Metuchen School District

August 21, 2020 Dear Metuchen Community: I hope this message finds you well. And as always, I hope you are creating opportunities for peaceful family time. Since March when we closed our buildings at the outset of this pandemic, I have continued to dialogue with various stakeholders (board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and students). Representatives of these groups are participating in our Restart Committee and our building-based Pandemic Response Teams. I want to thank all of you for your continuing collaboration. The Board of Education has authorized me to submit an application to begin the year remotely for students. We do not take this decision lightly. We know many of our families have struggled since the spring. We understand the benefits of fully-open public schools. The Governor’s office pivoted last week. Previously, school districts were directed to develop reentry plans that had to include in-person instruction from day one of the new school year. We submitted our plan to the county superintendent on July 31. Then on August 3, we shared our plan with all of you. You can review the plan and other related summary documents on our website. On August 5, we invited you to participate in a survey so we could find out how many parents would choose the all-remote option for students that the Governor had offered. We recognize and appreciate the confidence you have in us, as evidenced by more than half of the parents voting to send their children in-person. The survey results made this decision extremely difficult. Here is the text of my email to the county superintendent, asking for permission for students to start the year remotely: Our district wishes to delay the start of in-person instruction for students and switch to full-time remote instruction. As required, I am providing the following to the Department of Education at least 7 days prior to the first day of expected fully remote instruction: A list of school buildings and grade levels within the district that will being receiving full-time remote instruction: All preK-12 students and 18 to 21 year-old special education students in Metuchen will begin the school year with all-remote instruction. This applies to Moss School, Campbell School, Edgar School, and Metuchen High School. The specific health and or safety standard which the district believes that it is unable to satisfy: We have limited air conditioning in all four of our buildings and believe that it would be very difficult for students to learn in the hot environment with masks all day. The district is in process of upgrading our building management system and needs time to ensure it is operating in all rooms across all buildings. Anticipated efforts the district will undertake to satisfy the identified health and safety standard: The month of October will bring cooler temperatures, reducing the heat burden on teachers and students, allowing them to more easily wear masks full-time. This will improve the teaching and learning process. Once the building management system upgrade is complete, we will make every effort to ensure its proper operation. The new system will help us ensure that we are meeting recommendations regarding outside air intake in all rooms. A date by which the district anticipates resuming in-person instruction: We anticipate students returning to in-person instruction, according to our previously-shared hybrid model, on October 1, 2020. We are considering bringing back our most needy students in phases throughout the month of September, prior to the return of all students. If this is feasible, it will be determined on a case-by-case basis. All teachers will be required to report in-person beginning September 1, 2020. Here are some important details: · The first day of school for students will still be Thursday, September 3. · While staff will be teaching from their classroom, all students will be learning remotely for the month of September. · Each school day will follow the regular full-day building schedules. (This is a change from what we had discussed earlier this summer.) · We are committed beginning the hybrid model of Roomers and Zoomers on Thursday, October 1. The full Board will meet on Tuesday, August 25, where we will further discuss details of the 2020-21 school year and take questions from the public. You will also receive more details from your building principals in the coming weeks. Feel free to reach out to me with any feedback or questions.

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you well. This weekend brings a trip to the Shore, some grilling, storm damage clean-up, and the Mets on TV. Reopening: This week has been like most weeks during the last six months. It feels like we are moving at light speed. In a matter of days, we got brand new reopening information from the Governor, read his Executive Order 175, and saw new guidelines from the state department of health. We are certainly aware that districts around the state and in our county are in the process of applying to open the school year remotely in order to remediate issues with their planning. Currently, we are proceeding with our hybrid plan for opening the schools, but with our eyes wide open to the current situation. We have consistently promised flexibility as we prepared for in-person instruction as required by the state. Students are scheduled to return September 3rd. Three weeks is an eternity these days. As always, stay tuned! Message from the state of NJ: New Jersey’s public and private school districts will be open for in-person instruction this school year. However, districts that cannot meet health and safety protocols can begin the school year via remote-only instruction. Learn more about the safety guidelines in place for this fall: https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/reopening-guidance-and-restrictions/will-schools-open-next-year-is-summer-school-open?utm_campaign=20200814_nwsltr_a&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery Remote-only option for students: Thanks so much for your replies to our question of in-person vs remote-only for your children. Over 80% of you have answered. If you haven’t, please go into Genesis and submit. FYI - At last count, 37% of parents have selected all-remote for their child(ren). For those of you who have already answered, of course, you can also change your response. The survey remains open. Class assignments and schedules: On or about next Wednesday, August 19th, principals will be releasing class assignments and schedules. There are several forms that must be completed in Genesis in order to unlock access. Edgar update: I will make recommendations to the Board on August 25th for the next principal and assistant principal. Face coverings: New information is coming out all the time about various types of face coverings. One thing remains constant: my mask protects you and your mask protects me. Wear a mask inside - and outside too if you can’t social distance. Parent webinar: Click here for parent webinar form Common Sense Media: Building a Digital Ecosystem That Supports Kids' and Families' Well-Being on Wednesday, August 19th at 1pm https://www.commonsensemedia.org/events/conversations/aug-19?j=7930565&sfmc_sub=208093059&l=2048712_HTML&u=151286112&mid=6409703&jb=2519&utm_source=org_cwcs-upcoming-20200811&utm_medium=email

