New Jersey’s largest teachers union along with its administrator associations added their powerful voices to the growing calls for a remote-only reopening of schools in the fall while the pandemic remains ongoing.
What it is: The Murphy administration on Friday released the latest guidance for the reopening of schools in the form of an FAQ (“frequently asked questions”). The guidelines include the latest rules on the mandatory use of face masks, conditions around social distancing in the classroom, and a range of other issues involved with opening schools.
The back-and-forth continued this week over what New Jersey schools will look like in a month, with districts up against an August deadline to devise their reopening plans and others not shy about weighing in on what those plans should look like.
A great deal has been said about reopening New Jersey schools in the fall while ensuring that children remain healthy and safe. But worries are also surfacing about what going back will mean for teachers — and even whether enough of them will be willing to return to the classroom.
Jada Tulloch and Luke Farrell, Middletown High School North seniors. Photo courtesy of Luke Ferrell
By Luke Ferrell
Middletown, it’s time that we have a conversation about race. Merriam-Webster defines a conversation as “an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas”. Let’s “exchange” ways to make our community a better place without “exchanging” hate or negativity. I’d like to explain why even the “fifth safest city in America to raise a child” (SafeWise, 2016) cannot be excluded from hearing stories of overcoming racial adversity.
Jada Tulloch, the 2020 valedictorian of Middletown High School North, said she “had a great experience in Middletown public schools” and that she “wouldn’t have it any other way” in an interview with Sophia Haber Brock of Sophia Directs published on May 24.
Governor Phil Murphy announced school funding cuts in the amounts of $336 million due to the pandemic related revenue shortfall, northjersey.com reports.
The coronavirus pandemic has already upended teachers’ lives, banishing them from their classrooms to teach students from home.
Now, as a grueling school year nears its end, some New Jersey teachers are receiving a cruel reward: A pink slip, courtesy of the crushing economic weight of the crisis.
Facing a Friday deadline to notify those teachers who won’t be brought back next year, many districts have already told non-tenured educators they won’t be offered a contract for the fall until schools know just how badly their finances will be hurt by COVID-19, said Richard Bozza, executive director of t… Read the rest of this entry »
Monmouth County Freeholder Patrick Impreveduto, a retired high school educator, is calling upon Governor Phil Murphy to allow New Jersey’s high schools to commemorate the accomplishments of their graduating seniors with modified commencement ceremonies.
While thousands of students are still without necessary technology for remote instruction, education officials say there are ways to close the gaps
By John Mooney, NJSpotlight
Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to announce today whether schools will remain closed and on remote instruction for the rest of the school year, with most bets that he will call it for the year.
