The Jersey City school district is preparing three weeks’ worth of home instruction for students in the event that schools must close because of the coronavirus.

Students were dismissed early Wednesday to give school administrators and staff members time “to initiate plans and coordinate with staff for satellite learning options.”

Superintendent Franklin Walker told The Jersey Journal that teachers will be preparing individual classroom learning packets for the district’s 30,000 students to take home in case schools close because of COVID-19, the new coronavirus that has infected tens of thousands worldwide. These individual class learning packets are often made for students who may require home instruction for a medical reason.

“In doing so, a teacher will prepare an educational packet for that student based upon on all their classes," Walker said. “That packet will be provided for them to work on during the time they are out, and it can be updated depending on how long (their absence) is.”

State Department of Education spokesman Michael Yaple said the decision to close schools is made by the district’s superintendent in consultation with health officials. Districts can go ahead and close their schools if they receive a written directive from the state Department of Health or the health officer of the jurisdiction to institute a public health-related closure.

“Each district has been advised to create a plan for home instruction for all students in the district,” Yaple said. “School superintendents throughout the state have been collaborating on their plans with other superintendents.”

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday that New Jersey has eight new cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 23 positive tests, including one death. Murphy declared a state of emergency Monday amid growing concerns about the spread of the virus throughout the state.

COVID-19 has sickened more than 1,100 people nationwide and led to at least 33 deaths.

Walker said students would receive between 10 and 20 hours worth of home instruction per week, depending on their grade. Students with internet access would be able to use programs like Google Classroom to communicate with teachers and get additional instruction.

Those without internet access would depend on the packet, but phone numbers for coordinators, who are teachers in the district, would be made available for all students and parents to call in case they need further help.

More than 70% percent of students already have Chromebook laptops issued by the district and over 2,000 internet hot spots are available for those who would need them.

John Melendez, a professor of educational leadership at New Jersey City University, said K-12 schools are in uncharted territory when it comes to transitioning to home instruction for an indefinite amount of time. He added that it’s more difficult for K-12 schools to undergo home instruction than colleges, because the students are younger and need more individual attention from teachers.

“The challenge is how do you manage and contain the situation right now to maximize student learning in knowing that whatever solution we have is not going to be perfect,” Melendez said. “Once the imminent danger is away, how do we then come back and try learning outcomes are achieved.”

Melendez said school districts would probably assess on a week-by-week basis if home instruction is in fact ordered. Any home instruction scenario is not going to be perfect, he added.

“Each solution is going to be based on current information and it is going to have to be flexible and fluid,” Melendez said. “Everybody is just going to have to be patient and understanding that the educational leaders are doing the best they can with the information they have in that moment.”

Walker said breakfast and lunch will still be made available at designated meal sites throughout the city if schools close. The district would work to distribute thse meals to students who are unable to make it to the meal sites.

Meanwhile, a potential closure would be determined based on the number of positive cases that develop in the area. Only one case has been reported in Hudson County, a 32-year-old West New York man who is resting at home.

“Sending the home instruction is not going to offer the best set of circumstances for us in terms of a learning environment and teaching environment,” Walker said. “Certainly, when they come back into school, the plan is to accelerate the learning process back to where it was at before and make whatever adjustment we need to make if there are gaps that develop.”