COLTS NECK – The Colts Neck K-8 School District will offer a hybrid model of in-person and remote instruction and an all-remote model of instruction for students when the 2020-21 school year begins on Sept. 8.
New Jersey’s schools were ordered to close in mid-March by Gov. Phil Murphy at the start of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. For the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, students remained at home and received instruction remotely.
Parents were given two options for the new academic year: the hybrid model that combines in-person instruction at a school with a remote instruction component, and an all-remote model in which students will not attend a school.
Colts Neck’s school reopening plan consists of four phases:
• Phase one will run from Sept. 8-11 and will be used as a transition period for staff members and students to get used to the changes in the schools through scheduled events such as remote and in-person small group orientations, small group remote learning and remote Back to School nights.
Daily in-person instruction will begin for preschool pupils and for pupils who have a disability and require a specialized program of instruction. Preschool pupils will attend school daily and follow a short session schedule.
• Phase two will begin on Sept. 14 and continue for the foreseeable future, according to district administrators.
Students will be divided into two cohorts. The cohorts will alternate days of in-person instruction. Classes are expected to include between 10 and 12 students.
Lunch will not be served during the first two phases of the reopening plan.
Students whose parents selected the all-remote instructional option will attend scheduled classes every day on the partial day bell schedule by using Google Meet and Google Classroom.
The all-remote students will have an opportunity to meet with teachers remotely during designated times and will be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities and athletics.
• Phase three is described as a modified hybrid schedule that will include lunch periods.
• Phase four will be the return to a normal schedule with daily in-person instruction for all students.
The district’s estimated enrollment for Oct. 15, 2020 is 988 pupils. Colts Neck has three schools: the Conover Road Primary School, the Conover Road Elementary School and the Cedar Drive Middle School.