JACKSON – Superintendent of Schools Nicole Pormilli has provided an update regarding the Jackson School District’s plan for the 2021-22 school year in a “Road Forward” video.
She said administrators will work to address the physical and mental health of students and staff members as the district’s facilities fully reopen for the 2021-22 school year following the 2020-21 academic year that was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The new academic year will begin for students on Sept. 9. The Jackson School District is comprised of six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.
For 2021-22, administrators in all school districts in New Jersey were required to submit a Local Educational Agency (LEA) Plan for Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Service to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The plan is mandatory under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which is intended to help school districts fully reopen amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
According to the district’s reopening plan for 2021-22, the Jackson School District is currently fully open for students and staff members.
The plan states that administrators are planning to provide five full days per week of in-person instruction for students as the new school year begins.
In May, Gov. Phil Murphy required all school districts to return to in-person, full-day instruction at the start of the 2021-22 school year. During the 2020-21 school year, school districts implemented a combination of in-person and remote learning.
As stated in the reopening plan, a focal point for Jackson schools will be the psychical and mental health of students and staff members.
In an Aug. 23 video presentation, Pormilli said, “We are very excited to see students in our schools to the full capacity of a five-day program. We are absolutely going to be five-day, full-day, in-person learning for all of our students.”
The school district will act in accordance with Murphy’s executive orders and guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Department of Health and the Ocean County Health Department, according to the superintendent.
“By any guideline or executive order, things are changing on a daily basis. We are putting this information out (to the community), but it could change and we will communicate if it does change.
“We are expecting normal schedules for our students; we will be serving lunch every day, hot and cold options, and lunch again for this year will be free for all students,” Pormilli said.
Breakfast for all students will also be provided at no cost, she said.
As New Jersey continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus, Murphy has issued Executive Order 251 which requires staff members, students and other personnel in every school to wear a mask while they are indoors.
“Although we would have preferred the wearing of a mask to be optional for everyone, the governor’s executive order mandates that staff members, students and visitors wear a mask in our buildings and on our buses. Masks do not need to be worn outside and we will continuously monitor the temperature,” Pormilli said.
Some school buses are not air-conditioned and if there is excessive heat masks may not be required to be worn on a bus.
Full remote instruction is not being offered to Jackson students as it was during the 2020-21 school year.
“There is full-time, in-person learning for everyone. There is homebound instruction that has always been available if there is a medical need,” Pormilli said.
All athletic programs will be offered and will follow New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines. Concerts, other events and field trips will be offered in-person. Visitors will be allowed into the district’s schools, but will be limited to essential situations, according to the superintendent.