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Class Schedules Tweaked for More Student Support

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At this past Thursday’s meeting, Superintendent Franklin Walker announced minor changes to class schedules that will go into effect district wide beginning December 2. These changes are based on observations during the first marking period, he said, when it became apparent that more time is required for student support. The amount of time devoted to instruction will remain the same.

“During the second marking period, the student’s schedule from pre-school to eighth grade will include independent learning activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoons,” Walker announced. “During this independent time, students who need assistance will be scheduled for individual or group support from 1:30 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.” Teachers will themselves engage in “professional learning” from 2:15 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.

Walker continued: “High school students will work independently on Wednesday afternoons. During this time, students who need assistance will be scheduled for independent or small group support from 1:30 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.” Teachers will then have time for professional learning from 2:15 p.m. to 3:10 p.m. He stated, “Now these adjustments will allow teachers to work with students who need support.”

Board Vice President Gina Verdibello questioned the new schedule and asked if teachers had been consulted on it.  She also referenced a report comparing attendance during the first marking period of this year to that of 2019, which had been presented at Monday’s caucus. According to the report, attendance was down this year across all age groups but decreased the most —by over 20% — amongst middle schoolers. Further analysis of the report reveals that attendance dropped the most in low-income neighborhoods of the city.

The report concluded with a list of six actions the district took to address the attendance problem. Despite these efforts, efforts, however, Verdibello suggested that parents need further support.

During the public speaking session, a P.S. 5 parent of two students expressed concern about the new schedule and asked it to be reconsidered. Instead of a blanket change across the district, she suggested surveying and making changes at the school level. She noted the current schedule is working for many students. Despite Walker’s assurances to the contrary, she said the new schedule would reduce time with teachers.

All of the agenda items to be voted on during the meeting were approved.

The next virtual Jersey City School Board meeting will be held Thursday, December 17, at 6 p.m.

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

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the attendance report mentioned by Verdibello did not break down attendance by middle school and high school. In fact it did.

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

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Superintendent Walker Doubts JC Schools Will Reopen Before November

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At the Jersey City School Board meeting this past Thursday evening, Superintendent Walker cast doubt that Jersey City’s schools would reopen before November.

“My concerns are that if we are out in September, there is a good chance we will be out in October as well,” the superintendent said. He added that if they do decide in September that the schools will reopen, it will still take weeks to put things in place:

“There is a good chance with us not going back in September it probably means we will not go back until November, if we go back. If we do not go back in November, we could be out till January. Our position is to err on the side of caution when it comes to the safety and welfare of our children.”

Superintendent Walker also spoke about scheduling and other matters.

There will be a “hybrid schedule for staff and possible furlough for others,” he noted, and class schedules would be posted on the district’s website. Teachers will take attendance at the start of each class and, as requested by parents, all schools will have “a nurse and an assistant.” The superintendent also reported that terminal pay for retirees had been approved by the board and would be released.

The meeting also featured remarks by Victor Pennetta, whose company, Pennetta Industrial Automation, has been brought in by the district to address concerns over ventilation in the schools.  Pennetta said that the board had “kept up with code” over bring fresh air into classrooms and other spaces in the schools including the older buildings over the years. He noted that each classroom has ventilation equipment that brings in the legally requisite amount of fresh air and has an exhaust system that pulls the inside air out.

“We are constantly bringing in fresh air, and we are  constantly purging classrooms,” Pannetta said. “The air goes through a filtering system before being distributed. When reducing students in the space, the ventilation will be much better, and there will be additional ventilation and exhaust. They have been going through the buddings with Facilities [the Facilities Department] making sure systems are up to snuff, and so far everything has been pretty good.”

Finally, the meeting featured discussion about when the school board should meet next. Board member Mussab Ali asked whether the next meeting, which is slated for September 24, should be moved up to give parents more notice should the district decide to reopen schools in October. Given the length of time needed to prepare for reopening and the fact that it is already late August, Superintendent said that the next meeting could indeed remain September 24.

