The Cherry Hill Public School District held a boot camp for parents so that they are ready for either a hybrid or all-remote learning start to the school year.

School starts in just two weeks, so the parents took part in “Parent University,” four online sessions to prepare them for the upcoming school year.

"It's critical that parents have an understanding of what's taking place. We want to make sure the parents are knowledgeable and understanding and have a level of comfortability and interacting with these electronic platforms,” says Superintendent Dr. Joseph Meloche.

School officials say that they anticipate about 40% of the district’s 11,000 students to be fully remote, meaning that they won’t step foot inside a classroom until possibly February.

“Parents want to know that their child is going to have a meaningful connection with the classroom teacher and they want to have live interactions that are meaningful, thoughtful and bring the classroom to life in a remote environment,” says Dr. Farrah Mahan, director of curriculum.

Mahan says that this was one of the top concerns for parents, along with connectivity. Officials gave out hundreds of laptops and hot spots to families. They will also have support teams ready and will continue to evaluate how the system is working as the school year begins.

“Most children only get one chance to be in second grade or to be in seventh grade. We want to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can for that chance to be a successful one. That means supporting the children and parents just as much,” says Meloche.

All of the Parent University sessions are recorded and will be uploaded to the district's website.