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See Which Wide of the ‘Digital Divide’ Your School District is on

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Searchable graphic allows you to check whether your school district has the necessary computer devices and connectivity for remote learning

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By Colleen O’Dea and John Mooney

When Gov. Phil Murphy last week said that 40,000 New Jersey students still are without the necessary computer devices and connectivity for remote learning, it was meant as progress. After all, that number was nearly 10 times higher last spring.

But the digital divide remains stark in scores of districts, many of them low-income, according to the latest survey released by the state Department of Education this week.

And the gaps appear widest in communities that are relying the most on remote learning.

In East Orange, for instance, more than 6,000 students don’t have the necessary tools. Jersey City and Camden are each 2,000 students short. And even in upscale Montclair or Summit, the gap is nearly 1,000 students each.

NJ Spotlight News distilled the latest information into the following graphics that let you see how your district is doing.

Header:  Photo by NESA by Makers on Unsplash

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Despite COVID-19 Rise, NJ Sticks with Plan to Allow Schools to Decide Instruction Plans Locally

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Not all educators agree with the state’s approach

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By Lilo H. Stainton

With COVID-19 rates rising nationwide, school officials in a number of large cities — including Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. — are opting for online education to try to preempt the surge of coronavirus cases that experts predict for the weeks to come.

But in New Jersey, where nearly 10,500 new cases have been diagnosed this week, state leaders said Thursday that they will stick to the current plan that allows district and local health officials to decide what is best for the community’s schools. Currently, roughly one in five districts is providing remote lessons only, they said, and relatively few outbreaks have been tied directly to schools.

“The general community reality is obviously taken into account” when determining school plans, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. “But there is a clear disconnect between the reality of what is going on in our school buildings and the communities that surround them. There’s just no question about that.”

Not all educators are on the same page with the governor’s plan, however. Leaders of some of the state’s most prominent school groups are expected to meet Friday with Murphy staff to talk about the worsening numbers in communities and how they impact schools. And to at least one of them, it is difficult to separate what is happening in schools from their cities and towns, something he called a “false dichotomy.”

“There is a lot of frustration among our superintendents,” said Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and himself a former superintendent. “There is a real sense that the disconnect of schools and their communities is not a real one, and not every case is being reported … How do you not connect schools to the communities they are in?”

‘These numbers are lower than anticipated’

Murphy said that local public health officials have traced 192 cases of COVID-19 to 51 school-related outbreaks since classes resumed in September. “These numbers are lower than I believe anyone could have anticipated,” he added, noting that there are more than 3,000 school buildings statewide.

The virus is spreading increasingly quickly in New Jersey, however, state data show. More than 3,500 additional diagnoses were reported Thursday and nearly 267,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported since March, including almost 16,500 likely fatalities. Close to 39,000 people have been hospitalized as a result of the virus.

Earlier this week, Murphy announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants — requiring indoor dining to end by 10 p.m. — and on Thursday, he said counties and municipalities could impose earlier closing times on nonessential businesses, if needed. He also took steps to ban interstate youth sports, which public health officials said have been connected — sometimes indirectly — to a growing number of outbreaks. The governor reiterated his pleas to wear a mask, maintain social distance and take other measures to reduce community spread of the virus.

“This is a wake-up call. We need your help,” state health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said Thursday, pointing to the escalating daily case count. “If we are lax, if we continue on this trajectory, our state will return to the situation we were in last spring.”

When the coronavirus initially peaked in New Jersey, in April, daily case counts occasionally topped 4,000 new diagnoses, and hospitals were nearly overwhelmed. All schools were operating under remote learning and all but essential businesses were allowed to open.

Murphy: ‘All options remain on the table’

Now case counts are rising quickly, and hospitals are beginning to fill up again, with some being forced to divert emergency patients temporarily as a result of staff or space shortages. Businesses are operating under severe restrictions. All but 162 school districts are hosting students and teachers in the classroom at least a few days a week, according to new state figures, which appear to have changed little since last week. (Some 97 districts are now operating entirely in person, Murphy said, with the rest using a hybrid model or a mix of in-person and online education, depending on the school.)

While schools may not be the nexus of spread, youth sports do appear to be exacerbating the virus’ transmission, according to figures Persichilli shared Thursday. At least 14 outbreaks, leading to 70 cases, were connected to youth hockey events in seven counties, she said, and one-third of the cases that could be tracked back to an incident during October were linked to sports teams.

