Maplewood Parents Sign Petition For More Distance Learning

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Nearly 600 parents have signed a petition to be sent to the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education, after the board passed its distance learning plan on Monday night for the last five weeks of the academic year and for summer.

Parents say the district didn't give parents enough time for input, and that the plan doesn't include enough live instruction from teachers.

The petition, which will also be sent to the Essex County Office of Education and the state education commissioner, says, "Last night, the SOMSD Board of Education approved its School Health-Related Closure Plan ... posted on the district’s website, without any prior direct notice to parents, at 5:30 p.m. in the afternoon, an hour and a half prior to the board’s scheduled 7 p.m. meeting."

The petition said that approximately 300 district parents had submitted a list of concerns already about distance learning.

The petition lists concerns about the plan:

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• From kindergarten through second grade, students receive recorded instruction only;
• For older students, the district “recommends that teachers use pre-recorded lessons when classes are scheduled,” and that, “if a teacher chooses to lead live lessons, they are to record the live lesson and upload it to Google Classroom so that students who could not attend the live lesson will have the opportunity to participate in the lesson at a later time.” (The petition says: "This preference for asynchronous learning over live interactive teaching denies students the opportunity to engage with their teachers, ask questions, and participate in discussions, all of which are critical components of instruction."
• The district will curtail individualized services and instruction to all students with IEPs by (i) restricting access to direct instruction by grade level and (ii) inexplicably providing no related direct virtual services to students that are not eligible for Extended School Year (ESY). (p. 9-11, “Component 2: Addressing Special Education Needs Plan”); and
• Daily hours of instruction for all students will be capped at a maximum of 4 hours, with no stated minimum (p. 15, “Teacher Responsibilities”).

A story in TAPinto said that at Monday's board meeting, some board members were cut off when they tried to ask questions.

The story said that parent Nathan Marinoff complained that his first grader had only 15 minutes of work to do each day.

On the petition, one parent commented, "Before covid the quality and consistency of education was poor. Now we're in a crisis. Please step up."

The petition said that previously, in response to concerns about distance learning, "Dr. Ronald Taylor, the district’s superintendent, has justified the plan by saying that, 'access and equity are not simply concerns for children and parents, but for teachers and their families as well,' and by insisting that any concerns voiced by the community in favor of increased daily hours of instruction were, 'one-sided' and insufficiently sensitive to the personal demands of district faculty. While parents in the SOMSD support teachers and understand the difficulties inherent to working in the current environment, the district’s choice to not only accept but affirmatively recommend that no live instruction be provided to its students is unacceptable."

The last day of school is June 19, according to the school calendar.

Gov. Phil Murphy recently decided that New Jersey schools will be closed for the rest of the year. After discussing with the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governor said that spring sports will not resume for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

Many districts will hold virtual graduation ceremonies.

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