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.

 

 

 

J.C. School Board Prepares for September Reopening

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A week after voting to adopt a $736 million budget for the 2020-2021 school year, the Jersey City Public Schools met to discuss preparations for the September reopening of the district’s 39 schools. Since schools closed March 16, teachers have been instructing students via the internet. They’ll continue doing so until Governor Phil Murphy authorizes schools to reopen.

At Thursday’s virtual meeting, the board’s nine trustees addressed special education classes’ returning to A. Harry More School and bringing in professional cleaning services to help district custodians get the schools ready for the fall. In addition, Superintendent Franklin Walker announced that due to Covid-19 restrictions, all June graduation ceremonies will be held virtually.

Students With Special Needs

Jersey City parent Barbara Hildner opened the public comments portion of the meeting to say she was concerned about  students with disabilities’ moving back to A. Harry Moore School. Last year, the students were relocated to Gerald R. Dynes Regional day school when a portico at A. Harry Moore School collapsed, halting classes until repairs were made. Once A. Harry Moore School reopens, only two of its five floors will be used for classroom instruction, Hildner said, crowding students into already cramped classrooms. There also seems to be an issue with meals for students on special diets: They aren’t getting them.

“Everybody agrees that the school cannot be successfully housed at Regional day (school), and there’s a plan to bring A. Harry Moore back to its original building, but the problems will move to A. Harry Moore if it’s relocated to just two floors,” Hildner said. “The plan is to have the same food service that provides meals throughout the Jersey City school system provide meals for A. Harry Moore students, (but) they are unable to accommodate any of the students who have dietary needs. That’s a problem that’s moving from Regional day to A. Harry Moore.”

Superintendent Walker responded by saying that A. Harry Moore School had been fully evaluated and cleared to reopen in September:

“We set up a timeline and currently that timeline is in place. We are on pace to develop a structure to provide full services and be fully functional to students at A. Harry Moore. As we move through this process, we are still tweaking some of our plans to make it the best circumstance for A. Harry Moore students.”

Vice President Gina Verdibello asked that the plan for A. Harry More School be made available to the board for review, and Superintendent Walker assured the board he would send them each a copy.

Cleaning Schools A-Z

Bayonne resident Mary Cruz called in to share her concern about mold and fungus growing in the closed school buildings. She recommended hiring a professional cleaning service so that all buildings are safe for children and staff. Cruz said: “Mold is the result of the air conditioning system being shut down since March. Take this time to bring in professionals to work with our custodial staff to clean each building to prevent students and staff from becoming ill.”

Every year a plan is put in place to ensure the entire school district’s buildings are clean, sanitary, and healthy for anyone who enters, Superintendent Walker said. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, every building will be thoroughly cleaned before the September reopening.

“Our top priority is the health and welfare of our students,” Superintendent Walker said. “That’s not something were going to take for granted. We have a custodial stuff in place for when school reopens. We also want to make available a (professional) cleaning service. As we did in the past, we will have air quality control measures that are taken where we test air quality. Some places we even test the walls, take chips from the walls to make sure they’re safe.”

Board trustee Gerald Lyons addressed custodial concerns. School custodians who have been cleaning the buildings told him they wanted Superintendent Walker and the board to know that when they do come up with a cleaning plan, if additional services are needed, the custodial staff is both trained and willing to do what’s necessary.

Bridging the Divide with Remote Learning

During the pandemic, teachers have been teaching remotely with the help of guidelines and tips from the state board of education. While this has allowed classes to continue uninterrupted, it has exposed serious inequities within the district’s student population and a significant conceptual flaw : Not all families in Jersey City have computers and internet access at home; therefore not all children could immediately or easily participate.

“Remote learning will never take the place of in-person instruction, but there are things we can do that are beneficial to the learning process that support remote learning,” Superintendent Walker said, referring to the board of education’s recent distribution of 3,500 Chromebooks (laptops) to students in Grades 3 to 12.

