Bridgewater Families Rally, Want Schools Open 5 Full Days

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — More and more parents are calling for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District to reopen schools full-time.

Parents from every single school in the district are joining the "BRRSD Parents For A Plan Forward" group which has taken action to get more in-person instruction for their children.

"BRRSD Parents For a Plan Forward is a diverse group of parents, families and community members who have come together as the voice of so many families and students who need a clear plan forward and a choice that meets our children's education and social/emotional needs," said Melanie Santos, one of the group’s members.

A rally was recently held on March 13 at the Bridgewater Township Municipal Complex with students, parents and political officials attending. Some of those officials included Mayor Matthew Moench, Councilman Michael Kirsh, Councilman Timothy Ring, gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, Senator Mike Doherty, Assemblyman John DiMaio, and Assemblyman Erik Peterson.

The rally was held to mark one full year since schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 people came out, held signs and some spoke including Santos. She stressed the importance of giving parents a choice.

"The current model is not working for a huge portion of our student body. Education has never been and should never be one size fits all. For those who have chosen and embraced the virtual model we celebrate with you and are not seeking to remove that choice from you. Rather, today we stand as a voice of those who haven’t been given the choice that meets their needs. We are here today asking for that choice - a choice that meets the needs of our in-person learners," said a parent at the rally.

An 8th grader at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School also gave a powerful speech.

"I had no idea that I would be seeing some of my friends for the last time in the school year when I said 'see you later' that day. No one knew it would be almost a year before I saw them again. When we first got the news that we were going virtual, some people were excited, some people were devastated, and now, no one is excited for virtual school. It is a cheap substitute for in-person learning," said the student.

Along with the rally, the group has also created a petition that has more than 1,000 signatures, a website and social media pages.

Growing by the day the group is not happy with the progress the school district has been making in terms of returning students to school.

The district began the 2020-21 school year in an all-virtual mode in August 2020 before allowing language learning disability students back 5 days in October.

On Oct. 12, a hybrid plan was unveiled for all grades. Eventually one of the cohorts was collapsed in mid-February 2021.

As of March 15, IEP/504 students were able to return for 5 half days.

A survey was sent out to parents Thursday night in regards to how the fourth marking period will be handled but it is unlikely that students will be able to return full-time before the end of the school year.

"Unfortunately even though we examined it and each school's pandemic team met... we can't offer full-day instruction for the fourth marking period," said Interim Superintendent Dr. Thomas Ficarra at the Tuesday night Board of Education meeting.

Ficarra pointed to issues with lunch and staffing as the main reasons.

Ficarra also said the district is planning for "full-days five days a week of in-person instruction for everyone" in September.

"Anything less than five full days in September is entirely unacceptable," said Moench.

"Last year, yes we were in health crises but now we know how to mitigate it," said Santos. "We want transparency and when the next plan will be."

For more information on the "BRRSD Parents For A Plan Forward" group click here or Facebook.

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