Weehawken Superintendent of Schools Eric Crespo today announced the District’s plan for the reopening of township schools next month. The Superintendent explained the District’s plan in a letter to parents:
53 Liberty Place Weehawken, NJ 07086
201.422.6126 | WeehawkenSchools.net | @WeehawkenTSD
Mr. Eric Crespo Mr. Matthew Whitford
Superintendent of Schools Business Administrator/Board Secretary
August 14, 2020
Dear Families,
We promised to make decisions based on science and health facts and have stated we will make changes as necessary. Unfortunately, after reviewing the latest scientific research and Governor Murphy’s Executive Order Temporarily Pausing the Resumption of Indoor Dining, we must begin the 2020-2021 school year with one session days with grab and go breakfast and lunch options and students leaving the school buildings at 12:36pm each day. Considering the safety of our students and their families as well as our faculty and staff, we will not be able to safely serve lunch during the school day right now. When Governor Murphy lifts this Executive Order, we will consider reverting back to a full day schedule.
Earlier this week, Governor Murphy said, “allowing diners to sit maskless for an extended period of time in a restaurant where the air-conditioning unit could silently spread coronavirus is a risk we cannot yet take.” Eating lunch in our school cafeteria or classrooms may pose the same risk. We should not expose our students and their families to this. Due to this reason, the Extended Care program will also be temporarily suspended.
We do feel strongly that there are inherent benefits of coming to school for face to face instruction, and we are happy to be able to open for at least the one session days, as of right now. We look forward to the day when we will be able to open at full capacity! In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the data and make appropriate changes when necessary.
As of right now, we are planning to continue with our multiple models approach. We will have a fully online learning from home option called My Weehawken Online and two hybrid options. The hybrid options include Cohorts A and Z. Cohort A will come to school on Mondays and Tuesdays and every other Friday. Cohort Z will come to school on Wednesdays and Thursdays and every other Friday. See schedule below. All classes will still meet each day but for shorter periods. When Cohort A students are home on Wednesdays and Thursdays and alternating Fridays, they will still be able to log into a Google Meet to learn from their teachers in a live stream. When Cohort Z students are home on Mondays and Tuesdays and alternating Fridays, they too will be able to log into a Google Meet to learn from their teachers in a live stream on those days. My Weehawken Online students (100% virtual) will log in each day to learn from their teacher in a live Google Meet. Teachers will be available to all students in the afternoons to provide additional support, small group instruction, office hours and to answer questions, comments or concerns. Counseling will also be available in each school every day in person or virtually. A more detailed expectation guide will be available by Monday on our website.
If you have not yet received a letter from RealTime indicating which cohort your child is in, please email your principal or info@weehawken.k12.nj.us. If you wish to change to the 100% remote cohort or to an A or Z cohort, please let us know. We will be happy to accommodate you. Further, if you qualify for free or reduced lunch and need a wifi internet device, please complete this form: https://tinyurl.com/WeeTech2021.
If you have concerns about childcare on the days that your child is learning from home, please visit this website: https://www.childcarenj.gov/Parents/Child-Care-Resource-and-Referral-Agencies.aspx. We hope to have more resources for you shortly.
In the meantime, you can review our plans on our district website or other helpful sites below.
https://sites.google.com/weehawken.k12.nj.us/weereturn
https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/20200629f.shtml
September 8 & 9: Teacher Professional Development
September 10: Wednesday/Thursday Cohort comes to school for Orientation (Monday/Tuesday cohort stays home.)
September 11: Monday/Tuesday Cohort comes to school for Orientation (Wednesday/Thursday cohort stays home.)
September 14 & 15: Monday/Tuesday Cohort comes to school (Wednesday/Thursday cohort stays home.)
September 16 & 17 & 18: Wednesday/Thursday Cohort comes to school (Monday/Tuesday cohort stays home.)
September 21 & 22: Monday/Tuesday Cohort comes to school (Wednesday/Thursday cohort stays home.)
September 23 & 24: Wednesday/Thursday Cohort comes to school (Monday/Tuesday cohort stays home.)
September 25: Monday/Tuesday Cohort comes to school (Wednesday/Thursday cohort stays home.)
Cohort A: Mondays, Tuesdays and alternating Fridays (Sept 11, 25, etc)
Cohort Z: Wednesdays, Thursdays and alternating Fridays (Sept 18, Oct 2, etc)
Cohort R: 100% Virtual (remote)
Sincerely,
Eric Crespo
