Maplewood Parents Must Decide By Jan. 4 About Return To School

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange-Maplewood School District has released a video and information about the district's plan to start on-site education on Jan. 19 after four months of all-remote learning.

Parents have been asked to decide by Jan. 4 whether they'll choose hybrid on-site learning (starting the day after Martin Luther King Day), or stay remote.

The district wrote on its website this month, "We understand that some families may still be apprehensive about sending their children back to school during this pandemic. Knowing this, the District would like to provide parents/guardians with flexibility, but also needs to plan in advance for scheduling purposes and ensure we are abiding by social distancing requirements.

"After reviewing the pre-recorded Return to School Town Hall Webex (released on 12/17) we ask that you please indicate your child’s(ren’s) plans for return to school (continue virtual instruction or hybrid in-person instruction)."

The website has forms in Spanish, English, and Creole.

Coronavirus numbers in Maplewood

Meanwhile, on Christmas Eve, Mayor Frank McGehee gave an update on coronavirus numbers. He said the town had recorded 712 cases, around a fifth of which were in the last month.

As of Tuesday night, 337,000 Americans had died of the virus. See which states had the highest death toll in the past week here.

At the height of the crisis in New Jersey, when testing and PPE were scarce, 460 people died from the virus in 24 hours on April 30.

The death rate had, for several months, been plummeting as people stayed inside and took precautions. Back on Sept. 8, the state announced two new deaths confirmed in 24 hours.
But deaths began rising again with gatherings, reopenings, and travel to states with higher transmission.

In total, more than 16,000 people in New Jersey have now passed away from the virus.

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