RED BANK – Students in the Red Bank Borough Public Schools are receiving fully remote instruction for the remainder of December, but may be permitted to return to a hybrid model of instruction on Jan. 11.
During the 2020-21 school year, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, many students had been receiving their education in a hybrid model that combines in-person instruction and remote instruction. Two cohorts of students had been attending school on alternating days.
Some students have only been receiving remote instruction if their parents selected that option at the beginning of the school year.
All of the school district’s students began receiving fully remote instruction on Nov. 13. In a Dec. 4 notice, administrators said they were seeking to return to the hybrid model by Dec. 7, but would not be able to do so because of a rise in coronavirus cases in the borough.
“November resulted in 269 new positive cases in Red Bank and although we have avoided school-based infections, the high community spread poses an unpredictable threat to our school community,” district administrators wrote. “We are currently aware of nearly 50 students and staff who remain in quarantine due to a recent exposure to COVID-19, predominantly through household contacts.
“Additionally, we are aware of approximately a dozen students and staff who have tested positive since our transition to full-remote. Considering the likelihood of a post-Thanksgiving surge … these numbers are concerning,” the administrators wrote.
District administrators noted that the COVID Regional Risk Assessment deemed Monmouth County to be at a high risk level for the coronavirus. It is recommended by state officials that school districts in high risk areas implement fully remote instruction.
On Dec. 10, Red Bank’s administrators announced their decision to continue fully remote instruction until at least Jan. 11.
“Although frustrating and disappointing, we determined this is the right decision for the short-term and the long-term,” they wrote in a message to parents. “In assessing the short-term benefits, we believe this will offer continuity of instruction, maximize student attendance and protect our students and staff for the upcoming holidays.
“Looking ahead, we believe this will also provide the path of least resistance to an expansion of in-person instruction beginning on Jan. 11.
“We are wholeheartedly committed to returning on Jan. 11 and also to increasing in-person instruction for specific grade levels and specialized populations. It is our intent to have all students back on a four-day schedule by the end of January,” administrators said.