Given these dynamics, Murphy said shifting to online learning preemptively was not necessary at this time. But he said Thursday, “all options remain on the table.”

Suspending in-person instruction

Bozza of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, who has been outspoken before about the ambiguity in the Murphy administration’s school guidance, said he thinks a statewide move to suspend in-person instruction should be considered. “Schools are losing more staff still,” he said. “The anxiety is growing, and if the governor sent that message [to close schools through December], I think it would be welcomed, quite frankly.”

But the governor’s strategy made sense to Chuck Sampson, superintendent of the Freehold Regional High School district, which includes roughly 10,600 students. While there have been close to 60 cases diagnosed among pupils, teachers and staff since September, Sampson said none of these have been traced back to in-school infections.

“I agree with him 100%,” Sampson said of Murphy’s approach. “I truly think my schools are the safest place to be,” he said, citing the strict protocols in place for masking and social-distancing and the modern air-circulation systems in the district’s facilities.

“It would be heartbreaking to me to have to close our schools on a larger (statewide) order because I think it would be at the expense of the children who are school-dependent,” including students with limited English skills or learning challenges, Sampson said.

— John Mooney contributed to this story.

 

Header:  Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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State Reports Big Drop in All-Remote Learning for NJ Public Schools

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Department of Education data shows continuing trend toward at least some in-person instruction

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By John Mooney

As a second surge of COVID-19 cases hits the state, New Jersey’s public schools are nevertheless continuing to shift toward at least some in-person instruction, according to the latest breakdown from the state.

The state Department of Education is reporting a significant drop in the last month of districts and other public schools going all-remote, with nearly a third moving instead to a hybrid model that includes both remote and in-person schooling.

Now, more than 500 of the 800 surveyed districts, charter schools and special needs schools are following the hybrid model, the department said.

Find your district or county here.

Here’s the latest breakdown:

  • 97 districts and charter schools are teaching with an all in-person model, up from 87 in mid-October;
  • 513 are using a hybrid model, including both in-person and remote learning, up from 437;
  • 164 are using all-remote instruction, down from 245;
  • 37 are using a combination of remote in some schools and in-person in others.

“We’ve certainly seen the number of hybrid plans increase and the number of remote plans decrease,” said Mike Yaple, the department’s spokesman.

“This is admirable progress toward the return to safe in-person instruction,” he said. “School districts and educators have shown great flexibility and ingenuity in switching from one learning model to another, depending on local circumstances and need. That is at the heart of New Jersey’s approach to reopening, and we expect that dynamic to continue.”

Yaple did not directly address the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations outside of schools, but said that the state would continue to track the data in providing guidance to schools.

“As with dining, retail and other matters that require in-person interaction, any move toward in-person instruction in schools will be driven by the data,” he said.

 

Header:  Photo by Maximilian Scheffler on Unsplash

 

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Looming Budget Deficit and Reopening Dominate BOE Meeting

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A looming budget deficit and the postponement of a reopening of schools took center stage during Thursday night’s monthly meeting of the Jersey City School Board.

Superintendent Franklin Walker presented his Superintendent’s Report, which dealt mainly with Covid-19’s impact on the district’s current $670 million budget. Walker forecast a $5-$10 million budget surplus due primarily to pandemic-related savings on overtime, on extra compensation and on goods. He said the district remains underfunded compared to New Jersey law, which calls for a $900 million budget for the 2021–22 school year. Instead he said next year the budget will be approximately $750 million and that he expects the district to have a $300 million deficit.

Walker attributed the anticipated $300 million shortfall to several factors including a $30 million cut in state aid. Revenues from the city’s payroll tax will offset some of the deficit. Walker alluded to unspecified cost-saving measures the district could take so as to not have to cut staff. Further information on the budget will be presented at the November school board meeting.

Addressing Walker’s presentation, Trustee Mussab Ali said, “Right now I don’t think it makes sense for us to make a promise like saying there will be no layoffs.” Trustee Marilyn Roman commented that she did not “know how they could possibly run the school district with any fewer people than we currently have in the classrooms” and that the city should be looking to Trenton for help with this area in particular.

