I hope this finds you well and enjoying the summer. I am writing to update you on our ongoing planning efforts to reopen our schools in September. On June 26, The New Jersey Department of Education released The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education. This document provides reopening guidance for all school districts throughout New Jersey.
As you may know, Mr. Morano and Dr. Velechko are chairing a committee of administrators and supervisors that has been meeting since the middle of May to review and develop plans for September. Over the past few weeks, this committee has been expanded to include over sixty additional staff members—teachers, supervisors, administrators, nurses, counselors, child study team members, bus drivers, secretaries, maintenance workers, custodians, and Board of Education members. These groups are now broken down into six subcommittees including Health and Safety; Facilities and Transportation; Teaching and Learning; Social and Emotional Learning; Athletics and Co-curricular Activities; and Community Outreach. All committees have been meeting on a regular basis. They are diligently working on the development of a plan to safely reopen schools in September.
It is our goal to share preliminary plan information by the end of next week. We will then reach out to parents and the community for feedback.
Once again, thank you for all of your support this past school year. We will stay together as OneRutherford and be ready for the 2020-2021 school year.
Regards,
Jack Hurley
Superintendent of Schools