We know many residents are without power. Edgar School open again today (8/7) 10am to 10pm. Face coverings required.

Hello – and I hope this message finds you well. On Monday, we shared our Reopening Plan, https://5il.co/j0ed, summary slides, https://5il.co/j1ay, and our hybrid calendar, https://5il.co/j0eb. Then, on Wednesday, we asked all parents to go into Genesis to let us know if your child(ren) would be attending in-person or opting for 100% remote instruction. So far, your response has been amazing. Almost 700 parents have already replied. Thank you! Your choice right now is NOT binding. It simply helps us to plan even better for the first day of school on September 3rd. Please take a moment to answer the question in Genesis. Thanks again. Have a great weekend!

We know many of you in the Borough are still without power. Edgar School will be available again today as a charging and cooling station from 10am to 10pm. Face coverings are required.

You can view the slides from our Reopening presentation by clicking here: https://5il.co/j1ay

To view our Board-approved Hybrid School Calendar, please click here: https://5il.co/j0eb. The calendar follows our overall school year, but it graphically demonstrates our A, B and all-remote sessions.

Good afternoon. Another wet Friday with a nice weekend ahead. Family beach trip tomorrow. Lots of stuff for the grill for the next few dinners. Are you travelling out of state? Make sure you check the list of states’ from which visitors or returning residents must self-quarantine: https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/travel-information/which-states-are-on-the-travel-advisory-list-are-there-travel-restrictions-to-or-from-new-jersey?utm_campaign=20200731_nwsltr&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery We are in round two of the Edgar principal search. There are ten candidates still in the mix. After a principal is approved, the assistant principal search will resume. Thank you to all who joined in this week’s Reopening Schools Webinar. Here is a link and password to the webinar recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ut5zEK3oxGpLH9LUzhqGAYs_RIHYT6a8gXdM-fEKxUnL7gqLd2SStrc4ejYqScO4 (Password: U8*u%gD&) Important dates for reopening (as of 7/31/2020; this is subject to change): · August 3rd: return of in-person Child Study Team special education testing required under the law. Thanks to our CST members for your dedication! · August 11th: return of in-person Board of Education meetings to MHS · August 17th: return of our twelve-month employees to the buildings · August 25th: start of three days of in-person New Teacher Orientation · September 1st: first of two days of in-service training for our teachers. We all know how hard they are working this summer to prepare for in-person and remote instruction. Thanks! · September 3rd: first day of school for students As directed by the Governor, every district in NJ is required to submit a plan (that includes in-person instruction) to the County Office and then share that plan, once approved, four weeks prior to the scheduled start of the school year. We submitted our plan today and we hope to be able to share it with the community on Monday evening. Please note that the submitted plan has everything that we’ve been discussing with students, teachers, the board, and the larger community. There will be no surprises. · If we can return to school in September, we will operate on an alternating week schedule: the beginning of the alphabet will have the option to attend in-person on September 3rd and 4th. The second half of the alphabet can attend in-person starting September 8th. Then the groups of students will alternate each week. · Our plan includes all-remote learning for the eight school days prior to both Thanksgiving and Christmas. · The calendar for this hybrid schedule will be shared as early as Monday evening. · Principals will share week assignments, teacher assignments, and schedules as soon as they can. Obviously this year, brings a host of additional challenges. Thank you for your patience. · Parents can choose to keep their children home all or some of the time. Information about how and when to notify the school principals will be in the plan. · Zoomers will be expected to have cameras and audio on every day for all virtual lessons. · Screening questions and temperature checks will be required for staff and students entering any of the buildings. · There will be new arrival and dismissal practices at each school. Details to follow in the reentry plan and from the principals. · There will be no courtesy bussing for the 2020-21 school year. · Visitors will be significantly limited. · Field trips will not be approved for the fall. · Decisions on sports and extracurricular activities will be made in the upcoming weeks. · Students and staff will wear face coverings in the buildings. · Meals will be offered each in-person day, and at-home, for those students eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Thank you to all who joined in last night’s Reopening Schools Webinar. Here is a link and password to the webinar recording. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ut5zEK3oxGpLH9LUzhqGAYs_RIHYT6a8gXdM-fEKxUnL7gqLd2SStrc4ejYqScO4 Password: U8*u%gD&

