Belmar Closes School Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

BELMAR – Belmar decided to close its school effective Monday.

The district decided to promote social distancing in an attempt to flatten the curve of the spread.

Superintendent David Hallman sent a letter on Friday:

As you know, I emailed the community on March 11, 2020 reviewing all that was relevant at that time to COVID-19 and its impact on our school. I want to reiterate that the health and safety of our students and staff are always our highest priority. As mentioned on March 11th, BES will continue to follow the guidance from the CDC, the NJ Department of Health, and the NJ Department of Education to support their public health efforts in keeping the BES community safe from the spread of disease.

As you have likely heard in the news, the NJ Department of Education has informed districts that they can create home instruction learning plans. On Monday, March 16, 2020, we are going to close school for students so staff can continue preparing for our home instruction learning. Our staff will be participating in professional development as we finalize plans for the potential implementation of our home instruction learning plan. Please note that March 16th will NOT be considered a day of home instruction learning.

We have created a plan in accordance with the Executive County Superintendent and state’s requirements. A basic outline of this plan is below. This plan will only be utilized if we are to close.

• Teachers of students in grades PK-3 - classroom teachers have prepared materials and content for students to work on at home. Materials will be sent home in the form of packets with online activities and directions.
• Teachers of students in grades 4-8 - classroom teachers have prepared lessons in Google classroom and will be posting assignments daily. Teachers will also be emailing or utilizing Google Classroom to interact with their students.
• All teachers will be available during regular school hours to answer emails and check daily assignments.
• All worksheets/handouts will be sent home today, March 13th in preparation for potential school closure. Please do not work on these packets unless you are notified that our home instruction learning plan will be implemented.
• Students receiving services via Related Service providers (i.e. Speech, OT, PT) will not receive services until school re-opens. Legally, we are not permitted to provide any of these services virtually. We will make every effort to provide make-up sessions.
• Any students who receive Free/Reduced lunch will be contacted on where Simplified Culinary would have meals available if needed.
• After analyzing the technology access survey, we have identified students who will require a Chromebook for virtual learning as part of our home instruction learning plan. Chromebooks, chargers, and cases for these families will be sent home today, March 13th or Monday, March 16th. If a Chromebook is being sent home, parents will be required to sign a Technology Usage Agreement.

This issue will continue to evolve every day. As educators, we recognize this is a challenging time for all of us. Please be aware that our plan will be flexible and modified on an ongoing basis. I will continue to provide information as it becomes available.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To KnowThis is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.