Metuchen School District

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.

Please note that our school fields and high school track are open to the public. Playgrounds will open on July 2nd. Please be safe.

​Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you and your family well. Today is Juneteenth—a day for celebration and remembrance that should be part of our collective knowledge of freedom struggles in this country. 154 years ago today, slavery for Black Americans ended. May our educators and youth continue the fight to ensure that we deliver on the promise of freedom for every single person. Our school fields and track are now open for use by the public. Please be safe. Thanks for a great school year. Please know that we work all summer and are here for you. Feel free to reach out via phone, email, or social media. Congratulations to our kindergarteners, fourth graders, and eighth graders, all who will changing schools next year. The virtual field day and the promotions exercises at the schools were fun and very enjoyable. I’d like to offer a special wish for future success to the members of the MHS Class of 2020. Please tune in tonight at 6pm for their virtual graduation. As a reminder we will also celebrate these graduates with an in-person ceremony for the graduates plus two guests each on July 9th. The entire celebration will be livestreamed at 6:30pm that evening for everyone else to watch. I will continue to share with you my messages during the summer. I will update you on the progress of reopening schools, following the ever-changing guidance from the state. I will use email plus social media and reserve the text and call features only if I need to share timely information that might demand your immediate attention. As we head into summer, please remember that we still fight against COVID-19. The pandemic will not end until there is herd immunity or until we have a vaccine. All gatherings pose some level of risk of community spread. Wear your face coverings, keep your social distances, and wash your hands. Finally I’d like to wish a Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in your extended families. Thanks and stay well.

All-Committees Celebration in May 2020 https://5il.co/h9wg

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you and your family doing well. At this Tuesday’s board meeting, Mr. Cohen led a deep and honest discussion of race and racism. We will continue to listen and report out updates each month throughout the summer. I presented an overview of our plan for reopening the schools in the fall. This will be a huge undertaking that will require the input and expertise of all of our stakeholders. We don’t know yet if the Fall will be in-person, remote, or some hybrid of the two. The buildings remain closed except to designated essential employees. For health and safety reasons, I intend to keep the all the buildings closed through July. The school fields and track, for now, also remain closed. Our summer instructional programs will be remote. That includes our special education Extended School Year, our new summer intervention program, and the Metuchen Summer Institute. We know many families are still struggling from the economic impacts of the pandemic. We have applied for a waiver that would allow us to continue to deliver lunches, throughout the summer, to any student in need. All students will also keep their loaned devices and hot spots for the summer months. Speaking of the summer months, our mostly-optional summer homework assignments will be posted by next Tuesday. I am sure that many of our students will want to take advantage of these opportunities. Here are some important events happening next week: Moss drive-through kindergarten graduation will happen on June 18th. Campbell virtual field day is June 15th. Edgar eighth grade drive-up promotion will be on June 17th. And we will celebrate the MHS class of 2020 with a virtual senior awards program on June 15th, diploma pickup and graduation photo opportunities all week by appointment, and a virtual graduation ceremony on June 19th. In addition, this week the Governor announced that the outdoor gatherings limit would increase to 500 in July. With this news, and with the approval of the mayor, police and OEM, we applied to the state for a July celebration of the graduates. This celebration, pending state approval, would allow the graduate and two guests to sit together on the football field. While no other spectators will be invited, the entire program will be livestreamed for everyone to watch. Stay tuned for tentative details from Mr. Peragallo. If and when we are granted approval, we will share that news and make our celebration plans official. These traditional activities are very nice and allow us to celebrate our children. Remember though that we are in the midst of fighting covid-19 and systemic racism, in a historical time. I am still committed this weekend to protecting my neighbors. I am going to wear a mask to stop the virus. And I’m going to listen, learn, and speak up to stop racism. Mask up and speak up. Have a great weekend.

SAB Presentation 2020 Please click on link to access presentation: https://5il.co/h247

Collaborative Plan for Reopening the Metuchen Public Schools. Please click on link to access plan: https://5il.co/h246

The School Performance Reports reflect the New Jersey Department of Education's commitment to providing parents, students and school communities with a large variety of information about each school and district. These reports can be used as a tool to help evaluate whether all students have equitable access to high quality education. Please visit https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/SearchForSchool.aspx to search for the reports regarding Metuchen Schools.

The contract between the Board of Education and the Teachers Union expires on June 30th. Please read this letter updating the progress of negotiations: https://5il.co/h1rj

The Metuchen Public Schools stand with those in the Black community who face the pain and despair of racism. To read Metuchen District's statement on racism and current events, please click this link: https://5il.co/h1q6

The official school and district harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) grade reports, as required under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, are now available for public release. To view our report, click this link: https://5il.co/h1pi

PLAYGROUNDS, FIELDS ARE STILL CLOSED Pursuant to Executive Order 107, all non-essential activities and group gatherings are prohibited. As a result, all school premises should all be closed at this time, except for essential functions like administrative duties. Be aware that no one should be on school district property without express prior written approval of the Superintendent of Schools.

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you well. As we complete the first week of June, we all turn our attention to year-end events. Moss School is awaiting approval to hold a drive-through kindergarten graduation program on June 18th. Stay tuned for details from Mr. Cohen. At Campbell School, there are many virtual special days and field trips, plus the virtual field day on June 15th. Stay tuned for details from Mr. Porowski and make sure you check out his virtual tour of Campbell School created to welcome incoming first graders and their families. It’s a much watch. Mr. McPeek has received approval to hold a drive-through Edgar promotion on June 17th. He will share details next week. Metuchen High School has a number of big events upcoming for the Class of 2020. The virtual senior awards program will be held on June 15th. Thanks to all of those in the community who contribute to the awards and the financial scholarships for our graduates. Metuchen High School is awaiting approval to do individual family diploma pickup and photo opportunities during the final week of school. Finally, a professionally-produced virtual graduation will be broadcast on June 19th. Stay tuned for details from Mr. Peragallo. And finally, as I wrote Wednesday in my statement on race and racism: the Metuchen Public Schools stand with those in the Black community who face the pain and despair of racism. We will fight to eliminate racism in our schools, in our community, and wherever it exists. We hear you. We support you. We will advocate for you. You can read the entire statement on social media, on our website, or in the email I sent to you. Thanks.

