N.J. schools reopening: These districts plan all-remote, virtual classes (Aug. 27, 2020 updates) – NJ.com

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The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and strict safety guidelines have prompted scores of public school districts in New Jersey to draft plans to reopen in September with all-remote instruction instead of in-person classroom learning.

As of earlier this week, 180 school districts across the Garden State have submitted proposals to begin the 2020-2021 school year with all-remote learning, while 59 districts plan to fully reopen and the remaining districts are moving forward with a hybrid mix of in-person and remote learning, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

All reopening plans need to be reviewed and approved by the state Department of Education before they can be implemented. The department has received 745 total plans for reopening. Of those, 105 plans are still under review while 389 have been “returned to districts for necessary revisions,” the governor said.

For many school districts, the push for all-remote instruction was prompted by lingering concerns over the coronavirus and questions over whether schools can guarantee a safe environment for students and teachers.

NJ Advance Media has been able to confirm the following 158 districts are seeking state approval to start with all-remote classes for the 2020-2021 school year. NJ Advance Media will add to the list as more districts announce their plans. (For the very latest reopening plans, and additional details about specific schools, please contact your school district.)

ATLANTIC COUNTY

Atlantic City (remote at start of school year)
Brigantine (remote start, with re-entry on or before Nov. 11, the end of the first marking period)
Egg Harbor Township (virtual starting Sept. 8; plan to start hybrid schedule Oct. 26)
Hamilton Township (remote at start of school year)
Pleasantville (remote at start of school year)
Somers Point (Jordan Road School to go all-remote at start of the year; New York Avenue and Dawes Avenue schools reopening on hybrid schedule to start)

BERGEN COUNTY

Bergen County Technical Schools and Special Services (remote through Oct. 19)
Bergenfield (remote start, until Oct. 16)
Edgewater (remote for the month of September; district expects to re-evaluate in the middle of September)
Elmwood Park (through Oct. 19)
Fair Lawn (remote through Oct. 19)
Fort Lee (remote through Oct. 16)
Garfield (plan submitted to state Department of Education to start all-remote and transition to hybrid)
Hackensack (remote start, schools plan to reopen Nov. 2)
Lyndhurst (remote learning until Oct. 16; in-person instruction scheduled to begin Oct. 19)
North Arlington (remote through Oct. 16)
Palisades Park (remote through at least Oct. 13)
Ridgefield (remote through first marking period)
Rochelle Park (remote through Oct. 5)
Teaneck (remote through first marking period)
Wallington (remote through Oct. 13)

BURLINGTON COUNTY

Bordentown (remote Sept. 3 through at least Oct. 9)
Burlington City (remote through at least Oct. 13)
Burlington Township (remote through first marking period)
Chesterfield (schools plan to reopen Oct. 19 with remote learning)
Eastampton (remote through first marking period)
Florence (remote through Sept 18, hybrid plan to start Sept. 21)
Lumberton (remote learning Sept. 8 to Sept. 18, hybrid learning starting Sept. 21)
Palmyra (remote)
Pemberton Township (remote through at least Oct. 13)
Rancocas Valley (remote Sept. 8 through Sept. 25)
Westampton (remote)
Willingboro (remote through Nov. 18)

CAMDEN COUNTY

Audubon (remote through Nov. 4)
Barrington (remote through at least Nov. 9)
Brooklawn (remote to start the school year)
Camden (remote through Jan. 31)
Clementon
Collingswood/Oaklyn (remote through mid-October)
Eastern Regional (remote start, return to school Oct. 5)
Gloucester City (through Oct. 16)
Haddon Heights (through Oct. 30)
Lindenwold
Winslow Township (through Jan. 1)

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

Bridgeton (remote through Oct. 13)
Commercial Township (remote through Oct. 13)
Cumberland County Technical Education Center (remote start, plans to move to hybrid model Oct. 13)
Cumberland Regional (remote start)
Deerfield Township (remote through Oct. 13)
Downe Township (remote through Oct. 13)
Fairfield (remote through Nov. 2)
Greenwich/Stow Creek (through Oct. 13)
Hopewell Township (through Oct. 12)
Lawrence Township (through Oct. 12)
Maurice River School District (through Oct. 12)
Millville (through Oct. 13)
Upper Deerfield (fully remote through at least Oct. 12)
Vineland (remote through Oct. 13)

ESSEX COUNTY

Bloomfield (remote through September)
Caldwell-West Caldwell (remote to Oct. 7 except for a group of self-contained special education classes)
East Orange (remote through September)
Glen Ridge (high school remote-only through Oct. 5)
Irvington (remote start)
Livingston (school year to start all remote)
Millburn-Short Hills (remote through first quarter of school year)
Montclair (remote start)
Newark (remote through first marking period)
Nutley (remote through first marking period)
Orange (remote learning through Nov. 25; hybrid begins Nov. 29)
South Orange-Maplewood (remote through first marking period)
Verona (most students will start with remote learning except for pre-k, kindergarten, first grade, ESL and certain other students)
West Orange (remote start)

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

Delsea Regional (remote start)
Deptford (remote through Sept. 30)
Gateway Regional (remote through at least Oct. 13)
Logan Twp. (remote for first marking period)
Monroe Township (remote through at least Nov. 16)
National Park Schools (remote through at least Oct. 13)
Pitman (remote through Oct. 5)
Washington Township (through Sept. 21)
Woodbury (remote start)