Walker also discussed the district’s Covid-19 reopening plan. Given a recent statewide uptick in Covid-19 hospital admissions, given that four Jersey City teachers recently tested positive for the virus, and given difficulty securing enough teachers willing to teach in person for the immediate future, he recommended that all classes remain remote until at least the end of the second marketing period on February 2, 2020. The structure of those classes would not change before then.

There were 16 speakers for the public speaking session.

One parent of a student at PS 3, who opined that the pandemic will take months and months to abate, suggested Jersey City schools adopt a hybrid model. He said private schools have reopened with positive feedback from students and staff. Parent Catalina Perez agreed and brought up the difficulties that remote learning pose for single parents. Perez recommended a hybrid model to help working single parents whose friends and relatives may be able to babysit but don’t have WiFI. Calling upon the board to open the schools as soon as possible, she said the trustees had already had months to prepare. Crystal Thomas also spoke on behalf of parents who need to return to work.

Other parents lobbied for the alternative.

“Nancy,” a parent with students in first and fourth grades, asked the board to continue remote learning as long as necessary. Parent Brigid D’Souza echoed Nancy’s sentiments.  D’Souza also discussed budget matters. She described years of structural deficits, “systematically” underfunded schools and city real estate tax abatement policy that, she said, siphons money away from the schools.

Kristin Hopkins-Clegg, who has two children at PS 5 one with an IEP (individualized education plan), wanted to share positive experiences and provided examples.

Board president Lorenzo Richardson acknowledged the plight of single parents during the pandemic help and assured the public that he will address the matter with Mayor Fulop soon. He said that when the schools open, all students will not be able to return at once.

School Business Administrator Regina Robinson reported that the district received about $8.1 million from the federal CARES Act.

Melissa dos Santos and Elizabeth Iannitelli, who are Social Studies Supervisors in the Curriculum Department, made a presentation on the Armistad Mandate, a 2002 state law “to promote a wider implementation of educational awareness programs regarding the African slave trade, slavery in America, and the many contributions Africans have made to American society,” according to the Armistad Commission’s website. Dos Santos and Iannitelli said the city’s schools are indeed aligned with the mandate.

All of the agenda items to be voted on during the meeting including Walker’s recommendation that district classes remain remote were approved.

The next virtual Jersey City School Board meeting will be held Thursday, November 19, at 6 p.m.

For past coverage of Jersey City School Board meetings, please click here.

 

 

 

 

 

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November 3rd Board of Education Rematch

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With national politics taking center stage, it would be easy to overlook an important school board election on the November 3 ballot. Two slates, Education Matters and Change for Children, faced off in 2019.  They will vie for three three-year term board seats. There are no independent candidates running this year.

Education Matters Candidate Gina Verdibello

Change For Children, which in 2019 received the backing of the Lefrak organization and managed to win two of five board seats is fielding three candidates: Asheenia Johnson, a former aide to Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson and to Assemblywoman Angela McKnight; Sonia Cintron, who ran as an independent in last year’s race; and newcomer Karen Poliski. Education Matters — which has been endorsed by the Jersey City Education Association and by numerous local pols — is running current board members President Lorenzo Richardson, Vice President Gina Verdibello and Lekendrick Shaw.

The 2019 election was according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) the most expensive in state history. Lefrak-led PAC Fairer NJ spent over $530 thousand in support of Change for Children. New Jersey Education Association PAC Garden State Forward spent a relatively paltry $48,000.

When asked by the Jersey City Times whether they were backed again by Lefrak, Change for Children responded:

“We have contributors from throughout the city including developers, business owners, parents, and working families who believe in the vision of the Change for Children progressive platform and that the current board lacks the leadership, commitment, and know-how to make the changes needed. Unlike our opponents on the Education Matters ticket, we are completely open and transparent on our contributions and expenditures. Jersey City residents deserve that. Jersey City residents just received a mailer promoting the Education Matters slate paid for by a dark money PAC whose contributors are hidden and expenditures are disguised to cover up the hundreds of thousands of dollars they are spending to elect this slate. We call on the Education Matters candidates to come clean and disavow these dark money groups who are trying to influence this election.”

Apparently referring to twice-indicted former Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas, who ran and lost on the Education Matters ticket in 2019, the statement goes on:

“This is the same group that tried to elect the corrupt leadership of the Board of Education last year that was arrested for trading cash for contracts and stealing taxpayer money for his personal use. Because of this dark money PAC, Jersey City residents have no way of knowing if any of those who got those corrupt contracts contributed to the PAC.”