As a follow-up to Dr. Caputo’s Friday message, tonight is the Community Webinar on the Plans for Reopening Schools, beginning at 7:30 pm. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988151860?pwd=NkpVT3VFRFlyaE53UHZMdmQ2cGk4Zz09 Passcode: 483047 Or iPhone one-tap : US: +16465588656,,81988151860#,,,,,,0#,,483047# or +13017158592,,81988151860#,,,,,,0#,,483047# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 Webinar ID: 819 8815 1860 Passcode: 483047

There will be no courtesy / subscription bussing for the 20/21 school year. The bus registrations were down significantly this year due to the pandemic. Also, the State would require the district to pay a significant portion of the $450,000 contract with the bussing company if we renewed the contract and went remote for part of the year. Any parent who submitted registration with a check that was cashed will receive a refund after the August 25th board meeting or earlier if possible. Any parent who submitted registration and the check was not cashed will receive their original check back in the mail.

Good afternoon. I hope this email finds you well on a dark and wet Friday. Here are some updates: · ACT, SAT, and PSAT: We are still planning to host these assessments as previously scheduled. We will reevaluate based on the public health situation in the fall. · District goals – final report for 2019-20 can be reviewed here: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/813028/Metuchen_District_Goals_2019-20.pdf · MHS pickup information message from Mr. Peragallo: In order for students to receive books for summer assignments, parents/guardians and or students should contact the Content Area Supervisor requesting the books and materials needed. The material will then either be left in the Main Office and/or on a table or bench outside of the school to be picked up. Supervisor will inform student/parent of day/time for material to be picked up or if the materials are left in the Main Office, student/parent should call before coming to the school. · Reopening planning o If we need to go fully-remote at any point during the year, we will operate on an A/B day schedule at Edgar and MHS, as previously shared, and per the schedules that will be sent out from Campbell and Moss. In general the plan for fully-remote instruction will include teaching and learning from 10:00 to 3:00 with an hour for lunch, and time in the morning for extra help and meetings. o Our hybrid plan will allow us to reduce our building occupancy to half. We will operate on an alternating week schedule of Roomers and Zoomers: one week in school (Roomers) and one week at home (Zoomers). These will be full days. We will announce groupings later in August but in general, we will begin the year alphabetically with the start of the alphabet in first. Accommodations will be made to ensure students from the same household attend the same weeks. o There will be screening questions and temperature checks before anyone is permitted inside the buildings. o Everyone will be mandated to wear face coverings in the buildings. o We are partnering with the Borough on traffic and other concerns and with our community partners on issues such as child care options. · Community webinar on the plans for reopening schools: July 29, 2020 at 7:30 PM. Please click the link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988151860?pwd=NkpVT3VFRFlyaE53UHZMdmQ2cGk4Zz09 (Passcode: 483047). You can also choose to call in. Mrs. Taylor will send the full invitation again along with next Wednesday’s mailer. Thanks for the kind words you have been sending our way. We appreciate them more than you know. I will continue to keep you updated. Maintain social distancing and wear a face covering. You are protecting your neighbors.

