Hoboken Schools Begin Planning For Fall With New State Rules

HOBOKEN, NJ — After Gov. Phil Murphy released rules on Friday for what schools must do to reopen in fall, including everyone wearing face coverings and staying 6 feet apart, Hoboken Schools Superintendent Christine Johnson said Monday that the district will begin a five-part planning phase.

The Hoboken public schools are slated to reopen Tuesday, Sept. 8.

In her newsletter Monday evening, Johnson wrote:

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This morning, I participated in a conference call hosted by the NJ Department of Education's Hudson County Office. While the conference call did not answer a lot of questions, it was noted that a checklist would be distributed for districts to follow when developing their plans. What we do know is that in order to meet the social distancing guidelines in classrooms and common spaces in schools, there must be a smaller footprint of students each day, at every school location.

As the Hoboken Public School District moves forward, I know that our plan has to be elastic and take into account the opinions and feelings of our students, parents and staff. And, before we even begin, we all must agree that both compromise and flexibility are essential. There will not be a plan that is perfect for everyone. But, the best way to start our process is simply to survey our families and staff members.

Our plan will be developed in the following five phases:

1. A preliminary, non-binding survey to all families and staff in order to establish a potential teaching and learning footprint in each school and grade level (June 30 - July 6);
2. Committee formation, roles of members and subcommittees, tasks and timelines (July 7 & 8);
3. Subcommittee work and recommendations in the areas of Governance and Personnel, Facilities and Operations, Health and Wellness, Teaching and Learning, and Finance (July 9 - July 17);
4. Distribution of the Hoboken Public School District's draft plan and a final survey to all families and staff (July 18 - July 27);
5. Publication of the Hoboken Public School District's final plan (July 28).

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Meanwhile, Hoboken High School Graduation will be held at JFK Stadium on Wednesday, July 8 at 6 p.m. The Middle School Moving Up Ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 9 at 6 p.m. also at JFK Stadium.

The state of the state, and indoor dining

On Saturday, Gov. Phil Murphy reported 37 new coronavirus-linked deaths in New Jersey in the previous 24 hours, and 347 cases statewide. That means there have been 13,094 deaths since early March in New Jersey, and 170,873 confirmed cases. But the daily death rate has declined since the state's most deadly day, April 30, when 460 New Jerseyans had been lost to the virus in 24 hours, or one person every three minutes.

Starting this week, malls, playgrounds, and some indoor dining were set to reopen in New Jersey, with restrictions. But on Monday, Murphy walked back the indoor dining change, saying gatherings inside bars and restaurants were continuing the spread of the virus.

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