EAST BRUNSWICK–Superintendent Victor Valeski spoke about the East Brunswick Public School District’s plan involving the continued education of its students, amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
“By now, we all understand we are navigating uncharted territory in so many ways. … Thank you for your support, commitment and dedication to your child’s education,” Valeski said in a prepared statement. “I know you have all been thrust into roles you never expected, all while continuing to work from home yourself or trying to manage family care logistics.”
Valeski said social distancing is keeping everyone apart, yet everyone continues to work together by remote access.
“Through the work of countless people, we activated distance learning … and we know it’s not perfect. Our dedicated team of professionals work every day to refine instruction, assessment and feedback,” Valeski said in the statement.
On March 27, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state will not be prepared to revisit the closure of schools until at least April 17 at the earliest, according to Valeski.
“Preparing for the extension of school closure, the next best step in our distance learning journey is to provide virtual instruction for all students,” Valeski said in the statement. “As we venture into video instruction, I ask families to help me ensure these videos are not shared, posted or altered in any way. They are for instructional purposes only.”
As the district’s teachers prepare to provide instructional video support to students, Valeski said the district is planning professional development as follows for March 30 and 31:
- Instructional hours for East Brunswick High School and Churchill Junior High School will begin at 10:15 a.m.
- There will be no morning office hours on March 30 or 31. Hammarskjold Middle School and all elementary schools will follow an early dismissal schedule. Staff may not be available to respond to emails in the afternoon.
- The third marking period ends on April 3. Report cards will be issued as planned on April 20. Spring Break will continue as scheduled, April 6-10.
Additionally, Valeski said the New Jersey Department of Education has informed districts that there will be no state standardized tests administered this spring. This includes the NJSLA, ACCESS for ELLs, and DLM.
“Just a reminder, it is important that students continue to participate in instruction to the fullest extent possible. My entire staff is available to support you,” Valeski said in the statement. “Please do not hesitate to communicate with your child’s teacher if there are circumstances that prohibit your child from completing school work in a timely fashion. School counselors are available if your family needs support during this difficult time.”
“As always, timely and important school district updates are on our website, including additional educational resources. Please check them frequently, as they do change from day today. We will get through this together … #EBSchoolsStrong,” Valeski said in the statement.
For more information, visit www.ebnet.org.