SOMSD School Reopening Updates
School Reopening Updates for Phases 3 - 5; In-Person Hybrid instruction to resume on Monday, April 19.
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Clinton Elementary School

Anide Eustache

Virtual Welcome to Middle School Events for 5th Grade Families

Dear Parents/Guardians of 5th Grade Students,

You are invited to preview the middle school experience, with Principals Dara Gronau, Maplewood Middle School (MMS) and Lynn Irby, South Orange Middle School (SOMS). Each school will host a virtual welcome event, where they will provide you with an overview of what you need to know as you prepare for the next chapter of your child’s educational journey, including:

  • Scheduling
  • Curriculum Overview
  • Academic Placement
  • Wellness Initiatives
  • Extracurricular Activities

South Orange Middle School

Date:  Wednesday, April 21 | 7pm – 8:30pm

Event #: 129 873 2412

Password: Village2021 (84552432 from phones)

Call-in #: 408-418-9388

Maplewood Middle School

Event #: 129 920 6828

Password: Maplewood2021 (62753966 from phones)

Call-in #: 408-418-9388

Sincerely, Dara Gronau, Principal, Maplewood Middle School Lynn Irby, Principal, South Orange Middle School

Reminder: Middle School Math Course Selection is due by Friday, March 26 | Parent Q&A Pop-In Office Hours Available

SOMSD 5th, 6th and 7th Grade Families,
As a reminder, Middle School Math Course Selection is due by Friday, March 26.  Make your selection in Forms in PowerSchool.  Below is information to assist in your decision-making.
Ms. Beane the Math Supervisor will hold pop-in office hours for parents to ask questions on the following dates below:
  • Tuesday March 23, 6:30pm – 8pm
  • Wednesday, March 24, 8am – 9am
  • Wednesday, March 24, 4pm – 6pm
  • Friday, March 26, 4pm – 6pm
Connect with this link: meet.google.com/jmx-gqkr-mck

SOMSD Statement on Violence Against AAPI Community, March 22, 2021

Dear SOMSD Community,

We have been following the events and senseless acts of violence that have occurred against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Georgia, New York and across our country. As a community, our hearts are broken. We are disheartened over the senseless loss of life of eight human beings, six of whom were women of Asian descent. 

Over the past year, we have witnessed how words, fear, intolerance, and lack of empathy have led to a rise in hate crimes, injustice, discrimination, harassment, and bullying against the AAPI community.   Hate crimes against the AAPI community have been on the rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. A report released by “Stop AAPI Hate” revealed that there have been at least 3,795 hate incidents targeting the AAPI community between March 2020 and February 2021; more than 500 occurred in 2021.

The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, shared, “On behalf of the Board and District leadership, we condemn any acts that would seek to diminish the worth of any one group due to their race, gender, nationality or heritage….”  The deaths of these eight people, six of whom were Asian American women, on Tuesday in Atlanta was an unspeakable tragedy for the families of the victims, first and foremost, and also for the AAPI community, who have been faced with high levels of racial discrimination.”

As a District, we stand in solidarity with our AAPI community, our staff, students, families, community partners, and any group that has faced injustice and racism. There is no place for hate and discrimination in our community and schools.  The victims of this shooting were mothers, wives, daughters, aunts, friends, a grandmother, an Army veteran, and a husband. We will not forget the names of those whose lives were tragically cut short on Tuesday, March 16, among them:

  1. Soon Chung Park, 74;
  2. Hyun Jung Grant, 51;
  3. Suncha Kim, 69; 
  4. Yong Ae Yue, 63;
  5. Delaina Yaun, 33;
  6. Xiaojie Tan, 49;
  7. Paul Andre Michels, 52; and
  8. Daoyou Feng, 44.

Internal Resources for Students:

We encourage members of our student/parent community to reach out to their school social workers and/or counseling department for individual & group counseling services for students.

  1. Elementary Schools:  Click here for more information: bit.ly/SOMSDElemSW
  2. Middle School & High School:  Your child’s  Guidance Counselor can provide counseling for your child, connect you with resources available in the Secondary Schools as well as provide referrals to an outside therapist.  Students with IEP’s should contact their case manager.

Additional external resources.

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools

Dr. Gretel Perez, Assistant Superintendent, Access & Equity

South Orange & Maplewood Board of Education

Long Range Facilities Updates: Four Elementary Schools Approved to Bid Process

The District submitted six elementary school construction plans to the state for approval, we are happy to announce that we received approvals for four locations. Approvals to bid additions and renovations were received for Clinton, Jefferson, Seth Boyden, and Tuscan elementary schools. On March 11, construction bids were advertised for Clinton Elementary and Jefferson Elementary schools. Subsequent bids for the remaining two schools will be advertised in the coming weeks.  Construction plans for Marshall, South Mountain Elementary and South Mountain Annex are still in the approval process.

For more information on the LRFP project visit: http://bit.ly/3c1KwaS

Final Opportunity: Change Request Date for Virtual to Hybrid Learning is March 25th

March 25, 2021, is the next change request date for our tentative phased-in re-entry scheduled for April 19 

  • For all grade levels: Parents should submit change requests to their school building principal/administrator, with their child’s name, grade-level, and teacher’s name by Thursday, March 25 (please note request are based on space availability)
  • Students approved for a change request will tentatively begin hybrid instruction during the next phased-in re-entry period starting the week of April 19.
  • IMPORTANT:  Please note, regardless of the grade-levels that re-enter on April 19, this will be the final opportunity for the school year for parents to make a virtual to hybrid change request for their child to their building principal.  In addition, a change request will always be subject to space capacity.

Superintendent’s Reopening Update: Special Services, ELL & PreK Students to Return for In-Person Learning on Mon., 3/1

Hello SOMSD Community,

The District has been involved in mediation discussions with our teacher’s union, SOMEA over the past several days.  As of yesterday, after a more than nine (9) hour mediation session with SOMEA representatives, we have come to an agreement that will allow for a subset of our most vulnerable students to return to in-person hybrid instruction beginning on Monday, March 1.

Cohort C, Special Services self-contained and English Language Learners (ELL students across all grade levels)  and Pre-K students who have chosen hybrid-instruction, will return to school buildings for in-person instruction (following their pre-assigned cohort schedules) on March 1.  At this time the District will continue to operate under our current instructional schedule (i.e., class times as shared in our February 22 communication – https://bit.ly/3au0Xfp). Teachers for these students will report to school buildings to teach in-person.

This subset of Special Services, ELL and PreK families/students will receive a corresponding communication with additional information from the Office of Special Services as well as their School Principals.

The District is continuing mediation with SOMEA in hopes of having all students and staff return to continue Phase 3 in-person instruction as soon as possible.  Once again, we thank you for your patience and continued support as we seek to resolve this issue.

Educationally yours,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools

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