Creating a culture of innovation, inquiry, and individuality
In 2014, with a blizzard forecast days in advance, the district planned and implemented the first Virtual Day ever in the State of New Jersey. While the day was deemed successful, and New Jersey Department of Education officials agreed that effective learning took place, due to an antiquated law requiring that school buildings must be open and available on school days, the day did not “count.” That has not stopped our district from implementing Virtual Days since then, now with the buildings open and available, providing students with an opportunity to learn and work online, as they likely will do in college and in their careers. Having been 1:1 with laptops since 2004, students and staff are already quite comfortable using technology to learn. During Virtual Days, with the guidance of our subject area supervisors and administration, teachers create lessons intended to be informative and engaging, while providing for both synchronous and asynchronous feedback and communication.