Dear Parents and Guardians:

It was exciting to see our students in grades K-5 return to in-person learning today!  The students were very happy to be back in the building and the staff was thrilled to have students in their classrooms.  

Per Governor Murphy’s Executive Order, all schools must be closed for in-person instruction on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd. Accordingly, all students will learn remotely in their cohorts that day.

In my last community update, I shared all of the efforts the district has taken to increase our daily substitute pool. Our efforts are finally coming to fruition and I am pleased to share that these efforts are paying off.  We have several candidates in the pipeline to receive their certificate and should be available to substitute shortly. I am confident that we will have enough daily substitutes to return our students in grades 6-12 starting on October 29, 2020.

There are a couple of things I would like to bring to your attention for our Middle and High Schoolers returning to in-person instruction.

• Please check your child’s transportation information in the Realtime Parent Portal on October 26th for any changes to their bus stop or pick-up time.
• As the principals have previously indicated, there might be some teacher changes as a result of returning to in-person instruction.
• Students in grades 6-12 will be divided into their cohorts that were announced in August and will attend in-person instruction 2 days per week.  Please review the letter sent in August for instructions on how to access your child’s cohort information.
• Each building’s schedule and additional information will be released by the principal in the upcoming days.
• Students will be on an early dismissal schedule.
• Wednesdays will continue as all-virtual learning days.
• Should you choose to change your child’s instructional format (from virtual to in-person or vice versa, please complete the Change of Learning Style Form which is also found on the Return to School website.
• Windows will be open and a fan will be running to bring fresh air into the classrooms.  Please send your child into school in appropriate clothing for the weather along with an additional layer.
• Snack time will be provided. Students will be asked to not talk and socialize until their snack is finished and their masks are back on.
• All students who are currently attending school four days a week (some self-contained students and English Language Learners) will remain on that schedule.  
• The High School administration will release information on student parking permits at a later date.
• It may become necessary to notify a student’s parents very early in the morning or later in the evening that their child will not be able to report to school due to a positive case in their class, school, or bus.  Please have childcare plans ready in the event this occurs in Jefferson.

Our ability to keep students in school depends on the health of the community.  I ask for your support in wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing proper respiratory hygiene.  

Sincerely,

Jeanne Howe

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Over the last several weeks, the district has worked diligently to increase our daily substitute pool by taking the following measures:

• Advertising in local newspapers;
• Sending a letter to the community;
• Participating in a news segment on NBC News;
• Reaching out to substitutes from previous years to gauge their interest in returning;
• Posting on the district’s marquees; and
• Following up with applicants who initially showed interest.

Although our substitute teacher cadre is not yet large enough to return to in-person learning for the entire district, I am pleased to announce that I believe we have enough daily substitutes to return our K-5 students only to in-person learning starting on October 15, 2020.  

There are a couple of things I would like to bring to your attention for our K-5 students returning to in-person instruction.  

• Please check your child’s transportation information in the Realtime Parent Portal on October 13th for any changes to their bus stop or pick-up time.
• As the principals have previously communicated, there might be some teacher changes as a result of returning to in-person instruction.
• Students in grades K-5 will be divided into their cohorts that were announced in August and will attend in-person instruction 2 days per week. Please review the letter sent in August for instructions on how to access your student’s cohort information.    
• Students will be on an early dismissal schedule.  
• Wednesdays will continue as all-virtual learning days.
• Windows will be open and a fan will be running to bring fresh air into the classrooms.  Please send your child into school in appropriate clothing for the weather along with an additional layer.
• Snack time will be provided. Students will be asked to not talk and socialize until their snack is finished and their masks are back on.
• All students who are currently attending school four days a week (some self-contained students and English Language Learners) will remain on that schedule.  
• It may become necessary to notify a student’s parents very early in the morning or later in the evening that their child will not be able to report to school due to a positive case in their class, school, or bus.  Please have childcare plans ready in the event this occurs in Jefferson.

While I know this decision is disappointing for our Middle and High schoolers and their parents, please know that we will continue our recruitment efforts to further increase our pool of daily substitute teachers with the goal of bringing our students in grades 6-12 back to in-person learning very soon.  

I ask for the community’s support in wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and practicing proper respiratory hygiene. Together, we can keep the spread of COVID-19 down in our community and help keep our students and teachers safe and in school.  

Sincerely,

Jeanne Howe

9/21/2020 BOE Meeting Statement, Questions, & Answers

Dear Parents and Guardians:

I have received emails with recurring questions about why schools are unable to open on October 1st as hoped. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the situation as well as provide an update to our virtual learning plan.  

Our district is in need of daily substitute teachers, those who will cover for a teacher who is out for the day. In a non-COVID-19 year, we have many vacancies that are uncovered and we anticipate that our need for these substitutes will be significantly greater given the current circumstances. Because of social distancing guidelines, we are unable to use strategies to cover unfilled positions and require more substitutes than we have in the past. I sent a letter out to the community asking for those who are willing to contact human resources and apply for a substitute teacher certificate.  In order to be qualified for a certificate, a person must have sixty college credits, be fingerprinted, and pass a criminal background check. Although we did have interest after the letter was sent and a segment on NBC news aired, it takes time to process the certificates through the State.  

The entire state is in a substitute teacher shortage, this is nothing unique to Jefferson Township.  The current environment makes it even more difficult to find substitute teachers.

We are continuing our recruiting efforts and will hopefully have a larger qualified and certified pool of substitute teachers to draw upon so we may reopen our schools in the near future.  

As I had shared with the community on September 15th, we are continuously reviewing our virtual learning model and identifying enhancements that can be implemented.

I would like to share with you that we are making the following adjustments to our virtual learning model starting on September 28th:

• All English Language Learners and self-contained students (with the exception of Pre-School) will attend school four days a week on the current early dismissal schedule. Virtual Wednesdays will remain as previously scheduled.

• For all virtual learners, we will be combining cohorts and all students will be learning synchronously with their teacher(s) four days a week. Virtual Wednesdays will remain as previously scheduled.

• Students who attend the Denville and Pequannock campuses of Morris County School of Technology will be transported to those sites four days a week. Virtual Wednesdays will remain as previously scheduled. More information regarding individual schedules will be forthcoming from the High School Principal and Supervisor of Pupil Personnel Services.

Please contact your child’s school if you have any questions regarding the above changes to our virtual plan.

Dear Members of the School Community:

I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we started off this school year in a virtual setting.  No doubt, there were some bumps in the road, and our team of teachers, support staff, and administration have been working diligently to resolve these issues to give our students the best possible experience given the circumstances.  

Although we all want our students back in our buildings, after much consideration, Jefferson Township Public Schools will continue in a virtual learning environment through at least October 15, 2020.  This decision will be reevaluated no later than October 1, 2020.  

We are continually looking at opportunities to refine our virtual learning program.  As opportunities become available, we will modify our approach and communicate any changes to you. 

Should you have any continuing concerns regarding virtual learning, I encourage you to contact your child’s teacher or principal for assistance.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Howe

Welcome: 2020-21

Parent Virtual Handbook

Please click here for the Return to School Plan website

This correspondence was also sent to our local elected officials, Assemblywoman DeCroce, Senator Pennacchio, & Assemblyman Webber. Our district continues to push for economic relief for our district, even during this difficult time. 

SOS Update 5.21.2020

School Health-Related Closure Preparedness Plan