School Schedule for 2020-2021

Jersey City School Board Virtual Meeting Thursday, May 21, 2020

Schools will not be open in the summer, Superintendent Walker said. There will be an enrichment program for students and professional development programs for teachers. Deputy Superintendent of Schools Dr. Norma Fernandez announced that teachers would return to school on September 8 and students on September 10. The last day of the 2020-2021 school year will be June 25.

Virtual Graduations

 All commencement celebrations in Jersey City public schools will be virtual, Superintendent Walker said. To celebrate Jersey City’s graduating students, the Loew’s theater in Journal Square will honor them on its marquee.

Superintendent Walker advised parents, teachers and school board members to be patient as the board of education makes preparations to reopen the schools.

“We need to be a little patient to help students to succeed and prepare for September,” Superintendent Walker said. “We have committees in place for the closing and reopening, (and) we are all meeting and exchanging ideas, but the pandemic has changed everything. As soon as we receive the guidelines (to reopen) I will make them available to the public.”

The next virtual school board meeting will be held Thurs, June 25 at 6 p.m.

For previous reporting on A. Harry Moore school, click here.

education apple

No Immediate Cuts in State Aid to Schools in Murphy’s Revised 2020 Spending Plan

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But increases to direct aid, as well as boosts to preschool and special education, end up on cutting-room floor

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 he scrambles to close a multibillion-dollar budget hole, Gov. Phil Murphy will likely face little choice but to take a sizable sum out of New Jersey’s public schools, which represents the single largest slice of state spending.

But at least for now, schools have been left largely spared.

On Friday, the Murphy administration presented its revisions to the fiscal 2020 budget in the face of COVID-19, announcing more than $5 billion in overall cuts and deferrals across state government.

That included more than $330 million Murphy and state treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio pulled back in proposed increases in state school aid for the next academic year and all funding for preschool expansion and for extraordinary special-education costs.

But they did not call for a cut in existing direct aid and said districts would get the same overall amount they saw in 2019-2020.

Allotments to be announced

An administration official said precise allotments for each district would be announced soon, once the state’s school-funding formula was run with the same amounts used in fiscal 2020.

That likely means districts that stood to gain under the formula last year would do so again, and those already facing cuts would also would need to make them.

“The formula is being rerun,” the official said in a background briefing with reporters on Friday. “So the districts that are overfunded, the reductions are going to follow the statutory reductions, and those overfunded amounts will be reallocated to the districts who are underfunded. But no additional funding is being pumped into those underfunded districts.”

School leaders over the weekend were still waiting for details from the administration to judge how their districts would fare, but several were relieved that there weren’t any blanket cuts in the offing, at least not yet.

“Some expected the kind of 5% across-the-board cuts that we all experienced back in ‘09 and ‘10,” said Elisabeth Ginsburg, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, representing more than 100 mostly suburban districts. “Needless to say, those individuals are relieved.”

Others said they were also pleased that Murphy was at least following the formula under the state’s School Funding Reform Act, albeit at a lower level.

“It is encouraging to learn that the governor appears committed to school funding that remains aligned to SFRA, even if on a proportional basis,” said Mike LaSusa, superintendent of Chatham Schools. “When Gov. Christie slashed funding a decade ago, he did so with zero relationship to the formula and that led to a decade of haphazard funding.”

What will September bring?

Nonetheless, he and others said big questions remain going forward, including what the precise figures will be and, of course, what schools will look like come September.

“If, for example, we learn by the end of June what we can expect in terms of funding, and we also learn that it will not be possible to run athletics in the fall, that would help us make sound decisions now,” LaSusa said.

“We all understand there is pain ahead; the sooner the governor can inform us of the particulars of the pain, the better we can manage it,” he added.

A big question also surrounds what happens after this extended fiscal year ends and the next begins.

Murphy is slated to announce a new state budget for fiscal 2021 in late August. In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” this weekend, he said schools would surely be among those facing cuts and possible layoffs if the state does not see significant relief from the federal government.

