:15 a.m. and remain in the classroom until 12:45 p.m.

Middle and high school students will begin a full-day schedule in-person beginning on May 3, Burton said. In order to comply with social distance requirements in which students must remain at least six feet apart from one another, students will attend classes in A and B cohorts following designated schedules depending on their respective cohort.

Faculty and staff at Millburn Middle and Millburn High School will begin working in-person on a full-day basis on April 19 to allow time to transition back into full in-person learning, the superintendent said.

As the school year approaches the third trimester, the district reports that between 70 and 87 percent of elementary-aged students are learning using the hybrid model, Burton said. The student count is a testament, Burton said, to parents’ confidence in the district. But those levels have made it challenging, however, to find additional space for lunch and art-related classes while maintaining necessary social distancing requirements.

The district’s elementary schools are using cafeterias, multi-purpose rooms, gyms, libraries and music rooms as classrooms due to the social distancing requirements, Burton said. That means that large areas in the schools are not available for in-person art classes and for lunch to be eaten indoors. Depending on the school, Burton said that outdoor spaces are also limited for lunch and recess use.

At the middle and high school levels, administrators are still working on logistical changes to address the need for additional personal protection equipment and the allocation of classroom space. Details of renting and installing tents for use at the middle school is still being worked out, Burton said, and to address the needs of classroom, dining and office space for staff who have been working remotely.

Burton said a survey will soon be sent out to parents who wish to opt students into the hybrid model and that more details for parents already involved in the model will be arriving soon.