Local schools are remaining open

Some after-school activities and programs in some districts are being canceled as area deals with the aftermath of terrorist attacks.

   Local schools are remaining open today, although some after-school activities and programs are being canceled in the wake of the chaos brought on by suspected terrorist activity in New York City and other locations nationally.
   Plumsted Superintendent Gerald Woehr said the school district is following the same emergency procedures used during hurricanes. Parents who wish to pick up their children can, but schools themselves will not close without a declared state of emergency by either the governor or the president.
   Dr. Woehr said given that many township residents are or are related to local military personnel from Fort Dix and Maguire Air Force Base, who may be called to duty, township elementary school students will not be sent home unless an adult is known to be present.
   "If there is no adult present, we will keep the children in school and make arrangements to have them picked up later," he said.
   Dr. Woehr said the district’s major concerns center on both the township’s proximity to Maguire and Fort Dix, and its proximity to the Oyster Creek Nuclear Facility in Forked River, which is approximately 20 miles southeast of Plumsted.
   Dr. Woehr said the school district will meet after school to set up a telephone tree and to set up counseling services for students who may know victims of the attack.
   In Upper Freehold, Superintendent Robert Connelly said an e-mail was sent to all staff members Tuesday morning instructing them how to inform students of the incident.
   Teachers in grades 5 through 12 were asked to convey the news to students. Administrators met with teachers in kindergarten through fourth grade to assist them in notifying their students.
   In addition, teachers were instructed to watch for reactions from students. Some students who were visibly upset were referred to the child study team and guidance offices.
   The principals and vice principals searched files to identify students with parents who work in New York City. Dr. Connelly said 16 to 20 students at the high school and about a dozen at the elementary/middle school had parents or close relatives working in the city, but not necessarily at the World Trade Center, which collapsed after being struck by two airplanes.
   "The number who actually work at the World Trade Center is fewer," he said. "This is very upsetting to everyone."
   At the time, around noon, officials were uncertain about whether after-school programs would be operating as normal.
   In Washington and Millstone, officials said the districts would not close early and that after-school programs would continue as normal.
   In all districts, parents were able to pick up their children early.