Wall High School To Expand In-Person Learning To Wednesdays

WALL, NJ - Wall Township Public School District students will be spending more in-person time in the classroom with an extra day of in-person learning, district officials confirmed this week.

At a Oct. 13 board of education meeting, Lisa J. Gleason, the director of curriculum and instruction, announced that students will see an adjusted hybrid schedule beginning Oct. 19.

“[For grades 9 - 12], we’re going to be eliminating the virtual Wednesday and transition where each student cohort, instead of being on campus two days a week, they will be on campus three days on one week and two days on the second week,” Gleason said. “It’s a three-two schedule, so that increases their days live on campus with teachers an additional day.”

The school district reopened to high school students on Sept. 16 to a hybrid cohort model, with Red and Blue teams participating in in-class learning two days a week. Wednesdays were designated as an all-virtual day for all students.

Elementary schools students attend live instruction five days a week with early dismissal. The district also touts an all-virtual elementary school with an enrollment of approximately 200 students. On Oct. 13, Gleason said 46 all-virtual elementary students will be transitioning back to on-campus instruction in the middle of the marking period.

With the return of additional elementary students comes added social distancing concerns. As six-foot spacing may not be feasible in some classrooms, certain learning spaces will see desks redesigned with plexiglass shields, according to Gleason.

In a letter addressed to parents on Oct. 9, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tracy Handerhan confirmed that the district will be unable to fully enter its phase two reopening plan as of yet. Handerhan cited an increase in potential exposures and a string of confirmed cases as reason to give pause to the new reopening measures.

“The safety of our students and staff is paramount. While nothing would make me happier than to return to a ‘business as usual,’ full-day, five-day operation of the schools, now, unfortunately, is not the time,” Handerhan wrote.

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