Point Pleasant Beach Delays 5-Day In-Person Schools Amid COVID

POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Point Pleasant Beach announced on Thursday that the school district is delaying five-day in-person instruction because of the coronavirus.

Superintendent Will Smith announced in a video that the district had planned to start five-day instruction after New Year's Day. But the growing number of cases in the area, as well as the holiday period, compelled the district to postpone.

Smith said he expects to start the five-day plan at the beginning of the second marking period or by the end of January.

"We're going to continue with our current plan and delay the addition of one more day of in-person instruction until a little bit later," he said.

Smith said the return to five-day in-person instruction will mean removing the Wednesday all-remote day.

Smith said the district has had only 10 cases, all of which were connected to events away from school grounds.

But Smith said the district's most important objective is to stay safe.

"That is the primary goal for us, to return students to five-day in-person instruction," he said. "But we have to make sure we do that in the safest way."