PARSIPPANY — A letter to Parents from Dr. Barbara Sargent
Good afternoon, Families!
I hope this letter finds everyone at home healthy and well. I have enjoyed the opportunity to speak with many of you about your children’s learning needs and the challenges associated with hybrid instruction. Our students need more class time and our challenge is to provide this in as safe a manner as possible.
Effective Monday, November 30, we will hold classes in-person Monday through Friday at the PreK – 8 level and maintain Week A/Week B with Early Dismissal. High school teachers and students will continue with Virtual Friday as they are utilizing an A/B Day schedule and experiencing live classes each afternoon. Adding Friday will require an entirely new high school schedule and put teachers in the difficult position of not being able to meet with fully remote students or schedule small group tutorials. Elementary and middle school teachers can do this each afternoon. The week of November 30 will be Week A.
Our custodial staff will conduct a thorough cleaning of the schools on Friday afternoons and Saturdays, where necessary, to ensure a safe start for the next week of learning.
There are additional changes to our school calendar:
- Tuesday, November 3 (Election Day) will be a fully remote day for everyone.
- Due to the large number of educators who will attend the NJEA Virtual Convention next Thursday and Friday, we are not able to properly staff our classrooms and provide supervision to the students who will attend school. With more than 160 educators intending to attend the Convention this year, we need to close school on the NJEA Convention Days of November 5-6. Schools will be open on December 21-22 for instruction.
- Friday, November 20: Elementary and middle school teachers will be available for students during the morning for Virtual Friday instruction, questions, check-ins, etc. Elementary principals will communicate the schedules for special education students in self-contained classes (PreK-5).
- Monday, November 23: Week B elementary and middle schools will follow their regular early dismissal schedule; afternoon virtual instruction will not occur on these days. Elementary principals will communicate the schedules for special education students in self-contained classes (PreK-5).
- Tuesday, November 24: Week B elementary and middle schools will follow their regular early dismissal schedule; afternoon virtual instruction will not occur on these days. Elementary principals will communicate the schedules for special education students in self-contained classes (PreK-5).
- Wednesday, November 25 will be a Virtual ½ Day for ALL PreK-12 students. No students will attend in-person and principals will communicate the schedule for this day.
A revised school calendar shows Week A/Week B designations through February, though parents should not presume that we will be following this model for the next four months. This is strictly for planning purposes. By the end of February, there will have been 51 days of in-person instruction for Week A PreK-8 students and 50 days of in-person instruction for Week B PreK-8 students.
Changes for Lunch pick up – Week of Nov 2
Monday (for Monday and Tuesday) and Wednesday (for Wednesday through Sunday) between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Barbara Sargent, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
