West Orange Schools Adapt As COVID Changes Take Place In NJ – Reverb MSN Music
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Starting Monday, there will be another tweak made to hybrid learning in the West Orange Public School District.
The change is taking place as the coronavirus risk level for Essex County – and the rest of the state – trends downward, according to health officials. Read More: COVID Cases In Essex County (Weekly Town-By-Town Update)
Last week, Superintendent Scott Cascone offered some coronavirus-related updates for local parents and students. They included:
HYBRID LEARNING – “Grades K-5: Beginning May 3, hybrid learning will shift to four half-days per week with synchronous instruction in the afternoon. Beginning May 7, Friday instruction will be synchronous/virtual days. Schedules will be shared by your building principal.”
COVID RISK – “According to the latest CALI index, the entire state of New Jersey including the Northeast Region in which West Orange resides concluded the week ending April 24, 2021 in the moderate risk range. As stated in previous communications, following two successive weeks within the moderate range, the district will reduce the social distance from six feet to three feet and be able to activate this plan for the combining of cohorts in Grades 6-12. We will continue to monitor the CALI index next week, if our region remains in the moderate range, the compression of cohorts will begin Monday, May 17. Notifications will be delivered from the building principal concerning schedules for students in this regard.”
Cascone also commented on Gov. Phil Murphy’s recent announcement that he expects all students to be back in school for full-time instruction by September 2021. Read More: Expect All NJ Schools To Reopen By Fall, Gov. Murphy Says
The superintendent wrote:
“At a recent press conference, Gov. Murphy announced his expectation for all students to be back in school in September 2021 for full-time instruction. In alignment, the district is planning to resume in-person instruction for all students as per our traditional school schedules. By September, we expect that the majority of our staff will be vaccinated and that remaining HVAC repairs will have been completed.
“Pandemic Response Teams will convene throughout the remainder of the year in order to continue to integrate health and safety protocols and monitor CDC and department of health guidelines in the event of projected modifications.
“While the intention of the district is to fully reopen in September 2021, our primary commitment is to the health and safety of our students and staff. As such, we will continue to adhere to all published CDC guidelines for public schools (as they are released), as well as remain responsive to potential fluctuations in COVID rates for West Orange.
“No one could have or would have imagined that one year later we would still be managing the pandemic and all its variables. While the instruction models may vary from school district to school district, there is no doubt that all of our schools, all of our families, and all of our students, staff, and leadership have been impacted in unimaginable ways. The district continues to strive to support our students and their families, as well as our staff. In this our mission has been unchanged.”
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