“This includes potentially laying off educators, firefighters, police, EMS, health care workers,” Murphy said. “This is not abstract. This is real.”

David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, said the federal government — even beyond this year — will need to step up to avert a further crisis in the schools.

“Flat state funding will get us through the next few months, coupled with $400 million in federal emergency funds to help reopen schools safe and ready for students,” he said in an email yesterday.

“But the forecast of big cuts in state school aid to be backfilled with new rounds of federal crisis funds is not a viable long-term strategy,” he wrote. “The only solution is a major, recurring infusion of federal funds over the next three to five years, to be reduced only when the state revenue sufficiently recovers to make up the shortfall.”

 

Header: Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

empty class room

Fine Print: NJ School Boards’ Report Starts Conversation on Reopening

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Ten recommendations for issues to be considered and questions to be answered

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

Title: “Searching for a ‘New Normal’ in New Jersey’s Public Schools”

Author: The New Jersey School Boards Association, representing more than 500 public boards of education statewide.

What it is: The report lays out a series of recommendations for how the state and its public schools should proceed toward reopening in the fall. The recommendations range from those about immediate support for mental health services and remedial education to those focused on providing local communities a variety of options for restarting.

What it means: As the academic year enters its last month and remote instruction set to remain in place, the next discussion will concern how schools will restart in September. The association’s report is comprehensive in raising and exploring a number of key issue, as well as still unresolved questions to be considered.

Survey results: The report also includes a survey of districts and the options they are exploring, including split schedules and alternating between in-person and remote instruction. A third of respondents said alternate scheduling is among their early plans, as were other hybrid options that involved using online instruction. Only a tenth supported the option of extending the school week to six days.

Introductory quote: “In the two months since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of our public schools, everyone involved in education has made a valiant effort to transition our students to digital learning,” said NJSBA executive director Lawrence Feinsod. “But now, as we look toward the reopening of schools, New Jersey’s education community faces even greater challenges.”

The 10 recommendations:

  • Mental health: Before schools reopen, school districts “should make a sustained effort to establish a sense of calm and trust so that learning, and assessment of learning, can occur.”
  • Communication: All stakeholders should be fully informed about the steps to be taken and what the “new normal” will be.
  • Personal protective equipment: Clear guidelines should establish the level and use of PPE.
  • Emergency action plan: Before schools reopen, boards of education should revise closing plans in case school buildings are again shuttered.
  • Diagnostic tools: Assessments should be administered to determine each student’s educational progress and to identify the need for remediation.
  • Remedial programs: The state should identify available funding for school districts to address the remedial needs of students.
  • Flexibility: The New Jersey Department of Education should ensure that districts have the financial and regulatory flexibility they need to respond to the crisis.
  • Updated financial data: The state must provide local boards of education with updated information on funding for the 2020-2021 school year.
  • Menu of options for reopening: Options must be developed and offered to districts for what reopening looks like, including examinations of plans in other states.
  • Help teacher candidates complete training: The state should formulate an appropriate plan to provide an adequate pool of teacher candidates for the upcoming year.

 

Header: Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

 

School Board Prepares Contingency Plan for Reopening Schools in Fall

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New Task Force Likely to be Created to Set Guidelines

At Thursday’s Jersey City School Board meeting, trustees discussed a contingency plan for reopening schools in the fall. If Governor Phil Murphy orders schools to reopen in September, School Superintendent Franklin Walker and members of the board agreed that now’s the time to create a Covid-19 task force to oversee the details.

Trustees offered input on the steps necessary for reopening schools. Superintendent Walker emphasized safety as a main priority, thereby creating a Covid-free environment for teachers, students and administrators. Regularly disinfecting schools, testing students for coronavirus symptoms and enforcing social distancing and face mask restrictions are just some of the items on the school board’s to-do list.

