Dear Parsippany-Troy Hills Families,
I hope you enjoyed a relaxing weekend and were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather.
We have been extremely fortunate in keeping our schools open fairly consistently for in-person instruction since September. As anticipated, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 has risen in New Jersey and in our Northwest Region over the past several weeks, moving Morris County and all of NJ to “High Risk” (Orange) status. As per NJ Department of Health guidelines, a transition to “Very High Risk” (Red) would require a transition to Fully Remote/Distance Learning. School districts should then wait a minimum of 14 days before bringing students back for in-person learning.
Additionally, the incidents of staff members needing to quarantine as a result of being a close contact or having a member of their household test positive for COVID-19 is growing, making it challenging in some schools to adequately supervise students. We are tracking this on a daily basis in the event that Fully Remote/Distance Learning needs to be implemented.
While our intent at this time is to continue with in-person instruction and the new K-8 hybrid schedule which began today, it may be necessary for the district to transition to Fully Remote instruction at some future point and I want you to be prepared. In the event that the district transitions to Fully Remote instruction, you will be notified via School Messenger, and school principals and I will share further information about the daily schedule and instructional expectations. There may be little time to prepare for this transition, so it is important to consider alternate child care plans now so that your family is ready.
Please understand that we absolutely want to keep schools open and have children attend in-person. Health and safety guidelines have been established by the NJ Department of Health to keep staff and students safe and to prevent community spread of COVID-19. They must be followed.
Finally, please note that there have been updates to the Daily Health Screening Form.
We have a little more than three weeks left until the December holiday break. Let’s continue to make smart choices that keep our school community safe.
Barbara Sargent, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