Good afternoon. As always, I hope this email finds you well. Good news/bad news: Mr. McPeek has been appointed superintendent for the Alexandria School District, and will take over in September. We will work very hard to fill both the principal and assistant principal positions at Edgar prior to the start of the school year. Good luck, Mr. McPeek. We are proud of you! Optional summer workouts and fall sports: Optional social-distant summer workouts began this week at MHS. The NJSIAA has delayed the start of the fall sports season and condensed the post-season. For details, read this: https://www.njsiaa.org/events-news-media/news/njsiaa-builds-return-play-plan-provides-updates-fall-sports-season Stakeholder input to reopening plan - this week (summary): This week we continued our collaborative planning for the reopening of schools: · On Monday, we held a community webinar with more than 450 participants: parents, board members, teachers, administrators, and probably more! Thanks so much for your time and input. We will hold another community webinar, mostly likely in late July. · On Tuesday, we met with the Y to discuss enhanced partnering so that our parents would have additional child care options this fall. · On Tuesday, we met with Borough officials to discuss traffic plans around schools considering that we will need to change our drop-off and entry procedures. · On Tuesday night, the Board’s Policy Committee met to discuss a number of policies and regulations in need of review to accommodate remote and hybrid schedules. · On Wednesday, we met with BASC to discuss enhanced partnering so that our parents would have additional child care options this fall. · On Wednesday night, two Board Committees (Extracurricular and Technology) met to discuss all things pandemic-related. · On Thursday, our administrative team met, followed by a meeting of the Instructional Council, made up of teachers and administrators. · And on Friday, our teacher-led district policy committee met to discuss many of the same items discussed at the Board Committee meeting. Stakeholder input to reopening plan – next two weeks · 7/20 – meeting of my parent advisory group · 7/21 – virtual board meeting at 8pm; open to the public for comment on three different occasions. · 7/22 – our District Leadership Team (DLT) / Restart Committee meets; DLT consists of board members, administrators, teachers, and parents · 7/27 – Reopening webinar for staff · 7/28 – board committees (curriculum and policy) meet · 7/30 – Instructional Council meeting · Weeknight during week of 7/27 (tentative) – community webinar Timeline for reopening plan (key dates) · July 31 – submit plan to the County office · August 3 – share plan with the public · August 11 – board formally approves the plan · September 3 – first day of school Here’s what you can do to prevent the spread of COVID19: · most effective way = social distancing · second most effective way = wear a mask · in addition, you should wash your hands often, and · keep surfaces and high touch areas clean. Finally, a getting-old-update. Our son turned 20 this week. We are planning a beach day on Saturday, then some grilling at home on Sunday. Take time to enjoy your families this weekend. It goes fast.

Here’s a link to the transcript/written elements from the July 13th Reopening Webinar: https://5il.co/i8ic

Here’s a link to the recording of the July 13th Reopening Webinar: https://tinyurl.com/ycyqmzr6

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you and your family doing well. Today I want to share some news about high school athletics and to update you on our reopening planning. But first, I just want to thank the MHS Class of 2020 and their invited guests. Everyone adhered to social distancing requirements and there was 100% compliance with face coverings order. Last night's ceremony was beautiful. Speeches were inspiring. There was such a positive energy. I am so proud to work in Metuchen. Optional summer workouts: The NJSIAA today updated their tentative fall sports schedules. Practices can start on 9/14. Games 10/1 to 11/12. Post season 11/13 to 11/22. While the fall sports season is still very much in question, we are allowing our coaches and athletes to participate in optional summer workouts starting next week. Coaches have be trained in health and safety precautions. All workouts will be exclusively outside. There will be absolutely no access to the building. We know how much our coaches and athletes are looking forward to seeing each other in person, but once again, these workouts are optional. In-person reopening planning: Every district is required to develop a plan for in-person learning. We will most likely run the Metuchen Public Schools at 50% student capacity in an alternating week schedule. In other words, one week the student would be in the building and the next week the student would be participating from home. We are making every effort to allow students, during their remote weeks, to participate synchronously with their teachers and their classmates in the building. Recently, I’ve seen this referred to as Roomers and Zoomers. Remote instruction, if necessary: There is the likelihood that at some point next year, we may be required to pivot to remote instruction again. If we need to have remote instruction, here are our plans: MHS: A/B day (periods 0-3 and 4-7); classes at 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00; all teachers and students expected on each day; regular grading Edgar: A/B day (periods 1-4 and 5-8); classes at 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00; all teachers and students expected on each day; regular grading Campbell: Four days of ELA, math, and science/social studies and one day of specials each week Moss: Same as spring 2020: combination of at-home packets and small group video conferencing Webinar: Please join us at 10:00am for a panel discussion including: Ed Porowski (representing our building administrators), Dr. Tania Herzog (Special Services and Nursing), Mike Harvier (Business Office), Justin Manley (board member and parent), Neyda Evans (math and instructional technology), Susan Paredes (teacher and policy committee co-chair). Here is the Zoom link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89059811193?pwd=cEdhZjJyM1czOFFOaDZlMkRQK3lEZz09. The format of the webinar will be panelists discussing the various aspects of the planning, followed by Q&A via the chat room, monitored by Mrs. Carolyn Taylor. If you can’t watch the webinar, you can always email questions ahead of time to Mrs. Taylor at ctaylor@metboe.k12.nj.us. Plus we will be recording it for viewing later. We are required to share our plan with the community four weeks prior to opening day. Lots of work to do before that date, during August, and of course, adjustments to be made during the course of the year. We know this pandemic will continue for many months and stakeholder input and flexibility will be key. Opportunities for community participation in reopening planning: Monday, June 13th at 10:00am via Zoom webinar Tuesday, July 21st board meeting at 8pm. The public is encouraged to participate via Zoom. August board meetings are scheduled for 8/11 and 8/25. Or as always, email me, call me, or reach out via social media! Have a nice weekend.