However, in an initial filing with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, Change For Children has disclosed that former Fulop Chief of Staff Muhammed Akil was authorized to “sign checks or otherwise make transactions” on the Change for Children bank account. While he no longer has such authority, he is still involved in the campaign. In 2018, Akil was caught on a profanity-ridden recording allegedly trying to rig a bid for a city contract. He was subsequently hired by Assemblywoman Angela McKnight.

Education Matters Candidate Lorenzo Richardson

The BOE has been beset by challenges. First, a 2018 change in the formula by which the state helps fund school districts hit Jersey City particularly hard. Jersey City was permitted under companion legislation to impose a 1% payroll tax to help fill the funding gap and did so in November of 2018. However, the payroll tax turned out to be only a partial solution. This year, facing a $120 million shortfall, the BOE adopted a $736 million budget. To do so, it hiked the school tax levy by 39% raising it from $136 million to $189 million. This had the effect of raising  the average homeowner’s tax bill over $550. St. Peter’s University professor and education advocate Brigid D’Souza, who had called the underfunding “unconscionable,” termed the ultimate budget “a welcome local step to address years of chronic underfunding.”

The budget remains a cause for concern however.  Because of Covid-19, collections from the payroll tax are down by 20%, putting receipt by the school district of the full $86 million it has expected in some doubt. One board member has said that property taxes will have to rise by another $50 million for each of the next four years.

Teaching during a pandemic has presented yet another challenge. On March 16, schools closed and learning shifted to the internet. Initially, Superintendent Franklin Walker planned to re-open schools in September, but pushback from the New Jersey Education Association and a spike in coronavirus cases where schools had reopened, caused him to postpone reopening until November at the earliest.

The Change For Children slate has staked out positions on a number of issues. Pointing to Thomas’ indictment and “ethics violations” by current board President Richardson, they propose a tightening of ethics rules including potential removal “from leadership posts, fines, and possible expulsion from the Board…a ban on contributions to Board candidates for at

Education Matters candidate LeKendrick Shaw

least two years from those with contracts with the Board and a mandate that members step down from leadership positions until serious and credible ethics violations have been cleared.” They propose a ” requirement that most (if not all) professional contracts must go out to public bid.”

As to finances, Change for Children argues that Education Matters has prioritized the interests of “administrators and union bosses” and promises a “budget plan [that] pegs all spending to  long-term strategic plans and gets rid of the waste, corruption, administrative costs, hidden tax hikes, and gimmicky budget tricks currently plaguing the School Board budget.” On school reopening, Change for Children takes the position that “schools should not reopen for in-person instruction until we have the ability to reliably, quickly, and affordably test our student, teacher, and employee populations.” The slate calls for “proper HVAC ventilation systems to prevent COVID-19 transmission, advanced cleaning protocols for the cleaning and disinfection of all school facilities, and stocking adequate PPE for teachers and children.”

Education Matters’ platform is succinct:  “Safe buildings to welcome back students when the time is right, supporting the mental health of students and families, bridging the digital divide to ensure that all students have what they need to be successful, and implementing community feedback in improving communication between all stakeholders in the Jersey City Public Schools.” It also touts its endorsements from the Jersey City Education Association, Freeholders Bill O’Dea and Joel Torres, and Councilman Daniel Rivera.

A request by Jersey City Times for more detailed policy proposals from Education Matters has gone unanswered.

Header photo:  Change for Children Candidates Asheenia Johnson, Sonia Cintron and Karen Poliski.

 

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Controversial Board Members Ousted at TECCS

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With Wednesday night’s re-election defeats of board trustees Sonya “Terry” Still, Peter Went and Robyn Grodner, the turmoil at The Ethical Community Charter School (TECCS) over the ouster of former principal Marta Bergamini may be over.

In June, the Board’s executive committee, comprised of Still, Went, Veronica Park and Gordon Gemma, terminated Bergamini, touching off a firestorm of criticism from parents and other board members who charged that the committee had acted without justification or proper authority. A petition to reinstate Bergamini garnered 600 signatures. Trustee and lawyer Daniel Ackman was quoted by Jersey City Times as calling the termination both “illegal and unethical.” There was talk of lawsuits.  Still filed an ethics complaint against Ackman. Ackman moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that his statements to the press were both factual and ethically permitted. On Wednesday, board member Pamela Sidran made a motion to remove Ackman from the board. The motion failed.

