NJ school district offering virtual night classes for working parents

NEW JERSEY - As schools finalize plans for remote or in-person learning, Long Branch Public Schools are offering another option, virtual night classes for working parents.

"We are going fully remote for the first month, so we realized we're trying to do whatever we can for working parents to make sure that they have all the tools that they need so there is no learning loss," said Michael Salvatore, Superintendent of Schools for Long Branch.

On September 8, the first day of remote learning for students in Long Branch, parents will be able to log on in the evenings and get a crash course on what was taught during the day.

"It's all going to be virtual so that no matter where you are, even if you're at work you can still connect to the teacher," Salvatore said.

Salvatore says that the idea for the program came about when a staff member expressed concern about her children staying on track while she was at work. The staff member said it would be fantastic if there was an option for working parents.

The program will only be available to grades Pre-K through 5th. A teacher from each of those grades will log back in at 5 p.m. for an hour and go over the lessons taught earlier in the day.

The classes are entirely voluntary for parents. They can log on with or without their children five days a week if they like or whenever they need the reinforcement.

The Long Branch School District has a budget of roughly $114M, and the program will cost about $28,000.