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SOMSD Extends School Closure through April 17, 2020 – Letter to Community

March 25, 2020

Dear SOMSD Staff & Family,

I hope that this correspondence finds you, your families, and your loved ones (both near and far) safe and healthy. Thank you for your continued patience and support as we work together as a community to keep everyone safe. I appreciate your efforts at home in helping provide our students with a continuity of education during this closure period.

School Closure Update:
On Friday, March 13, 2020, as you know, we closed all schools in order to protect the health and wellness of our students, our staff, and their families. We wanted to do our part in the nationwide movement to exercise the practice of “Social Distancing” to limit the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The following week, Governor Murphy issued an executive order mandating that all NJ public, private, and parochial preschool programs and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools, would close by Wednesday, March 18, 2020, and would remain closed as long as the order stood.

With Governor Murphy’s executive order still in effect, South Orange & Maplewood School District has extended its distance learning through Friday, April 17, 2020, with students tentatively returning to school on Monday, April 20. As we share often, this is a fluid situation, and we continue to partner with the Governor’s Office, the NJ Department of Education, local health agencies, and our educational leaders to ensure that our future plans meet the needs of our greater community. We believe the extension of distance learning through April 17 is a realistic and logical adjustment that is aligned with the recent steps taken by our Governor for the protection of our citizens.

Since our distance learning period began on March 18 and was tentatively slated to last two weeks, this extension will formally begin on Wednesday, April 1 (as a reminder, the first two days of school closures, March 16 & 17, utilized the District’s unused calendar-embedded emergency school closure dates). As we continue distance learning into April, we will move into our normally scheduled Spring Break from April 10 – 20. During this break, we will provide optional high-quality supplemental instructional enrichment opportunities for our students/families to engage with if they wish.

This new arrangement will provide our administrators and staff with an opportunity to take a deep breath and prepare (we hope) to return to our normal operations. The District will be sending a more detailed communication providing additional guidance on the continuation of our distance learning platform to our families via email by end of day tomorrow, Thursday, March 26.

I would also like to remind you that we have a district “Coronavirus Updates” webpage dedicated to our communications on this matter: www.somsd.k12.nj.us/coronavirusupdates. This page includes resources that can support your student (and family’s) mental health needs during this time of uncertainty. We are keeping the needs of ‘the whole child’ at the forefront as we move forward together. Thank you again for your partnership. Be safe and well.

DOWNLOAD: SOMSD School Closure Extension, 3/25 Letter to Community

Sincerely,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools

SOMSD COVID-19 Two-Week School Closure, Effective Monday, March 16, 2020

Important Message from Superintendent Taylor on COVID-19 School Closure

Please visit our District Coronavirus page for all updates, communications, and resources regarding COVID-19

March 13, 2020

Dear South Orange & Maplewood School Family,

The School District of South Orange & Maplewood continues to monitor the emerging public health issue with COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. The health, safety, and well-being of our students, staff, and community members continues to be our main priority.

I have been in contact with our local health officials, Department of Education officials, a network of superintendents, our board of education and others in order to arrive at the most responsible decisions and course of action for the students and families in our school district with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are currently no confirmed or suspected cases of Covid-19 in our District, recent guidance from the CDC, NIH, local health department, the NJ Department of Health as well as Governor Murphy’s announcement yesterday to cancel all events statewide with more than 250 people, make it clear that the most prudent decision is for us to close our schools and transition to distance learning.

We recognize that this closure will be disruptive for families, and it is not something that any of us takes lightly, but we have a collective responsibility to preemptively address this public health challenge.

Therefore effective, Monday, March 16 thru March 27, 2020 we have made the decision to enact our SOMSD emergency closure plan and all District schools will be closed for a period of at least two-weeks.

Please know that we take this decision very seriously and are being as thoughtful as possible to ensure equity and access in our preparation. It is our goal to provide support both academically and systemically, to the most vulnerable families in our community. We know that schools are not just buildings where learning takes place, for some, ‘school’ is a vital part of their food security and a virtual bridge to a generational opportunity.

Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, schools will be closed utilizing the District’s unused calendar-embedded emergency school closure dates. These days will be utilized as we are traditionally governed by an inclement weather closure. The decision to transition to distance learning is a precautionary, proactive measure in an effort to minimize the potential risk of exposure to Covid-19.

Distance learning via home instruction for students will begin on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Our educators are doing an outstanding job in preparing to implement our distance learning plan. All students from K–12 will be provided with access to Google Classroom to access two-weeks’ worth of assignments from their teachers. Parents will be receiving letters in the mail that should arrive early next week providing important information on accessing your child’s classroom portal. If you do not have internet access and need a hard copy of your child’s(ren’s) assignments, please contact your child’s teacher via email or contact our District office with your child’s name, school, grade, and teacher name via:

Email: info@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us

All field trips, athletics, school-based activities/events, and ancillary programs are canceled effective March 13, 2020, until further notice. While schools are closed, there will be no-access permitted in our buildings, except to select personnel and approved visitors. By, Friday, March 27, 2020, a decision will be made regarding either the resumption of school and after-school activities (for Mon., March 30) or the continued closure of school. We will continue to evaluate this evolving situation and provide updates to the community via email, robocalls, our district website, and social media.

During our closure, for those families who qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program or if your family is in need of food support, please contact the Parenting Center by calling: Karen Weiland, (973)762-5600, ext. 1850 or via email: kweiland@nullsomsd.k12.nj.us and food delivery will be arranged for your family. In addition, starting on Wednesday, March 18, we will provide bagged lunches/breakfast during our closure for those families who qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program (no one will be turned away). Additional communication regarding distribution centers and pick-up times will be provided shortly.

We are in unchartered territory and there will be many questions and challenges that arise in the coming weeks, and we will all work together to do everything we can to support our students and help them progress. We will be communicating additional information to families and students, including how to get help with technology-related matters, picking up of student’s personal belongings (if applicable) and other details. This will not be perfect, but under the circumstances, we will stretch our resources and do our best to support our 7,200+ student body.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and flexibility as we continue to educate our children while implementing best practices to keep everyone safe

Educationally yours,

Dr. Ronald G. Taylor

Superintendent of Schools

SOMSD Intentional Integration Initiative Community Town Hall Event – Wed., February 19, 2020

The South Orange & Maplewood School District invites you to the SOMSD III Community Town Hall event (hosted by the Parenting Center) to learn more about the SOMSD Integration Initiative. Join Superintendent, Dr. Ronald G. Taylor as well as other members of District administration as they address the following topics for February’s Town Hall:

School Facilities Update
Updates on SOMSD III Process & Implementation
SOMSD Tentative Timeline
Followed by audience Q&A

SOMSD Equity In Integration Symposium

SOMSD Equity in Integration Symposium | Wed., January 8, 2020 @ 7pm – 9pm

Location: Columbia High School Auditorium

Join us to discuss the SOMSD Intentional Integration initiative. The Office of the Superintendent invites you as we re-engage the community including parents, students, administrators, teachers, staff and concerned citizens regarding the SOMSD Intentional Integration Initiative (SII). We’ll hear from our District Superintendent as well as leading scholars in the areas of equity, access, and integration in the K-12 landscape. The symposium will look at desegregation efforts from a historical, social, legal and educational lens. Speakers will share about the effects of integration, examples of successful/unsuccessful efforts, the process of achieving integration and the sustainability of integration. In addition, models that may best fit the SOMSD community will be discussed. Q&A and community dialogue will follow.

The symposium agenda will focus on:

Overview of Equity in Integration (SOMSD’s mission/vision on integration), Dr. Ronald G. Taylor, Superintendent of Schools
Conversation on Equity in Integration (moderated by Dr. Eddie Fergus, with special guests, Elise Boddie, Esq. and Dr. Erica Frankenberg)
Community dialogue on Equity in Integration