Mendham, Chester, Long Valley Students Back In School Wednesday

With more than 180 districts switching their back to school plans to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in Mendham, Chester and Long Valley are opening their doors to students Wednesday for in-person instruction.

But there is a catch.

The students returning to the Chester Consolidated School District, the Mendham Borough School District, the West Morris Regional School District this week and the Mendham Township School District and Washington Township School District next week will be doing so in a hybrid plan.

Chester, Mendham Boro and West Morris Regional are starting earlier than most, and that is no accident.

"We are able to do this because we spent months carefully researching, planning and writing our Road Back to Chester Plan," Chester School District Christina Van Woert told Patch noting that it was months of painstakingly careful planning and proactive ordering to get the district in the position to open.

Chester will be returning with a mixed learning structure. The plan divides the student population into two halves by alphabetical order to allow for continuity of planning for our families. Those two groups that rotate from Day A to Day B on continuous repeat. The plan also includes a slightly abbreviated school day to allow for additional cleaning measures and time for teachers to connect with their cohort of students who would continue learning at home via the Distance Learning Program with additional teacher support when it is not their day to be present in the school building. Black River Middle School would run on a schedule from 8 a.m. to 1p.m. and Dickerson and Bragg Schools would run on a schedule from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Van Woert said that her district has the best administrative team and faculty, which is why opening Wednesday is a reality.

"We are excited and looking forward to welcoming our students back to school," she said. "It was our mission since June and we are thrilled to be able to safely accomplish it with all proper CDC protocols in place."

The West Morris Regional School District also has both high schools starting on Wednesday with a hybrid configuration. In West Morris Central, the student body has been split into three cohorts, Blue, Gray and White. So the first day of school (in person) will be Wednesday for the Blue cohort, Thursday for the Gray cohort and Friday for the White cohort. West Morris Mendham is similar with Blue, Red and White cohorts and both schools are requiring daily temperature checks to be submitted.

When Mendham Township begins class Wednesday, they will be all virtual until Sept. 1. Then the school will begin alternating cohorts of students split up into Blue and Gold groups. Washington Township will open with A/B cohorts on Sept. 1. Children who are participating in the A/B 2-Day Rotating Model will attend school every other day on either Tuesdays and Thursdays or Wednesdays and Fridays. Mondays will be virtual "at-home" learning days for all children. All school days for all children, whether in-person or remote, are full days of school.

Mendham Borough Superintendent Mitzi Morillo, whose district is also starting Wednesday, told Patch that these initial days will provide an opportunity to assess the results of the planning and preparations.

"We have reviewed a myriad of state reopening plans, followed guidance from the CDC regarding ventilation, developed disinfecting, and sanitization protocols," Morello said. "We have purchased Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), plexiglass partitions, procured devices to make our District 1:1 in grades PK-8, and purchased cameras and software for synchronous instruction among a multitude of other tasks."

Morello noted that her district has pivoted as quickly as new mandates were imposed, committed to opening schools safely.

"On March 16, 2020 we were one of the few districts in the State that began full remote instruction," she said. "We will once again be leaders, this time in a successful reopening of schools."

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