Schools to be 100% remote from November 30
The recent dramatic rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Camden County, Haddonfield, and the Haddonfield public schools has led the School District to decide to return the elementary schools and Middle School to remote instruction for at least one week, beginning Monday, November 30. The High School has been in 100% remote mode since November 16.
The District sent the following message to the school community this evening (Wednesday, November 25):
“The Camden County Department of Health has communicated to us that our COVID Activity Level Index (CALI) score falls into the category of “High Risk,” which is indicated by a CALI score of 3. Additional information was provided pointing out that Camden County ranks near the highest Case Rate and Percent Positivity in the state. The New Jersey Department of Health has asked school districts to consider additional precautions while faced with so many new cases in our area (COVID-19 Regional Risk Matrix).
“With an expected surge after the Thanksgiving weekend and with an emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of our students, staff, and families, the decision has been made to take a cautious approach and create an “intermediate” period of time in which to evaluate the impact of the holiday weekend. Therefore, beginning Monday, November 30, 2020, Haddonfield School District will return to full remote instruction until December 7, 2020. This applies to elementary, middle and high school students. A review of the district and regional numbers will be made on December 3, 2020, and the status of our instructional model will be re-evaluated at that time. Based on those numbers, we will decide either to continue full remote learning or to return to the hybrid model. If the decision is made to extend full remote learning, considerations of best practices to support at-risk students will be implemented.
“The decision to take this intermediate step was not made lightly, but it was made with the hope that we can bring the students back to school later in December.
“We understand and value the impact of in-person instruction. Over the next several weeks, we ask everyone to participate in behavior that is safe and includes practices to stop the spread of COVID-19. It is our hope that the regional numbers decline and return to in-person instruction occurs as quickly as possible.”