Middletown Schools Working On Five-Day Return, Lunch In Schools

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown school superintendent said Thursday night she is working to resume Phase Six of the district's "Restart and Recovery" plan, which is the return to five days a week in-person schooling, with a longer length of the school day and students eating lunch in the cafeteria.

However, no date has been set at this time for when that will start. The Middletown school district is also looking to hire extra lunch aids to supervise students during lunch at school and make sure social distancing is being kept.

Right now, Middletown schools are on a hybrid schedule, with shortened school days and all students eat lunch at home. Parents who wish to keep their child entirely at home can always stick with that option, as well.

"Please be advised that our administrative team is currently working to fully implement phase 6. This is our priority at this time," said superintendent Mary Ellen Walker in this letter to parents Thursday night. "We are also beginning the planning process for our last step in reopening, which is extending the in-person instructional day, including lunchtime for students. In order to extend the day and provide the opportunity for students to eat lunch in school, we are working to find creative solutions to capacity constraints while maximizing social distancing during lunchtime."

"As part of the planning process, we are exploring staffing needs to resume lunches," she wrote. "We encourage our community members to assist us, if possible, by applying for a position to help supervise student lunchtime. We will post the position for non-instructional lunch aids soon. Applications only be accepted through our district website under the Employment link once the position is posted. We do not accept paper, email, or fax applications for employment."

"Once developed, we will inform the community of our plan for eating lunch in school as well as the anticipated implementation date," said the superintendent. "Currently, we are in the early stages of creating the plan, and we do not have an anticipated implementation date."

Walker also asked the Middletown community for their "continued assistance in reducing the spread of COVID-19."

She said the school district follows New Jersey Dept. of Health guidance on when schools can reopen full time, and the Central East area of New Jersey saw a slight rise in cases over the past week.

"After a few weeks of steady improvement for our region, Central East, on the COVID-19 Activity Level Index (CALI) Weekly Reports, we see a slight rise in the number of cases on the weekly report released today," she said. "This results in our region remaining in High Risk Level status. The health data for our region, community and schools drives our decisions on moving through our reopening plan. Please continue to adhere to the safety protocols that reduce spread of the virus. Particularly, continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing as well as avoid gatherings. We are all in this together."

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