District News & Announcements
NJDOE: SOMSD School Health-Related Closure Plan
SOMSD Weekly Newsletter Wrap-Up: As a Matter of Fact, May 22
Superintendent Taylor: Memorial Day Message to the Community & Distance Learning Update
Hello SOMSD Family,
We hope this correspondence finds you and your families healthy and well. As we enter into our Memorial Day Holiday weekend, allow me to be among the first to wish you a restful and rejuvenating time with lots of sunshine and smiles. I am comfortable stating that none of us have ever entered this joyous time of year with more angst about the present or anxiety about the future (than we are currently experiencing).
We understand and acknowledge the grief that exists in our school community. We are grieving the loss of our shared experiences. We are grieving the loss of our daily face-to-face interactions (our jokes, our debates, our hugs etc.). We are grieving the loss of our culminating activities that some have waited a lifetime for. In short, we miss our school lives…our normalcy. However, some in our community, are grieving the literal loss of a loved one. To all who are coping with that unimaginable toll, we wish you peace.
Please know that your District’s leadership is working tirelessly in planning for whatever our new normal will be. We are preparing for our summer offerings and the fall return. We have learned so much from our current emergent circumstances. We are learning to be nimble, understanding that we may need to switch between a traditional school setting and distance learning (or a hybrid model) without much notice. We have learned that we as a District must expedite our planned investment in our technology; to that end our Board recently approved $500,000 towards the procurement of 2,500 Chromebooks to replace antiquated equipment and move us closer to a one-to-one ratio (device to student).
Most importantly, we have learned that what began as a temporary emergency measure may very well be with us far longer than any of us expected. To that end, we have spoken with our SOMEA partners (our collective bargaining unit for our teachers) and will be working together to plan for what we believe will be vast improvements in our distance learning capacity (which will include extensive professional development prior to the 2020-2021 school year). We will also be reviewing multiple digital platforms to determine a more streamline prescriptive approach, that will result in our distance learning methodology being more consistent (while protecting privacy), age-appropriate, and most of all safe for both students and teachers.
In closing, we are reviewing your responses to our digital distance learning survey and using your feedback to inform our plans (if you have not yet submitted survey feedback please click here). We are launching a School Re-opening Task Force that will include many representative members from our internal school community to ensure that we are taking into consideration the possible unintended consequences of well-intentioned ideas.
Lastly, as we enter the final weeks of the school year, please be assured that we are still here for you. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teachers and school leaders.
Thank you, wishing you and your families well.
Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools
Special Services: Distance Learning Update (5/20)
May 20, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I would first like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of the hard work teachers, therapists, school staff, and especially you as parents have been putting into Distance Learning. It has not gone unnoticed- thank you! On May 18, 2020, the South Orange & Maplewood Board of Education approved the SOMSD School Health Related Closure Plan. Included in this plan, there are some updates to the Special Services Distance Learning Plan that I would like to highlight and make you aware of. The updates in the plan reflect some of the great feedback that we have received from teachers and families. It is our hope that these updates will improve upon the learning experiences for all students with an IEP.
Special Services Updates:
1. Additional opportunities for increased Speech Therapy
2. Weekly personalized virtual interaction
3. Paraprofessional supports for students
Speech Therapy:
Contracted Speech therapists (who already have working relationships with the district) have been contracted to begin providing additional services to families. The contracted speech therapists will provide an extension of services already being provided. These speech therapists will be working directly from students’ IEPs, in order to assist with meeting IEP goals. These additional certified therapists will allow for the extension of therapy hours, while also providing consistency in service delivery. Each therapist has received an introduction from our lead speech therapist and has reviewed each IEP for every student they will be supporting.
Personalized Virtual Interaction:
While various platforms are being utilized across the district, and there is a focus on pre-recorded lessons, special education teachers specifically, will use Google Meet/Hangout to assist their students by using video or audio means to support the accommodations and modifications as set forth in IEPs. Students in grades PreK – 8 with an IEP will be contacted at least once a week for personalized virtual interaction with their special education teacher. The weekly live-interaction will be an opportunity with the teacher to follow-up on a pre-recorded lesson or activity directly with the student/family. This consistent communication will allow the teachers to review with students challenges that they may be having with a particular lesson or activity. This instructional guidance (i.e. personalized virtual interaction) will be accomplished in a variety of ways which may include; Google Meet, ShowMe, phone calls, email, etc. Teachers remain available during their daily “office hours” for questions, so please reach out to them directly with any questions on assignments.
Paraprofessionals:
The special education supervisors have worked to develop sample tasks that paraprofessionals will implement in working with students. Paraprofessionals (1:1 aides and shared aides) will begin working to assist students who they supported prior to the closure. Paraprofessionals will engage in a variety of tasks, including but not limited to: daily check-ins with students, oral reading tasks, and assisting students with executive functioning tasks.
Sincerely,
Dr. Melody Alegria Assistant Superintendent, Special Services (malegria@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)
Dr. Laura Morana, Interim Director of Special Services for Transition (lmorana@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)
Mr. Leroy Johnson III, Supervisor of Preschool Education Program (ljohnso3@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)
Ms. Karen Thomany, Supervisor of K-8 Program (kthomany@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)
Ms. Susan Ellis, Supervisor of K-8 Program (shellis@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)
Ms. Gerri Colon, Supervisor of 9-12 Program (gcolon@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us)