Head of School Julia de la Torre announced that Moorestown Friends School will remain in the current Modified Remote Learning Plan for the time being in an email sent to families on September 22. While it is unclear when a full in-person return will occur, de la Torre said that the Coronavirus Response Team will announce future plans by the end of October. 

De la Torre cited the influx in COVID cases in both Burlington and Camden County as a major contributor to this decision. 

She explained in the email, “as much as we are proud of our start to the year, it’s important to note that rates of COVID-19 have been steadily increasing in our area since the start of school. At the beginning of September, the rolling seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 people in Burlington and Camden counties was around 4.5 to 5 cases. The current case rate is around 7.0 to 7.7.”

Upper School English teacher and 11/12 lead advisor Daniel Sussman expressed that he  stands behind the school’s decision: “In the context of rising local Covid rates, switching to full capacity would have been irresponsible.” 

Upper School Director Noah Rachlin, in an email to the Upper School, echoed this sentiment, writing, “We believe that this path forward for the month of October will allow us to provide the safest and highest quality experience given our present circumstances and realities of Covid.” 

The school continues to communicate with the Burlington County Health Department to better understand the cases emerging in other nearby schools.

One new addition to the Modified Remote Learning Plan is the use of some Wednesdays as asynchronous learning days for the whole school. De la Torre noted that this change is “so that our faculty and staff can form work teams to begin addressing some of the emerging challenges.” Some of these challenges that the school is working through include: 

“Improving the experience for learners at home across divisions; maximizing longer class periods and creating meaningful learning that is suited for a hybrid environment; introducing opportunities for interaction across cohorts in the older grades; enhancing the lunch hour to introduce clubs/activities in Middle School and Upper School; and ensuring greater safety and social distancing during passing periods.”

Upper School History teacher Jackie Scully is excited for the implementation of these asynchronous days. She said: “I love the idea of asynchronous days on Wednesdays! I think teachers and students need a break in the week, and our Wednesdays have been packed.” 

Fellow Upper School History teacher Joshua Weinstein agreed that this time could be beneficial to faculty: “If the intention of the asynchronous days added to the Modified Remote Learning Plan is to provide teachers with opportunities to share and learn newly evolving best practices for teaching in a hybrid/concurrent learning classroom, I think that such allotted time will be valuable.”

The Modified Remote Learning Plan has received mixed reactions from the student body. In a poll conducted by WordsWorth on Instagram, out of 108 participants the majority indicated that they feel extremely safe on campus. When asked “How safe do you think the protocols are at school,” 91% of voters responded “very [safe].” In regards to virtual learning versus in-person learning, the respondents were pleased to have the opportunity to be back on campus, with 85% of voters saying that school is better in-person. Students still long for a traditional schedule, with 84% expressing they want to go fully in-person. 

Bella McCollister ’21 explained some of the disappointment that lingers with staying in a hybrid schedule: “I personally do not do well on Zoom and I tend to be distracted.” She continued, “I was really looking forward to when everyone was supposed to go back to school.” McCollister, similar to the 85% who prefer in-person learning, expressed her appreciation for the opportunity to be on campus: “I’m thankful to still be able to go into school.” She said that she is “looking forward to when we are all together again!” 

Keep checking WordsWorth for the latest news regarding Moorestown Friends School and the Coronavirus Pandemic.