Education

Mold Infestation Forces High School To Go Online, Delays Reopening

French apprentices attend a training in a classroom at The Codis Apprentice Training Center (Centre de Formation d'Aprentice Codis CFA), following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Paris

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuente/File Photo

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Mary Rose Corkery Reporter
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A New Jersey high school announced their school year will start online after mold was discovered in a cafeteria area, Fox News reported Monday.

Voorhees High School will begin their academic year completely online after custodians discovered mold in their cafeteria area, according to an Aug. 19 statement from Principal Ron Peterson.

Custodians initially found the mold in a storage closet in the cafeteria area while they were preparing the school building for the school’s “hybrid schedule,” District Communications Director Maren Smagala of North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District told the Daily Caller News Foundation. (Related: ‘Stop This Political Nonsense’: Trump Calls For Schools To Reopen, Blames Democrats For Closures)

“So as our custodians were working through the building and setting up everything for a hybrid schedule, removing desks etc., they found mold in one of the storage closets around the cafeteria. So we called an environmental company, they did testing and now we have a mold remediation company in, but it’s gonna take a couple weeks to have that done,” Smagala told the DCNF. Vorhees High School will start completely online on Aug.27 and hopes to get back on track towards their previous hybrid plan on Sept. 14.

The hybrid plans have two groups that will rotate learning online and in-person, Smagala told the DCNF. The instructor will be teaching all the students in their class at the same time, both live-streaming for the students working from home and in-person with the other group. The hybrid plan was created so the student’s material is taught at the same time for both groups and everyone’s class schedules remain the same.

Schools across the U.S. are adjusting their normal plans in order to prevent spreading the coronavirus. Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved New York schools to reopen in early August and said the school can stay open if their community’s infection rate stays below 5%, according to The New York Times.

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