Secaucus public schools started their school year this past week where we saw the new hybrid model instituted by the Secaucus School District put into effect. On Wednesday, it was an all-remote day where all kids attended school virtually. On Thursday, kids in cohort A attended school for in-person learning while the rest of the class attended school remotely. On Friday, it was cohort B's turn to attend school physically while the rest of the class did remote learning. After these three days, teachers, students, and parents now all have a better idea of how the hybrid model will actually work.
So far, the results of the hybrid model seem to be positive. Almost everyone would agree that nothing can take the place of kids attending school physically. But for the most part, Secaucus teachers were able to hold classes that cater to both remote students and in-person students during this first week of school. But of course, there are still a huge range of challenges to be dealt with. This is especially true for the younger grades. As we saw when schools had to shut down in March, younger kids often weren't able to learn as effectively in a remote environment, and many parents had difficulty in helping their kids adjust. The good news, however, is that results were typically better with older kids. Even before the pandemic, the Secaucus School District had issued Chromebooks to all 5th graders and older for everyday use in class. So those students were able to make the transition to an all-remote environment relatively easily.
Before the school year started, Secaucus parents were asked to specify whether they wanted their kids to do all-remote learning or participate in in-person classes. For parents, one of the biggest considerations in that decision is how many other kids will be returning to school for in-person learning. For example, if parents learn that most kids will be returning, they may want to send their kids as well in fear that their kids may fall behind otherwise. On the flip side, other parents may prefer to send their kids back to school only if there aren't many other kids around in order to limit any potential exposure to the coronavirus. Either way, there were definitely numerous discussions among parents regarding their decisions. Well, with both cohort A and cohort B having attended school in person this past week, we now have an approximate idea of what the ratio looks like between all-remote students and in-person students. Although this ratio varies between grades, it appears that the majority of Secaucus parents have chosen to have their kids do all-remote learning for the first marking period. On average, approximately 50% to 75% of students will be attending classes remotely only. And with in-person students split up into two cohorts, this means the average in-person class size on any given day (except all virtual Wednesdays) is approximately four to eight students.
In addition to the hybrid remote/in-person model, a major change to the new school year is that the school day has been reduced to half days only (approximately 4 hours). This is odd considering that this wasn't the case when schools had to abruptly close and switch to all-remote learning back in March. Many parents question this decision as it further limits their kids access to their education. Although this hasn't been confirmed by the Secaucus School Board, the reasoning for the shortened school day seems to stem from two of New Jersey Governor Murphy's mandates for public schools. Specifically:
- All students must wear masks at all times.
- All schools must provide some kind of in-person instruction unless there are immediate health concerns.
Requiring students to wear masks at all times with no mask breaks is tough, especially with younger kids. Therefore, it was determined that half days were necessary. With half days, kids do not have to keep their masks on throughout the entire day (which is very difficult to enforce), and the health risks associated with kids removing their masks for lunch can be avoided. When schools were closed back in March, the school board didn't have to worry about masks and ensuring safety protocols since all students were learning remotely. So schools were still able to offer full school days. But due to the mandate that schools are now required to be physically open, there was no choice but for schools to offer half days only.
At this point, it is way too early to determine how well the new hybrid model is working. There are still many questions that have yet to be answered. (e.g. How will students take examinations with shortened class times?) Ideally, all students will be able to return to school in person soon. But realistically, this will probably not happen until the second marking period at the earliest (November 2020). So hopefully, over the next few weeks, all the issues will be ironed out, and the kids in Secaucus will be able to learn effectively.