“At this time, we don’t have any specifics on the re-entry of schools,” Superintendent Walker said. “If we go back, we’re not going to go back until September, if we’re lucky. The pandemic has changed how we do everything. As we await the governor’s announcement that New Jersey will reopen, we must be patient and help students succeed in the remainder of the school year.”

Superintendent Walker reassured parents watching the virtual meeting that prior to the reopening of schools, there will be transparency to “make them fully aware of what’s involved in the re-opening.”

Schools’ Covid-19 Task Force 

Superintendent Walker and the board discussed the need to assemble a Covid-19 task force of board members, teachers and parents to outline and orchestrate the reopening of Jersey City’s schools and the re-entry of its 30,000 students.

“Do we have children wear masks, do we reduce the number of children in each class for social distancing, do we incorporate the Copenhagen structure where some students go in the morning, some go in the afternoon?” Walker said. “We have to have a task force to come together and identify a structure and a process for when we bring students back. As long as the executive order is in place it gives us flexibility to customize our district to the safety and welfare of our students. Right now, before we decide we’re opening schools back up after the governor gives us the okay, we have to fine tune the details.”

Trustee Gerald Lyons and Vice President Gina Verdibello voiced concern about face masks for staff and children.

“Masks for children are a lot smaller,” Vice President Verdibello said. “If they do go back to school and wear a mask, that has to be considered. Let’s hope they fit right and get provided for free for every child when they come in.”

Superintendent Walker discussed temperature screenings to detect Covid-19 on a call with Mayor Steven Fulop and the Office of Emergency Management and Stacey Flanagan, director of Jersey City’s Health and Human Services Department, he said. Superintendent Walker said there’s a need for partnering with the city to help defray certain costs, like testing students for Covid-19 at a cost of 50 cents per test.

“The question came up, ‘Who is going to pay for the test?’” Walker said. “Who is going to pay for 30,000 students? We can test the students today, and tomorrow it can be a different situation. We don’t have the finances to support that, but as a city, based on stimulus and other monies available, there may be monies for that.”

It was announced in April, that New Jersey will receive $3.5 billion from the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (aka the CARES Act) funding which was signed into law on March 27. Jersey City Schools will get a portion of Jersey City’s allotment.

“I am upset at our City Fathers talking about how we are going to afford testing,” Trustee Marilyn Roman said. “This district has done a great job. We’ve done all we can to keep the children alive and healthy. This is important. You have to do it. It’s important to keep our kids safe no matter how much it costs.”

During the public comments section of the meeting, Jersey City resident Mary Cruz called in with concerns about cleaning the schools.

“People are talking about opening the schools,” Cruz addressed the board by phone. “Using the cleaning supplies that the Board of Ed buys for custodians does not satisfy the place being clean. We need to sanitize the toys used by the children in Pre-K. We can’t take any chances. Who’s going to clean those children’s toys?”

Superintendent Walker addressed Cruz’s concerns about school cleanliness. He said that prior to reopening, the Board of Education will perform a comprehensive cleaning of all the schools.

“Because of the circumstance of the health crisis we’re in, the process will be much greater, and it could require additional professional services to support that,” Walker said. “We are in the planning stage. We’re cautiously planning. We want strong support from state and city on what we do preparing students to enter the building. Our position is to keep everything in line as this whole process evolves.”

A Two-Day School Week

Trustee Alexander Hamilton thanked Superintendent Walker for keeping a sense of unity in the school district during the pandemic. He also voiced his support for students having a two-day school week.

“Some kids go Monday and Wednesday, other kids go Tuesday and Friday, and one day they clean the school,” Hamilton said. “That’s what my son misses the most, to see his teachers and his classmates. I would love to work with you on something like that. Let’s make sure we can use the foundation you created and come up with a plan that the children still have touch points with their teachers.”

Trustees Noemi Velasquez and Marilyn Roman brought up their concern about sanitizing the schools and how regular cleaning doesn’t offer enough security for the teachers. Roman said regular testing for Covid-19 needs to be put in place for the teachers and everyone else to feel safe in the schools.

