‘Safe Return To School' Plan Taking Shape In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Dr. Laura Morana, interim superintendent for the Washington Township Schools, recapped steps to bring together the district’s reopening plan, tentatively for Aug. 5, with a presentation planned for the Board of Education meeting on Aug. 10.

“We have a lot of pieces moving right now,” Morana told the public at the most recent Board of Education meeting. “[School] Administrators continue to be focused on making the upcoming school year as normal as possible, considering some of the factors that may impact the work that we may need to do.”

Factors, she said, may be adjusted based on guidance the district receives from the State of New Jersey’s Departments of Health and Education.

Families will receive information via “paperless packets” with critical dates and information, she said.

See Washington Township Schools “Safe Return to In-Person Instruction” as of June 22, here.

Visit the district’s website here for updates.

She kicked off her presentation by sharing her experience and the warm welcome she’s received so far as interim superintendent.

The district is in the process of hiring a permanent superintendent, which Board President Jessica DeCicco said candidates are being whittled down to the final few, the district hoping to have the permanent superintendent picked by mid-August and starting mid-October.

Morana first complimented district employees for their dedication in readying for the start of the school year.

“Anyone and everyone is working very hard to ensure that the opening of school for our children is nothing but stellar,” she said. “We are looking forward to a really positive opening, provided that there aren’t any changes in the conditions that could impact that opening.”

She said conditions that could impact opening include virus transmission and guidance received by New Jersey’s Department of Education and Department of Health.

Morana presented further information to the public with details about reopening, including some steps to reopening, which had been initially presented during the June 24 Board of Education meeting. Among points she covered:

• The district is waiting for information from the Department of Education about potential funding allocation Washington Township Schools may receive for the 2021-2022 school year.
• There’s a requirement for full-year, in-person instruction for the upcoming school year. Input is currently being sought to execute this safely, she said, from members of the community and school building administrators, in all of the district’s schools. The district is currently gathering feedback from families, for example, with concerns about transportation.
• The district is also monitoring Department of Health - both at the state and local levels - as well as the Department of Education, information received about reopening safely. The district’s lead nurse and Morana had a lengthy conversation, she reported, along with the township’s Health Department and school district’s physician, on a safe reopening plan. Morana said she’ll have more information in the near future on the outcome of those discussions.
• She said guidance received from the Centers for Disease Control on July 9 on masking, needs to be synthesized and directed by the State of New Jersey, as to how to proceed. She said the American Academy of Pediatrics presented their findings within the past week on the use of masks and social distancing, something the district is also taking into account as it plans for the safe reopening. The Board of Education voted in June to send a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy asking him to repeal New Jersey's school mask mandates, leaving it up to each school district to decide.
• The 2020-2021 school year provided a road map about the expansion of in-person instruction, to guide the Washington Township Schools into the 2021-2022 school year. She said those practices could be implemented as guidelines into how the start of the new school year could look.
• Will there be a hybrid option? Right now, based on local and state expectations, she said there will be no hybrid school. Remote learning won’t be happening at this point, but the guidance could change, she added.
• How the typical instructional day per grade level will look is still being fine-tuned, Morana said.
• General health and safety guidelines for students pertaining to buses and school campuses overall, are still being discussed among local school and health officials and the district’s physician, she added. The Board of Education will be apprised of recommendations, she said.
• Contact tracing will differ from the last school year, Morana said, with vaccinated versus unvaccinated students and staff in the district to be considered. That still needs to be implemented into a plan, as well as the possibility of COVID testing within the district.
• The next steps, she said, will play out through July at the district and school levels, in terms of planning how certain things could look for the coming school year and returning to “normal,” such as field trips. Creating guidelines for after-school clubs and other activities for the students, are also being considered, Morana added.

Morana’s full remarks can be viewed in the video below:

“Washington Township is an amazing school district,” Morana concluded. “You should be very proud of the work that you’ve done and I can only see you reach wonderful heights in a way that will benefit all of your students.”

RELATED: School Board Asks Governor To Unmask Long Valley Students

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.