The Metuchen Public Schools stand with those in the Black community who face the pain and despair of racism. We will fight to eliminate racism in our schools, in our community, and wherever it exists. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” These are challenging times. In Metuchen, we are proud of our history of providing an educational experience that focuses on the whole child and our student’s character. Four of our six tenets have never been more applicable than they are today. In all that we do, we strive to make sure our students are healthy, safe, engaged and supported. Those tenets apply to all of our students regardless of their skin color. We will strive to ensure that we create an environment where our students can talk and learn from each other about the impacts of racism. Below please find some family resources that may be helpful in having those same conversations at home: National Traumatic Stress Network: Racial Injustice and Trauma Beyond the Golden Rule: A Parent’s/Guardian’s Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice Healthychildren.org: Talking to Children about Racial Bias National Geographic: Talking to Kids About Race American Psychological Association: How To Talk To Children About Difficult News Sesame Street in Communities: Community Violence We are fortunate to have strong leadership in Metuchen. Chief Irizarry works hard to ensure the Metuchen Police Department is as compassionate and professional as any. Mayor Busch recently tweeted “in Metuchen and everywhere, we have a shared responsibility to treat one another with respect and dignity. And Board of Education President, Justin Manley, complimented us for the diversity of programming and curricula, and implored our administration and teacher community to continue to look in the mirror to ensure that we are doing the best we can for every student. I was reminded during our conversation that our district priorities written at the beginning of the school year collaboratively by the administration and the Board was a set of believe statements. Clearly stated is that “we believe that a culturally-sensitive school climate in combination with career exploration and real world experiences best prepares students for success”. We will continue to live what we believe and in doing so facilitate an open conversation that addresses racism head on and ensures we leverage the education of our youth to create a better world for all. We hear you. We support you. We will advocate for you.

Good afternoon. It feels like summer has arrived. Enjoy the weather and your families this weekend. As a reminder, school facilities and fields remain closed. Please continue to socially distance and please wear a mask. We still have three weeks of school remaining and I know our teachers are working hard to provide important and engaging instruction. Our three summer programs, the special education extended school year, the Metuchen Summer Institute, and our new intervention program, will all be remote. Some information is out and more will be forthcoming. Advanced Placement exams recently concluded and while a dozen students will need to do the makeup exam, we are so very proud that 204 distinct students took 478 AP exams. I know that our teachers are proud of the students’ efforts. As a district, we continue to deliver lunches to students you need them, regardless of their free and reduced lunch status. Reach out if we should add you to our delivery routes. Please see the text message, the email or the social media post for a link to a video where you can get to know the students who earned the prestigious New Jersey State Seal of Biliteracy. And finally, as the calendar turns to June, our focus turns to three big areas: the traditional year-end celebratory events, the close out of the current school year, and the planning for what reopening might look like. School principals will continue to keep you as updated as we can, especially in light of the evolving guidance from the state. Have a nice weekend and please contact us with questions or concerns. Thank you. The following is the link to a video message from our Seal of Biliteracy students: https://youtu.be/E11RQC_Sgr4

Good afternoon. I hope this message finds you well. Each year on the day before the Memorial Day weekend, we honor a number of teachers and educational services professionals as part of our in-service day. This year, the Governor’s Educators of the Year are, at Moss: Stephanie Kandel and Emily Peluso; at Campbell: Jeremy Barnes and Tara Tay; at Edgar: Kristin Bruno and Kathi Pearsall; and at Metuchen High School: Beth Abbott and Jordan Leitner. Congratulations to these outstanding educators. In an effort to upgrade our communications and web presence, we are about ready to switch over to a new website. That will be happening next month and soon we will invite you to check it out. Next week, we’ll be officially unveiling our new Metuchen School District app, along with a promotional video. Stay tuned. Many of you have questions about the traditional year-end events throughout the district. Be assured, that teams of teachers and administrators, in collaboration with the PTOs and the Borough, have been planning ways to honor and celebrate our students. For example, at Moss, we are in discussions of how to do a drive-through kindergarten ceremony. Campbell School is planning virtual fields trips and other exciting events. Edgar School is formulating a process for individual drive-through promotions and photo opportunities. And at Metuchen High School, we will have a virtual senior awards program. We are also close to announcing plans for drive-up individual diploma and photo ceremonies during graduation week, and a virtual graduation ceremony complete with speeches and videos to be broadcast at the scheduled graduation time. This is an evolving situation and we want to maintain flexibility in case some of the restrictions were to change. Look for details from our school principals in the upcoming weeks. Finally, Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Please enjoy the weekend with your families and please join me in honoring those who gave their lives in defense of our nation. Thank you.

Even during home instruction, the District's Chain of Communication is in place to assist you in addressing educational concerns. Everyone stands ready to help. Please review and follow it here: https://5il.co/g9lt

Metuchen Schools is providing education guidance to both its teachers and the community through its Pandemic Instructional Plan. View the District's plan at https://5il.co/g9kz

As of May 14, 2020, the Metuchen School District is delivering 48 lunches daily. If you are eligible, or think you may be eligible for free and reduced lunch, please contact us by emailing Deb Finden at dfinden@metboe.k12.nj.us. For more info: https://5il.co/g9j8