“Everything has to do with testing,” Roman said. “Why would we send these teachers back to schools knowing they might be sick or asymptomatic? Doesn’t there have to be a testing process? As a teacher, I would not be comfortable unless I knew everybody was well. Maybe our department of health can help us? We need to start right away. It takes a long time to get those testing kits.”

President Richardson and the trustees adjourned the public portion of the meeting and went into private session for further discussion. Before signing off, Superintendent Walker expressed to the parents and the board watching the virtual meeting that living through these tough days, it’s important to never lose hope.

“Those of us who can dream, must dream,” Walker added. “I dream next school year we can meet the academic, health and social needs of all of our students.”

In Other News

On Monday, Governor Phil Murphy announced that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, New Jersey schools will stay closed the rest of the term.

“All schools will remain closed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year — to protect the health of our children, our educators and their families,” Governor Murphy announced on Twitter. “Guided by safety and science, this is the best course of action.”

Referendum Pulled

Mayor Steve Fulop and the Jersey City Council announced on Monday that the council will vote on a resolution at the May 6 council meeting to withdraw a referendum for voters to decide in November’s general election if the Board of Education should move to an appointed board.

“The world is a very different place today than it was in January when we approved the referendum,” Mayor Fulop said. “We still have major concerns with the Board of Education’s decision to raise taxes on residents during the pandemic, but the reality is we don’t want to be more disruptive to the schools when they return in September after being closed for months.”

Next Budget Meeting

The Jersey City Public Schools will hold its 2020-2021 budget adoption meeting virtually on Wed., May 13, beginning 6 p.m.

The meeting may be viewed live at https://www.facebook.com/TheSchoolDistrictOfJerseyCity.

new jersey department of education

Just the FAQs: What the State DOE Is Telling Schools About COVID-19

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The NJ Department of Education has been busy issuing guidance on numerous ways schools need to meet challenges of the coronavirus epidemic

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 of March 27:

For New Jersey’s schools, the changes imposed by the coronavirus pandemic are looking increasingly as if they’re here for the long haul.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced yesterday that any decision about how long New Jersey’s schools will remain closed and rely on remote learning will not be made until at least April 17, a month after his initial executive order to shutter schools.

The uncertainty has left open a host of questions about how schools will proceed — questions the state Department of Education has tried to answer in ongoing guidance.

The following are excerpts from that guidance, starting with the latest additions to the department’s FAQs.

It includes guidance about the latest graduation requirements for the class of 2020 after Murphy announced this week that state testing will be suspended. About 10% of students not passing those tests still would require a “portfolio appeals” process to graduate, a process now uncertain. There are also updates for teacher candidates suddenly put on hold.

Q: How can students, who must participate in the portfolio appeals process, meet their graduation assessment requirement if schools are closed?

A: “Portfolio appeals will continue to be reviewed on an ongoing basis. The NJDOE will extend the submission deadline of May 8, 2020, which is the district-submission deadline, to ensure the NJDOE will issue an approval in time for student participation in graduation ceremonies. The NJDOE is developing a process to electronically submit portfolio appeals and will provide additional information as soon as possible.”

“The NJDOE is encouraging districts and schools to develop a process to make Constructed Response Tasks (CRTs) available to students remotely. Some potential options include:

Post CRTs on district/school website.

Create a process and “drop box” for the electronic return to the district/school of completed CRTs.

Students without access to the internet can have CRTs mailed to them, complete them at home, and bring them for submission when school reopens.”

Q: Can I still apply for my educator certification?

A: “The online Teacher Certification Information System (TCIS) is available but with limited capacity. Candidates can complete an application, a notarized oath of allegiance and pay any fees online. The accompanying documents must still be submitted via mail to the Office of Educator Certification. There will be some delays in uploading the documents into TCIS and the NJDOE staff apologizes for this inconvenience.”

As of March 19:

The state Department of Education has been issuing guidance to New Jersey’s public schools for the past week about dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Included is a 15-page FAQ, frequently asked questions that range from the broad (what students must be served?) to the specific — addressing public meetings, for example.

