Though students and the broader school community adjusted quickly to virtual learning last year, the transition has not been without its challenges. Beginning this gradual return to pre-pandemic, in-person education will be a step in the right direction to keep students moving forward.

As the plan currently stands, students in schools that are Pre-K – 5 and Pre-K – 8 will be returning April 12 and 14. New Brunswick Middle School and New Brunswick High School students will be returning on April 19. Although many children and adults hope to return to full-time, in-person instruction, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty about the state of COVID-19. Therefore, the transition will be gradual, with students in grades K-8 attending school in-person for two days a week and high school students returning for in-person instruction one day a week.

The switch to hybrid learning not only requires adjustments on the classroom level but also requires support staff, such as our School-Based Youth Services Program personnel, to make adjustments as they follow the district’s lead to provide in-person and virtual services for their students.

“Our students have dealt with a lot of change in the last year that, without a doubt, has been detrimental in one way or another,” said Pilar Iriate-Pelletan, director of NBT’s School-Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP). “We are here to make the transition to this new hybrid learning model as seamless as possible. We will continue to help them work through obstacles that come with the disruption COVID has caused them in their education and at home.”

While SBYSP is focusing on supporting high school students as they return, the Stigma-Free Campaign, and its Student Ambassadors, will be ramping up mental health messaging at New Brunswick High School. This messaging will be primarily targeted at their peers in hopes that the students preparing to come back into thebuilding feel physically and emotionally safe.

For more information on the schools reopening visithttps://www.nbpschools.net/reentry