Bloomfield schools to begin hybrid learning in April

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield School District will begin hybrid learning in April, Superintendent Sal Goncalves announced at a Board of Education meeting on Feb. 23. It will be the first time students in Bloomfield will be in the school buildings in over a year, as the COVID-19 pandemic closed the district’s buildings in March 2020 and moved all learning remote. The buildings will open to students on April 19 for hybrid instruction, after the district’s spring break. Staff can voluntarily teach from their classrooms from March 29 to April 1, and from April 12 to 16 all staff will be required to return to their classrooms. An all-virtual option will remain for students through the end of the school year.

“I understand the irreplaceable value of socialization that only comes with live instruction,” Goncalves said at the meeting. “My administrative team has attempted to carefully balance the importance of live instruction with the changing realities in this evolving pandemic as we monitor the guidance we receive from local, state and federal health department officials.”

Each level of education has its own hybrid schedule. The Early Childhood Center at Forest Glen will host A-day classes on Mondays and Tuesdays and B-day classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays will be all virtual. Classes for 5-year-olds will run from Monday through Thursday; classes for 4-year-olds will be phased in at a date to be determined.

There will be 10 students per classroom at Forest Glen, with two students per table. There will be no shared classroom libraries and no playground usage; daily outside time will be permitted, with organized activities; toys used will be cleaned at the end of each session.

At the district’s eight elementary schools, there will be a rotating weekly schedule for three groups. While one group is in person from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the other two will have virtual learning at home. One group will be entirely virtual, for those who choose it. Afternoon classes will be virtual.

Bloomfield Middle School and Bloomfield High School will be all virtual on Mondays and Fridays, and students will also report to the buildings for half-days. Class periods will be 36 minutes long at BMS and 40 minutes at BHS.

Special education guidelines were also outlined in the BOE presentation. Preschoolers will follow the Forest Glen schedule, and students in kindergarten through sixth grade whose IEP includes inclusion or support services will follow the elementary school schedule. According to the presentation, special-needs students in the applied behavior analysis, multiple disabilities, language learning disability and behavioral disorder programs will attend classes in person five days a week following the A/B week schedule as social distancing permits.

At BMS, self-contained special-needs classes will be in person from Tuesday through Thursday, with virtual classes on Monday and Friday. The same goes for special-needs students at BHS.

Assistant Superintendent Joe Fleres described the surveys that district administrators took into account: one for parents, one for teachers and one for students. In total, there were 5,400 responses across the three groups. One question parents were asked was whether they were comfortable sending their children back to school if safety guidelines were followed.

Fleres reported that 51.9 percent of parents responded that they were comfortable sending their children back to school under those circumstances. “When the survey closed,” Fleres said, “48.1 percent were not comfortable at this point or unsure. Hopefully, as we roll out the plan, more of those ‘unsures’ will turn into a ‘yes’ given the things we’ve done proactively leading up to our reentry.”

Face coverings, social distancing, COVID-19 testing and other personal protective equipment will be used in the schools while in-person classes are in session. Transportation will still be provided to eligible students at BMS and BHS; drivers and students must wear face coverings while on the bus. Windows will remain open.

Aside from the virus protocol the district will need to implement to reopen schools, the district will also establish social and emotional support services for students and staff. Students will be able to see guidance counselors on an as-needed basis, in addition to in-class guidance sessions. Virtual lunch and social groups will be established. Guidance sessions will also be available to staff.

“This is not a comprehensive list,” Director of Special Services Keri Regina said at the meeting. “We will continue to work on ways to reenter the buildings in a significant manner where we can impact staff and students.”