Cherry Hill Schools Expand Remote Learning Guidance

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill Public School District has updated its "The Road Forward - Continuity of Learning Guide 2021-2022" to expand the qualifications for temporary remote learning amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, the district announced Thursday morning.

Temporary remote learning will be available for students in grades Pre-K-12 for any COVID-related issue, including but not limited to the following:

• Students identified as close contacts
• Students awaiting access to a COVID test
• Students awaiting COVID testing results
• Students quarantining due to travel
• Students who have self-screened at home and are experiencing symptoms as specified on the COVID-19 At-Home Screening Checklist
• Students exposed to a COVID positive relative

These students will have access to live remote learning. Each school will have a process for sharing assignments with these students and/or login information if attending classes via livestream.

There will be a waiting period of 1-3 days (depending on the school/class) to begin live temporary remote learning so that teachers can properly prepare for students to join their classes remotely.

If the classroom teacher is absent for an extended period, and a substitute is covering the class, students will engage in asynchronous learning posted to the Google Classroom.

Temporary live remote learning will not be available for students who are absent/home sick for non-COVID reasons.

Earlier this week, Gov. Phil Murphy reiterated that the state has no plans to shut down schools the way it did in March 2020. Read more here: Close NJ Schools? Murphy Says No Amid COVID-19 'Tsunami'

During a news conference on Wednesday, Camden County Assistant Public Health Coordinator Caryelle Lasher said the county health department is working with school districts individually to discuss safety measures.

She said they will also meet with superintendents countywide to discuss what the "test-to-stay" program might look like in each district.

The program combines contact tracing and serial testing to allow students to continue in-person learning during after being exposed to COVID-19 as an alternative to traditional quarantining. Serial testing is defined as testing twice over a seven-day period. Read more here: Quarantining NJ Students Can Stay In School Under Pilot Program

While Murphy didn't name any schools in the county that might qualify for a pilot program the state will soon be launching, some school districts have expressed interest in it, Lasher said.

Over the last week, Camden County has seen about 1,100 new coronavirus cases per day, and more than 1,100 Camden County residents are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to officials. Fourteen coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Camden County last week.

On Thursday, there were 1,210 new cases reported countywide, including 135 in Cherry Hill. Since the pandemic began, there have been 80,906 cases and 1,408 deaths countywide.