Board Chair Nia Armstrong

Last month, this writer weighed in on the Bergamini controversy with an editorial critical of the executive committee’s actions.

With the resignations of Park on Wednesday, and Gemma last month, the board has been left with only five trustees.  The board attorney, Joe Maddaloni Jr., who had been supportive of the executive committee’s actions, also resigned. A date has not been set to fill the empty seats. Board member and TECCS parent Nia Armstrong was elected as the new board chair.

“There’s a lot of relief that the bad actors are off the board,” said parent Mike Vago.

“Marta was treated despicably.  They [the executive committee] tried to destroy her career and her legacy,” said Ann Wallace, a founding board member at TECCS.  “I have yet to meet a supporter of departing trustees,” said Meredith Whitefield, president of the TECCS Family School Association.

Nevertheless, the episode has left scars that will take more than one night to heal.  “They’ve cost us a ton of money,” Vago continued, pointing to legal fees and the loss of funding from The Simon Foundation and the Ethics in Education Network.  “They left a mess to be cleaned up…hopefully we can repair those relationships for the sake of the new principal.”  Beyond money, in a school of 396 students, close to 10% left, many prompted by the the controversy and uncertainty that it brought about.

According to Wallace, there are lessons to be learned from the experience. “There are fundamental problems with the by-laws that we weren’t aware of until they were put to the test.”  Although her children have now graduated, she’s eager to work on fixing them if asked.  She’s also optimistic that the school can restore its reputation with financial supporters.

In August, with a start of the school year looming,  a search committee made up of parents and board members recommended that the school hire Chloe Lewis, a fourteen-year education veteran who has worked as a teacher, math supervisor, curriculum supervisor, vice-principal, and principal.

Parents and educators appear to be hopeful that a page has been turned.

Said Whitefield, “We just want to see the school heal.”

 

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September 24 School Board Meeting Highlights

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At the Jersey City School Board meeting this past Thursday evening, Superintendent Franklin Walker led two presentations on mandates by the state of New Jersey.

Deputy Superintendent Norma Fernandez presented data that will be reported to the state on students that graduated in 2020. According to Fernandez, 1,678 students graduated from public high school in Jersey City in 2020.  The state will use this number to calculate graduation rates.

Ellen Ruane, Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction presented the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning) curriculum mandated by the state of New Jersey. In 2019, New Jersey adopted a law requiring local schools boards to include and adopt instructional materials that accurately portray LGBTQ individuals. New Jersey was the second state after California to adopt this type of law.

Ms. Ruane explained the law and reviewed the work of the Curriculum and Instruction Department on aligning the city’s schools with the mandate. According to Ruane, the law provides a broad charge, not a blue print.  In the city’s high schools, the LGBTQ curriculum will get integrated into history classes; in middle schools the material, which includes the need to respect those who identify as LGBTQ, will get integrated into school climate issues such as school safety. The middle school curriculum will also be amended to designate the week of January 18–22, 2021, “No Name Calling Week.”

All of the items to be voted on during the meeting were approved with one exception:  replacing the district’s current corporate counsel (Bryant Horsely) with Mr. Robert J. Pruchnik. It was pointed out that Pruchnik previously worked for the district, at which time the board decided to vote “no” on the matter for the time being so that they could take up the issue of Mr. Pruchnik’s candidacy more closely in a subsequent closed session.

In response to a question, from Trustee Gerald Lyons, Superintendent Walker confirmed that no spectators will be allowed at football games.

The next virtual Jersey City School Board meeting will be held Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m.

For past coverage of Jersey City School Board meetings, please click here.

 

Header:  Jersey City Times file photo

 

 

 

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Laptop Shortage, Lack of Internet Access Behind Bumpy Start to Remote Learning

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With internet access going from luxury to necessity, communities can wind up completely out of the loop as state’s virtual curriculum looks to gain traction

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By Raven Santana

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop pointed to Zoom glitches, laptop delays and not enough Chromebooks as some of the issues the city experienced while opening the virtual school door last week for some 30,000 students.

“Early August, there was a rush from every municipality, literally across the county, to secure Chromebooks and that’s created delays, and obviously frustration, along with that,” the mayor said.

