As the days count down to the end of summer, public school parents in New Jersey have a big choice to make: Are you sending your kids back to school? Or are you signing up for “all-remote” learning?
Gov. Phil Murphy said last week that every public school district in New Jersey will offer an all-remote option for families that want their children to stay home to do their schoolwork instead of returning to school for in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This will not be a normal school year. There’s no way it can be,” Murphy said Monday. “Our goal is to provide as much flexibility as possible.”
Most school districts are planning to offer “hybrid” plans this fall in which half or a third of students come to school in socially-distant classrooms on rotating days or weeks while the rest of their classmates do their schoolwork at home.
If students pick the all-remote option, they would not go to the school building at all and do all of their work at home, similar to what students did last spring when all New Jersey schools were shut down.
The state Department of Education unveiled guidelines Friday outlining how the new all-remote option will work during the 2020-2021 school year. The three pages of new rules answer some of the questions parents and school officials have been asking about the distance learning plans.
1. When do we have to decide?
It is likely parents and guardians of the state’s 1.4 million schoolchildren will have to make a choice about all-remote learning within the next few weeks.
The state guidelines leave it up to New Jersey’s more than 500 school districts to set up their own procedures and deadlines for families to request all-remote learning for the start of the school year.
Most districts are finalizing their reopening plans and preparing to present them to local school boards and the state for approval. Districts must unveil their back-to-school plans to students and their families at least four weeks before the first day of school, which means most of the plans will be out by early August.
Some districts have already started surveying parents to see how many are considering the all-remote option. Parents are expected submit an application for the all-remote plan, though the state guidelines say they will not need a doctor’s note or other medical proof that their kids should remain home.
2. What if we change our minds? Can my kid switch back to classroom learning?
Yes, a student who takes the all-remote learning option can switch back to in-class learning during the school year, according to the state guidelines. But, it will be up to each school district to determine when and how you can made the transition.
So, school districts will write their own rules about whether you can switch back and forth between at-home learning and in-class learning every week, month, quarter or longer. Those rules must be made clear to families, so they can plan, state officials said.
“This will allow families/guardians to make the arrangements needed to effectively serve students’ home learning needs and will support educators in ensuring continuity of instruction,” the state guidelines say.
3. Will the school give us a computer and internet access?
A student is not guaranteed a computer and free internet access if they chose the all-remote option. But school districts must make their “best effort to ensure that every student participating in remote learning has access to the requisite educational technology,” the guidelines say.
State officials have acknowledged the all-remote option is not a realistic option for many families, including those with working parents, no childcare and limited access to high-speed internet and computers.
The state Department of Education estimated about 230,000 New Jersey students did not have the technology they needed for distance learning when public schools shut down in March.
Earlier this month, Murphy and state officials announced a $115 million plan to help ensure all New Jersey students have online access and devices to learn at home. The money is coming from a mix of federal funds, donations and state coronavirus relief money.
If districts do not automatically ask about technology when families opt for the all-remote learning plan, parents may have to put in a separate request with the school for a laptop, wifi hot spot or other technology students will need to learn at home.
4. What if my kid has an IEP?
All students, including special education students and those with disabilities are eligible to choose the all-remote learning plan this fall, according to the new state guidelines.
All special education students are required to have an individualized education plan, or IEP, the legal document that lays out the services, special instruction and other supports a student is required to receive from a school.
If students chose the all-remote option, their IEP must be reviewed to see if and how the student’s special needs can be met at home, according to the state guidelines.
That means the school district may hold an IEP meeting with the student’s parents or amend the document to spell out how the learning plan will change for remote learning.
5. Will remote learning students get the same work their classmates are getting in class?
It will be up to each school district to come up with its own all-remote learning program.
The state guidelines do not specify exactly what kind of work each student will get or how it will match up with the in-classroom lessons. So, students may get a combination of a daily list of assignments, access to online learning websites and requests to attend Zoom or other video meetings with their teachers and classmates.
The state’s only requirement is students learning at home have the “same quality and scope of instruction and other educational services as any other student otherwise participating in district programs.”
6. What if I don’t like the all-remote curriculum or my child falls behind?
When students switched to remote learning in March during the statewide stay-at-home order, many families learned full-time remote learning can be challenging.
For younger students, assignments often require the help of adults to read lesson plans, set up Zoom meetings and keep kids on track. Older students need to be motivated enough to keep up with their schoolwork while missing their friends and the social aspects of life in the classroom.
Some families also complained districts’ remote learning plans were either too rigorous, too easy or not well planned. Many school districts have promised this year’s at-home lessons will be better crafted.
However, if parents feel the all-remote learning plan from their public school isn’t working for their children, there are other options.
Families can chose to homeschool, which would mean withdrawing a student from the public school system and setting them up with a learning plan of their parents’ choosing. Home-schooling curriculums are available online for free or for purchase or families can write their own.
Other options include local Catholic or private schools, many of which are offering their own all-remote learning plans, and online virtual schools. Some families are also hiring tutors, forming “pandemic pods,” joining microschools and trying other at-home alternatives to traditional schooling with friends and neighbors.
7. Does the all-remote option apply to private schools, Catholic schools or charters?
The state’s guidelines call for an all-remote learning option for all students in public schools, charter schools and in specialized private schools that serve public school students with disabilities.
The guidelines do not say private schools, Catholic schools, yeshivas or other non-public institutions are required to offer an all-remote option to all students. However, several private schools have said they will also offer similar distance learning plans when classes resume this fall.
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Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.
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The Link LonkJuly 28, 2020 at 04:36AM
https://www.nj.com/education/2020/07/dont-want-to-send-your-nj-kid-back-to-the-classroom-7-questions-answered-about-all-remote-learning.html
Don’t want to send your N.J. kid back to the classroom? 7 questions answered about ‘all-remote’ learning. - NJ.com
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