Hazlet District Rescinds All-Virtual November Decision

HAZLET, NJ - Hazlet Public Schools rescinded its decision to go all-virtual for two weeks in November following fall break, according to superintendent Dr. Scott Ridley. Despite a Thursday announcement calling for all-remote classes for two weeks in November due to out-of-state travel concerns over the extended vacation, the superintendent cited pushback from concerned parents as reason to give pause to the decision.

In an online message posted Thursday, the district announced the suspension of in-person classes from Nov. 9 until Nov. 23 over public health concerns relating to out-of-state travel during fall break. Read more: Hazlet School District To Go Virtual For 2 Weeks In November

"We would remiss to not consider requests from both working parents and those whose children had begun to flourish since being back in school for real," said superintendent Dr. Scott Ridley in a video update on Friday afternoon. "Your emails, though at times less than polite, were also genuine and written with the absolute best interest of your children in mind. No parent can be faulted for that."

Students traveling to a state on New Jersey's quarantine list during the vacation are asked to opt for remote instruction for 14 days.

Watch Dr. Ridley's full announcement below:

Thursday's announcement certainly came with its share of critics, some who generated an online petition to eliminate the fall break entirely. The petition, which surfaced Friday morning, is dubbed “Eliminate Fall 2020 Break in Hazlet, NJ” and has garnered nearly 200 signatures. Its creator, an anonymous parent who identifies as a non-practicing educator, calls for the removal of the fall break entirely, halting out-of-state vacation plans and rendering post-travel quarantine unnecessary.

“People are not going to quarantine when they return because the rest of life is not shutdown,” the petition reads. “These families will go to Disney and those same children will still be standing next to my daughter in dance class the following week, attending Boy Scout meetings with my son, and standing in line with their parents at Shoprite because none of these places plan to halt operations.”

Neighboring Middletown Public Schools already eliminated its fall break, a representative confirmed to Patch.

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