By Victoria Caruso, Writer / Reporter at Tap into
SOMERSET, NJ – Over the summer, Cedar Hill Prep (CHP) School in Somerset announced their reopening plans, providing parents of preschool through 8th grade the option of either on-campus or virtual instruction. When the 2020-2021 school year kicked off on Sept. 10, more than a third of the private school’s 250 students returned ready to resume in-person instruction five days a week for the first time since mid-March.
“We are trying to give our students as normal of an experience as we can, despite the pandemic,” said Cedar Hill Prep’s Chief Education Officer Nandini Menon. “All of our kids are still doing the same activities and the teachers are still teaching. Our parents are most appreciative because the last thing they need to do right now is manage their own work and teach their students.”
Through the blended plan in place, CHP’s student population is divided into two sections – virtual and face-to-face – each following the same synchronous schedule. Additionally, in kindergarten and seventh grade, the school has instituted a hybrid model, with in-class and virtual instruction occurring simultaneously and assistants in the classroom working alongside teachers to ensure that all students’ needs are met.
For those who wish to switch from in-person to virtual or vice versa, CHP offers parents the opportunity to do so once a month; for the safety of all students and staff, all requests must be done in writing by the 15th of the month with the changes going to effect on the first of the following month.
“We are totally open to anyone who decides they want to come face-to-face; we are set up and ready for them, however, we need to make sure it is safe,” said Menon, noting that students looking to return to the building are encouraged to produce a negative COVID test and, to date, parents have been forthcoming.
Over the past two weeks, she added, close to two dozen students have requested to return to the school in October. “I am being told even more are planning to come back in November, too,” said Menon.
To ensure the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff, CHP is following all state guidelines and has taken extra steps by installing UV systems on all HVAC units, employing additional cleaning crew to work throughout the day, and implementing a fumigation system. “We are fortunate that we are a small school and we were able to do these things,” said Menon, who founded CHP 17 years ago.
Additional procedures and protocols are also being performed daily; they include, but aren’t limited to, temperature checks each morning; requiring masks to be worn at all times; restricting bathroom use to one person at a time; limiting hallway traffic; and the installing of hand sanitizer stations in each classroom.
CHP boasted small class sizes pre-COVID with no more than 15 students in each classroom, but now, due to the current healthcare situation, in-person classes average around 10-12 students per classroom. All desks have been set up to ensure a six-feet social distancing and students remain with the same cohort and in their classroom, including during lunch, with teachers rotating throughout the day. Additionally, CHP, which is situated on a nine-acre campus, is also utilizing its outdoor space for class instruction, providing students the opportunity to be out in the fresh air while maintaining social distancing.
According to Menon, the school was ‘ahead of the game’ prior to being mandated to close last March and, over the past summer, all teachers received additional training to become familiar with the technology and tools needed as well as how to integrate them into the classroom.
“When news of the pandemic first started, I felt it was very important for all our teachers to be trained to go virtual if the governor mandated it,” she said, adding, “We have not seen an academic slide in any of our students.”
CHP’s students rank among the top 10-percent in the nation with all eighth graders going off to attend top high schools in the country. While academics are very important, Menon feels the social-emotional aspects are, too. Later this fall, extracurricular activities, including sports, clubs, advanced choir and more are slated to resume in some form and, at lunchtime, students are encouraged to use Zoom to interact with their peers.
“Most people think schools are just about academic work, but really, schools are a community that provide [children] with social-emotional avenues,” said Menon, adding, “Students thrive in environments where there is interaction with other students and teachers. We don’t want children to be orphaned through this; they need their friends; they need their teachers; they need all of it.”