HUDSON COUNTY

Bayonne (remote start)
Guttenberg (remote start)
Harrison (remote through Nov. 13)
Hoboken (all virtual Sept. 14 to Sept. 19, optional in-person after that)
Hudson County Schools of Technology (remote through Sept. 28)
Jersey City (remote start)
Kearny (remote start)
North Bergen (remote through the end of September)
Union City (remote for at least the month of September)
West New York (remote start)

HUNTERDON COUNTY

Flemington-Raritan (remote through Oct. 30)
Lebanon Township (remote start)
Readington (remote to at least Oct. 19)

MERCER COUNTY

East Windsor: (remote instruction from Sep. 9 to Nov. 9)
Ewing (remote start, return to in-person learning for those who have signed up for it: Grades K-2/SE – Sept. 9; Grades 3-5: Sept. 29; Fisher Middle School: Oct. 12; Ewing High School: Oct. 26)
Hamilton (remote through first marking period)
Lawrence Township (all students will start remote)
Mercer County Special Services (remote start)
Mercer County Technical Schools (remote through Nov. 9)
Princeton Charter School (remote start)
Princeton Township public schools (remote start)
Robbinsville (students in grades 6-12 fully remote until Oct. 12. Pk-5 will remain in the hybrid or 100% remote model)
Trenton (remote start)

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

Carteret (remote until Oct. 9; plans to begin hybrid learning on Oct. 13)
Cranbury (remote through Oct. 16)
Dunellen (remote through the Thanksgiving holiday)
Edison (remote at least until Oct. 16)
Highland Park (remote until Oct. 5 for some students)
Jamesburg (remote until Nov. 1)
Metuchen (at least until Oct. 1)
Middlesex Borough (remote start)
Regional Education Services Commission of New Jersey (remote start)
Milltown (remote in September; district to reassess for October)
Monroe Township (remote learning until Nov. 13 and reassess for hybrid learning to start on Nov. 16)
New Brunswick (remote during first two marking periods)
North Brunswick (remote during first marking period)
Old Bridge (remote until Oct. 12)
Perth Amboy (remote until at least Nov. 18, the end of first marking period)
Piscataway (remote until at least Nov. 13)
Sayreville (remote until at least Nov. 12)
South Brunswick (remote start)
South Plainfield (remote start)
South River (plans for in-person instruction on Oct. 1)
Spotswood (remote until at least Sept. 18)
Woodbridge (remote until at least Oct. 12)

MONMOUTH COUNTY

Asbury Park (remote for first 30 instructional days; return to school Oct. 21)
Freehold Borough (remote start, will re-evaluate by Nov. 13)
Freehold Township (students in self-contained classes attend school in person beginning Sept. 8; first 2 weeks of school remain virtual for all other students, who return to school Sept. 21)
Freehold Regional High School District (through Oct. 19)
Long Branch (remote start)
Manalapan-Englishtown (remote at least the first two weeks of school for some schools)
Neptune Township (remote start, will re-evaluate by the end of October)
Ocean Township (remote until Sept. 11)

MORRIS COUNTY

Boonton (remote at the start of the school year)
Butler (remote for most students; in person instruction for specific students)
Dover (remote through first marking period)
Montville (middle and high school students to start remote)
Mount Olive (district will start in-person on alternating weekly schedule or remote for grades K-3 while grades 4-12 will be synchronous full-day remote)

OCEAN COUNTY

Lacey Township (remote to start, on Sept. 8, and then a hybrid model from Sept. 21)
Toms River (remote through first marking period)

PASSAIC COUNTY

Clifton (remote to start year; district to reevaluate conditions on Oct. 1, with possible reopening for in-person instruction on Oct. 12.
Manchester Regional High School District (school year to begin remote)
Passaic (remote through September)
Paterson (remote through at least Nov. 1)
Prospect Park (remote through Nov. 11)

SALEM COUNTY

Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District (remote to start; may go hybrid on Oct. 19)

SOMERSET COUNTY

Bedminster (all virtual starting Sept. 10, phase-in hybrid learning model set to begin Sept. 29 through mid-October, depending on the cohort or small group the child is in. All cohorting students will be phased in no later than Oct. 15.)
Bernards Township (remote through Oct. 1)
Bridgewater-Raritan (remote through Oct. 12)
Franklin Township (remote start)
Hillsborough (virtual until Sept. 28, with plans to start hybrid option later)
Montgomery (virtual for September, then re-evaluating plans for in-person on Oct. 12)
North Plainfield (virtual at least through the first marking period)

SUSSEX COUNTY

Sparta (remote through Oct. 30; in person instruction for students with IEPs in specialized programs)

UNION COUNTY

Berkeley Heights (Governor Livingston High School will begin remote only after a single day of hybrid instruction; remote only plan will be revisited monthly)
Elizabeth (remote start)
Hillside (remote start, will reassess three weeks before the end of the first marking period)
Linden (remote start, will reassess the end of each month)
Plainfield (remote through at least Nov. 1)
Rahway (remote start)
Roselle (remote through first marking period)
Roselle Park (remote start)
Scotch Plains-Fanwood (remote start)
Springfield (remote through Nov. 2)
Union Township (remote start, will reassess on Oct. 15 for targeted return date of Nov. 1)

WARREN COUNTY

Phillipsburg (all remote through Oct. 5)
Warren County Technical School (all remote through first marking period)

Do you know of a school district that’s starting remotely? Tell us about it here.

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NJ Advance Media staff writer Len Melisurgo contributed to this report. Casey Roland may be reached at croland@njadvancemedia.com. Evan Slavit may be reached at eslavit@njadvancemedia.com. Nestor Sebastian may be reached at nsebastian@njadvancemedia.com.

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