Montclair High School shares hybrid learning plan — but no start date set
FILE PHOTO
By ERIN ROLL
roll@montclairlocal.news
Montclair High School provided guidance to families on its plan to start a hybrid learning schedule Tuesday — but still doesn’t have a reopening date.
The guidance document, seen below, also says families who’ve previously told the district they plan to continue remote learning have until Friday, April 2 to change their minds and opt instead for the hybrid learning schedule. Families already planning to return for hybrid learning can switch to remote-only learning at any time.
The document contains an outline of the schedule for hybrid learning, dividing students into two cohorts — “Mounties” and “Bulldogs” — that take turns attending school during the week. Mounties attend on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Bulldogs on Thursdays and Fridays.
Each cohort will also have “A Days” and “B Days,” with a normal school day’s classes spread out over those two days.
The document appears to show scheduled dates for hybrid learning as early as March, including dates that have already passed. But all public school students in Montclair have been on remote-only instruction for the last year, with elementary school students expected to begin their own hybrid learning schedule April 12 after the district and the Montclair Education Association recently settled lawsuit over plans to return. The district confirmed to Montclair Local Tuesday no date has yet been set for the high school.
The schedule also includes guidelines on which staircases are up and which are down, instructions for students and staff to wipe down their desks when entering a classroom, and guidelines for start-of-day health screenings.
At a March 29 Board of School Estimate meeting, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds said the district was still on track to reopen the elementary schools on April 12 as expected. The district said also said in a notice on its main website, that March 31 and April 1 would be asynchronous learning days, to allow elementary school teachers to prepare for the reopening.
The Montclair Education Association held an emergency meeting last week, but hasn’t disclosed what was discussed or any action taken.