The issues were addressed by Jersey City Public Schools Superintendent Franklin Walker during a virtual town hall meeting.

“We had almost 10,000 parents complete the survey. And during that period of time, 24% said they needed a device, so we were looking at 2,400 requests. And based upon that, that’s what we planned our survey around and planned our need to fulfill the technology support for students,” Water said.

“I hear really mixed feedback from parents. A lot of them are struggling with some of the information, but, you know, it’s really uncharted territories for the Board of Education and the superintendent. It’s not easy and people are doing their best to work with them, but there is a degree of frustration,” Fulop said. “We hope that parents are patient. We are doing our best as a city and hopefully we’ll be back in school sooner than later.”

Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland) says the technological gap expands far beyond the basic problems of not being able to provide students with Chromebooks.

“I think what has fallen through the cracks in this state is the fact that there are still sections of our state that don’t have access to the internet. So even if that student had a Chromebook or had a laptop given to them, the internet access is spotty at best,” Testa said. “Access to the internet for years was deemed a luxury, but now it’s a necessity. There are sections, significant sections, of my home county that do not have easy access to the internet.”

Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the issue at his coronavirus briefing on Monday.

“I’m not happy at all with the existence of any digital divide — rural, urban or suburban,” Murphy said. “But I don’t think any state is doing as much as we are doing right now to close that, and it ain’t going to be overnight.”

Vineland High School principal Suzette DeMarchi and assistant principal Jacqueline Roman Alvarez say their students now have internet every day. Their remedy for spotty internet came in the form of a grant for hotspots.

“What this does is it gives us the opportunity to get a free device with internet access — that hotspot — in our students’ hands that are in need. Yes, many of our families do have access. However, we need to make sure it’s in the hands of all,” DeMarchi said.

“There are layers to this that we are still honing in on. Again, this is a pandemic. It is uncharted territory,” Roman Alvarez said.

It’s called lesson planning on the fly and there’s no previous syllabus to draw from for administrators.

 

Header:  Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

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‘This Pandemic Has Taken Everything from Us’ — Student Rep’s Plea to State Board

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Incoming senior at second state Board of Education meeting urges help for fellow students

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By John Mooney

The student representative to the State Board of Education typically gets a few words at the beginning of the monthly meetings, often focusing on a specific issue of interest.

But the start of the board’s virtual meeting yesterday offered a chance for Sabrina Capoli, the newest student member and an incoming senior at Seneca High School in Tabernacle, to touch on a topic on everyone’s mind: reopening schools in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And she didn’t mince words.

Capoli, also president of her high school’s senior class, spoke of the sacrifices her generation has made over the past six months and the challenges ahead. With the help of the state’s student council association, she conducted her own survey of more than 1,000 middle and high school students across New Jersey — not exactly scientific polling but including some good advice and insights for the adults. And she talked about the mental-health toll on students that everyone will need to pay attention to as schools reopen both in buildings and remotely.

The following is a lightly edited version of her full statement:

“Thank you, Madame President and good morning, everyone.

“The New Jersey Department of Education has been committed to promoting social and emotional learning in schools in the past, but I believe that I speak on behalf of every student in New Jersey when I stress that this commitment is more important now than ever before. This pandemic has taken everything from us. For many of us, this virus has stolen precious moments from our hands that we will never get back.

‘Hard to recover’

“Teachers, staff and administrators, I call upon you to recognize that you may be able to make up for lost time in future years, but we, the students, will not. Proms, musicals, athletic seasons, graduations — gone. This will be hard to recover from in the coming school year. It is difficult to look at this year with an open mind, or heart for that matter.

“For this reason, students will need to ease back into their normal routine, while staff ensures that they are not overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork. Along with that, many surveyed students requested academic breaks throughout the day to help reduce stress. This could go hand in hand with another type of break: mask breaks. Implementing a designated time where students can be outside without a mask may reduce the chance of those students removing it during the school day, while promoting responsible decision-making.

“Other aspects of responsible decision-making will include practicing good hygiene and social distancing. Posting song lyrics on bathroom walls that take 30 seconds to sing can help students wash their hands effectively, and purchasing decals placed six feet apart for the hallways may help encourage social distancing.

