Juneteenth Added To Hoboken School Calendar; COVID Rules Coming

HOBOKEN, NJ — As the state of New Jersey's back-to-school COVID rules have been changing, Hoboken's superintendent of schools said Wednesday that she will release the district's reopening plan by this coming Monday.

Districts around New Jersey have had to deal with changing state guidance amid the rise of the Delta variant of coronavirus, and must determine how they will deal with travel quarantines, masking, remote learning, and other precautions. READ MORE: Will Fall Travel Plans Mean Remote School? In Some NJ Districts, Yes

Two weeks ago, the state said that students must wear masks indoors this year, a change from June, when the governor said he'd leave it up to the individual districts. The governor also had said that students must learn in person, with no remote option, but that also could change.

Hoboken Superintendent of Schools Christine Johnson said on Wednesday that after more meetings and guidance from state and other officials, she will release the plan Monday.

"Please understand that there are many new moving parts that continue to surface at the state level," she wrote in a letter. "I do not want to send out our updated plan until I am confident that it is in final form for the opening of school."

There was one recent change in planning for the new school year in Hoboken — although it wasn't related to COVID.

Earlier this month, the school board revised its 2021-2022 school calendar, which now includes a day off for the new federal Juneteenth holiday. In 2022, the day will be celebrated on Friday, June 17.

Juneteenth marks the date (June 19, 1865) when Union soldiers freed the last remaining slaves in Texas, enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation long after it was originally issued by President Abraham Lincoln on New Year's Day of 1863.

That updated Hoboken school calendar is here.

Students in Hoboken start school with a full day on Thursday, Sept. 9.

Guidance On Monday

Regarding the upcoming year, Superintendent Johnson wrote on Wednesday, in part, "The governor and the New Jersey Department of Education have put out some specific requirements for this coming school year. Those requirements include an Executive Order to continue the wearing of masks on school property and at any location for school or district activities during and after school hours, as well as the elimination of parent choice for remote learning.

"Over the past two weeks, School Superintendents have participated in numerous meetings with statewide officials. These meetings have brought up some questions that the NJ Department of Education is working to clarify and have cleared up some areas of ambiguity...I will send the plan out to all families on Monday, August 23rd...I do not want to send out our updated plan until I am confident that it is in final form for the opening of school. When you receive our district's updated plan, feel free to send your child's principal or me any questions."

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Keep watching the district website for updates, as well as Hoboken Patch.

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