Bridgewater-Rartian Schools Begin In-Person Hybrid Learning

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The Bridgewater-Rartian Regional School District officially reopened schools for in-person and virtual instruction Monday. It marks the first time in more than six months that students have been inside a classroom.

"Our teachers and service providers have been working really hard to deliver the best instruction and services to our students," Superintendent Thomas Ficarra said in a recent letter to parents. "We will continue to build on what we have learned, as we move to this next phase of our re-entry plan."

School staff in the district eagerly welcomed students back into the classrooms. For Katelynn Wood, a math teacher at Hamilton Primary School, it had been months since she taught students in a classroom. She was happy to get back to some sense of normalcy.

"The last day with students in my classroom March 12th ——> first day back with students Oct. 12!" she said in a tweet. "Seven months later and I’m so excited to share my classroom again! Even if it’s not all my students and things feel a little differently, it’s still a fresh new start!"

Some students will not only be learning, they'll also be practicing music again with fellow students for the first time in months.

"Making music at BRHS today after long last. Happy to see and hear some of our orchestra students in school today," Bridgewater-Rartian High School tweeted Monday.

The school district's hybrid learning model includes both in-person and virtual instruction on a rotating basis. Remote students will receive the same live instruction in real-time as the in-person students are receiving, district officials stressed.

"Teachers and students will be adjusting to new procedures and protocols, while also adapting to a new model of instruction," Ficarra said.

Under the district's hybrid model, students will meet with their same teachers and classmates regardless of whether they participate from home or at school. Both the at-home students and the virtual-only students are expected to log on to their courses according to the regular bell schedule when they are not physically present in school.

To learn more about the district's hybrid learning model, click here.

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