“When we return to school in the fall, this may be the first time some students will have interacted with their peers in almost six months. This separation most likely has stunted the growth students have made in important aspects of social-emotional learning, such as “social skills” and “pro-social behaviors.” In a survey I conducted that reached almost every county in New Jersey, around 79% of students reacted negatively to their online learning experience. Of that 79%, 91% of those students blamed their poor experience on lack of socialization.

“To ensure that students are getting their social “fill,” classroom or small group discussions could be prioritized in class, and even used as a learning tool, similar to a Socratic seminar or a class debate. This collaboration will also help students later in life when they enter the workforce.

‘Helping remote-only students stay connected’

“Sadly, some students, for varying reasons, may not be able to return to in-person education for the 2020-2021 school year. These students must not be forgotten. Live Zoom calls, or daily messages from staff, help foster an inclusive learning atmosphere which will help promote a sense of self-confidence and a feeling of significance for these to completely remote students.

“Other helpful resources can include guidance counselor sessions, therapy dog visits (which we have at my school and are awesome) and general awareness encouraged by staff, in terms of mental health and the available resources.

“In order to sustain the mental, social and emotional health of the young people of New Jersey, staff members — the people we rely on for guidance — will need to be proactive. A student’s mental health dictates every action they make, from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep.

“The six-foot divide between us will not divide the students of New Jersey. The bonds we make in school are too strong to let spatial distance separate our hearts. This coming school year will look very different from any other, but I am excited to see where it may take us, students, staff and New Jerseyans alike.

“Thank you.”

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Editorial: A Teachable Moment For TECCS

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A sad spectacle is playing out at The Ethical Community Charter School, the well-regarded K-8 school in Jersey City’s Marion neighborhood, better known as TECCS. On June 30, the four person executive committee of the school’s board of trustees fired its long serving and beloved principal, Marta Bergamini, without consulting parents or other board members. A firestorm ensued. Parents signed a petition calling for Bergamini’s re-hiring. The board then voted to reopen contract negotiations.  On July 27th, the executive committee announced that the negotiations with Bergamini had failed.  The executive committee refused to explain the outcome.  Now, with some parents apparently pulling out their kids and its future uncertain, the school is leaderless moving into a Fall semester already challenged by the covid-19 pandemic.

There is a lesson in all of this, one that should become part of TECCS’ curriculum. Here’s my suggestion for the first class.

Good morning kids. Today I’d like to talk to you about law and ethics. What does that mean?  It means that, as citizens, we all agree to follow a set of rules. We write laws because we know that sometimes people will do bad things that hurt other people. For instance, if we didn’t have laws against stealing, some people would take property that didn’t belong to them. Now, some people wouldn’t steal even if there were no law against it. That’s called being ethical.  An ethical person behaves a certain way, not because the law requires it, but because it’s the right thing to do.  It’s the way we would want other people to treat us.  Sometimes that’s called the golden rule.

Because ethics is an important part of what we teach here at TECCS we wanted to tell you about something that happened at the school over the summer. In late June, several individuals on our school’s board of trustees did something they shouldn’t have. While their intentions may have been honorable, it wasn’t legal or ethical. First, they didn’t follow the law when they decided to fire our principal. You see, there’s something called the by-laws. The by-laws are a written set of rules that tell the members of a board of trustees what they can and can’t do. In the case of our board of trustees, only the full board can hire or fire the principal. But, sadly, a small group called the executive committee decided to exercise that power without the rest of the board members. And then there’s another law called the “New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act.” The Open Meetings Act requires boards to debate important issues openly and to vote publicly before acting. The executive committee didn’t hold an open meeting or vote publicly. So, kids, when they fired Ms. Bergamini, they didn’t do so legally.

What makes it even worse, young ones, is that in this case, the executive committee didn’t act ethically either. They didn’t seem to consider the fact that it was wrong.  Why was it wrong? For two reasons. First, most of the board members did not want to fire Ms. Bergamini and wanted to be part of the decision making process. When the executive committee let her go, they were disregarding the feelings and rights of others. That’s unethical. Second, we know that none of the executive committee members would want to be treated the way they treated their fellow board members. So, class, they also broke the golden rule.

We understand that many of you are upset to see adults behave illegally and unethically. In life, you will, unfortunately, see this happen again. The important thing is that you speak out when people act this way. One day, you will be in charge and our democracy will depend on it.

Any questions?

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