The following are excerpts from the questions and answers included in the full FAQ, as well as other guidance. NJ Spotlight will update this document as more guidance is provided.

Q: How will districts ensure student attendance during the closures and the implementation of remote instruction?

A: “Any day on which all students impacted by a public health-related closure have access to home instruction services provided consistent with the guidance in this memo will count as (an instructional day) … Because such instruction is being provided, all students can be recorded as present for applicable days unless the district knowingly determines a student was not participating in any such instruction during health-related school closures.”

Q: What students must receive instruction?

A: “All students served by the district must be addressed in the plan, including students in preschool if the district has state-funded preschool and/or if the district services preschoolers with disabilities. The plans developed must include age-appropriate strategies and materials to meet the needs of all students. Districts offering preschool should remember to include contracted providers — private preschool providers and Head Start providers — in their planning activities. Each district plan must also include developmentally appropriate strategies and materials to meet the needs of all students with disabilities including those educated in out-of-district placements. Districts are encouraged to consult with the school in which the student is placed to provide continuity of instruction to the maximum extent practicable.”

Q: How might a district be able to administer home instruction remotely if families in our community do not have a device or Internet connectivity?

A: “Equitable access to learning is a critical consideration for any plan and will require that a district understands the limitations each student faces. Districts should consider collecting information on which students have access to a device, how that device is or is not shared, and what access each student has to a network. Schools and districts should take care to collect this information in a manner that avoids stigmatization of any students with varying degrees of access to technology and Internet service at home.”

“Instructional strategies should be varied and designed to meet the needs of the students. Districts should consider various solutions, such as utilizing partnerships with local community-based organizations and businesses, developing worksheets for instruction, or uploading of lessons electronically.”

“Accommodations and multiple means of conducting assignments should be considered for students with disabilities. If students with disabilities do not have access to internet connectivity to participate in remote or online home instruction, the IEP team will need to determine what compensatory instruction a student may require when their school district reopens.”

Q: How should students with disabilities, including students in special class programs, medically fragile students, students with one-to-one paraprofessionals and students receiving related services, be accommodated in the plan?

A: “Home instruction/services shall be consistent with the student’s Individualized Education Plan Program (IEP) to the most appropriate extent possible. Districts should talk to parents, who are key members of the IEP team, and help them consider how they may best ensure that students with disabilities have the necessary supports, including medical supports, in place during a public health-related school closure.”

Federal guidance on serving students with disabilities is available online.

Q: How should districts provide meals to students who receive free and reduced-price lunch during a closure?

A: “All boards of education must develop a school health-related closure-preparedness plan to provide home instruction in the event of such a closure. Each preparedness plan should address the provision of school nutrition benefits or services for eligible students.”

Q: How do COVID-19-related school closures affect statewide testing for school year 2019-2020?

A: “The NJDOE is communicating with the United States Department of Education (ED), other states in similar situations and school districts to develop guidance for long-term testing interruptions. We are currently evaluating all flexibilities and potential schedule changes and will provide guidance as school-reopening dates are confirmed.”

Federal guidance as it has been established thus far is available online.

Q: What options are available to boards of education to conduct business while minimizing the general public’s exposure during this period?

A: “School boards will likely need to hold public meetings to conduct business on various matters, such as developing a budget for the upcoming school year. In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), public meetings may be held in person or by means of communications equipment, including streaming services and other online meeting platforms. All meetings, including those held using communications equipment, must be noticed in a manner consistent with the requirement of the OPMA, unless the meeting is for emergent circumstances and held in a manner consistent with the requirements set forth at N.J.S.A. 10:4-9(b).”

“Boards of education are reminded that they are required to provide a means of public comment even if a meeting is held remotely. Further, if a board of education currently records the audio or video of its meetings, we recommend that it continue to record a remote meeting.”

 

Header: Image courtesy New Jersey Department of Education Facebook page

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