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you well. On Thursday, July 9th we will celebrate the graduates of the MHS Class of 2020. The entire ceremony will be livestreamed. We encourage you to tune in. Only the graduates plus two guests each will be seated on the field. Social distancing and face covering requirements for everyone will be enforced. Remote summer programs begin next week. Contact us if you have any questions. We continue to work to develop a reopening plan for the Metuchen Public Schools. We are required to share that plan with the community four weeks prior to the first day of school. This week, I met with individual board members and administrators, in addition to teachers on our Instructional Council. Next week, I will hear from parents, students, board committees, and our District Leadership Team. And on July 13th there will be a webinar with a panel. The public will be invited to participate. Look for details in next week’s message. The state has required that all districts develop a plan that includes in-person instruction, probably with reduced capacities in the buildings. There is also the likelihood that at some point next year, we may be required to pivot to remote instruction again. If we need to have remote instruction, we have tentative plans in place: · MHS: A/B day (periods 0-3 and 4-7); classes at 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00; all teachers and students expected on each day; regular grading · Edgar: A/B day (periods 1-4 and 5-8); classes at 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, and 2:00; all teachers and students expected on each day; regular grading · Campbell: Four days of ELA, math, and science/social studies and one day of specials each week · Moss: Same as spring 2020: combination of at-home packets and small group video conferencing Have a happy holiday weekend. Please wear a mask, maintain social distance, and wash your hands frequently. Thank you.

Collaborative Plan for Reopening the Metuchen Public Schools https://5il.co/hn52

COVID-19 Responses Through Collaborative Structures https://5il.co/hn51

Good afternoon. I hope your first week of summer has been fun and relaxing. I will continue these weekly updates throughout the months of July and August in order to keep you up-to-date on our planning for the fall. · Lunches: Our lunch delivery system will continue through the summer for all students in need, regardless of free and reduced lunch eligibility. Please reach out to be added to our list. Our schedule during the summer will be slightly modified. We will be delivering two meals on Mondays and three meals on Wednesdays. · Important summer dates: o As of this week, all district fields and the high school track are open to the public again. Groups must follow the normal facilities usage procedure. Please be smart about social distancing to reduce the spread of coronavirus. o Governor Murphy plans to reopen playgrounds on July 2nd. We will follow suit and open the district playgrounds on the same date. o Our Extended School Year program will be remote from July 7th to August 13th. Our intervention program and the Metuchen Summer Institute courses will also be remote. o Optional summer workouts for high school sports teams are allowed to take place starting July 13th. Mr. Cathcart and the coaches will follow all available guidelines for these workouts. These are optional and student-athletes are not required to attend. Please use your best judgment. o Fall sports practices are tentatively scheduled to begin August 3rd. This date and the possibility for a fall sports season is still very much in question. Stay tuned. o Special education in-person testing is tentatively scheduled to resume on August 3rd with additional safety measures in place. Dr. Herzog and the Child study Teams will be in contact. o We will update our essential employees list and consider the return of 12-month employees in early to mid-August. o There will be no indoor camps or indoor rec sports this summer in order to protect the health of our essential employees who have been working everyday on site since the shutdown in March. · Mr. Cohen made his initial report on race, racism, and social justice at the June 9th board meeting. Each month we will update the public at a board meeting. (The email version of this message has the full text of Mr. Cohen’s remarks from his first report.) · Reopening guidance from Trenton: Today, Governor Murphy released guidance on reopening of schools. We received this information at the same time as the public. We will be carefully reviewing the information as it will help us to further develop our plan in Metuchen. I will provide updates each Friday and discuss our progress at the July 21st board meeting. · And finally, our website. We have migrated our website to a new platform. Same address: metuchenschools.org, but with a new look and improved functionality. I invite you to check it out. And while you are there, please review the updated summer homework assignments. Have a great weekend. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance. Thank you.