On Tuesday, July 21, Gloucester Township announced they will not be offering preschool programs at Point Ariel Park and the Recreation Center this fall.
A recent post on the county’s Facebook page explained the difficulties of opening these programs while adhering to Executive Order 149 guidelines.
This order was released on June 20 and states child care centers and other child care facilities, day camps and non-contact organized sports were allowed to reopen.
Per the guidelines, “Centers shall minimize group sizes and movement between groups. Groupings shall not exceed 10 children, and interactions between groups must be limited. Staff shall be assigned to, and remain with one group. Groups shall congregate not less than 10 feet in all directions from other groups.”
According to the post, these guidelines would prohibit the programs from running safely and would inhibit the students learning. This reasoning has led to the decision to refrain from offering preschool programs in the fall.
“While this decision has not been an easy one and not one made lightly, we are hopeful that in the coming months, restrictions will be relaxed and we can resume our preschool programing for the winter session,” the post reads.
To view the full post, visit https://www.facebook.com/gloucestertownship/