UPDATE: Millburn Schools Chief Releases Reopening Plan Amid COVID

MILLBURN, NJ — Millburn Superintendent of Schools Christine Burton shared preliminary details Monday night about the district's reopening plan and COVID precautions. The public schools in Millburn reopen for students Sept. 1.

Burton first shared some details Friday and then shared more specifics at Monday night's Board of Education meeting.

Among the highlights of the documents released Monday (which are subject to change):

• Students and staff will maintain as much distance as possible during lunch periods
• Students will eat meals with their cohorts
• Students will try to maintain 3-foot distance in class
• Unvaccinated individuals should stay home for 7 days after domestic travel beyond states contiguous to New Jersey. (See the documents linked below for more specifics.) READ MORE: Will Fall Travel Plans Mean Remote School? In Some NJ Districts, Yes
• Remote learning will be offered only to those testing positive for COVID or quarantining.

The handouts and documents from the meeting can be accessed with this link.

On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that school staffs must get a COVID vaccine or face weekly testing (read more here).

Other state requirements have been evolving and will likely evolve again with the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus.

These are the details Burton had released on Friday:

<blockquote><p>

Remote Learning Only For Covid Isolation or Quarantine

Per Governor Murphy, there is no remote learning option for the 2021-22 school year. Parents or guardians will not be able to opt children out of in-person instruction. Remote learning will only be available for students who must quarantine or isolate due to a confirmed Covid infection. The district will follow the updated guidelines from the NJ Department of Health for quarantining and isolating. Protocols will be shared with families prior to the start of school.

Health Guidelines

• Masks

Governor Murphy has mandated masks for staff and students in all K-12 schools. We will begin the school year with masks on for everyone in the buildings, regardless of vaccination status. This guidance, implemented as a result of the rise in the Delta variant, is part of a layered approach that will give us the opportunity to keep students and staff protected and healthy, and schools safely open.

• Vaccinations

The school nurses will be requesting information about vaccination status from staff and students who are eligible for the vaccine. This information is only accessible to the nurses, who will need it for contact tracing. Per current the NJDOH guidelines, there are different protocols for quarantine and isolation for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. If the nurses do not receive vaccine information, they will assume the person is unvaccinated and will follow those procedures. Please know that this data will be kept confidential and that no one outside of the district/nurse’s offices will see this data.

• Health Contract

We will not be asking for submission of a daily health form this year. We will ask parents to submit a Health Contract at the beginning of the school year, agreeing that you will keep students home when sick, be aware of Covid symptoms, and contact your school nurse with any concerns before sending a student to school.

This form will be available via the PowerSchool Parent Portal when PowerSchool opens on August 27 (PK-8) and at the High School on September 1, 2021. Please submit it as soon as possible so your students will be approved to begin school.

• Travel & Quarantine

Please be aware of the travel/quarantine recommendations from the NJDOH and the CDC. If you have traveled outside of the NJ/NY/PA/DE area, we ask that parents provide a negative Covid test to the school nurse for all unvaccinated students. Thank you for your cooperation in helping us keep schools open and safe for all staff and students.

• Covid Testing

The NJDOE and NJDOH’s The Road Forward school reopening guidance recommends that school districts make regular Covid testing available to school district staff and families. It is recognized as an important mitigating factor in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and keeping schools open.

The District is continuing to coordinate with Back to Work Solutions to provide Covid testing on a weekly basis. These sessions will give families the opportunity to be tested after vacation, before school begins and to provide regular screening for our school community.
</blockquote>

Burton also provided steps to register for COVID testing at the Millburn schools.

Burton also had released some reopening details earlier this summer.

She also provided this back-to-school information on Friday:

Childcare Planning

AlphaBest and the SAM Program provide Before and Afterschool care for school district families. You can find more information about their programs here: https://www.millburn.org/apps/pages/Before_Afterschool_Care

Transportation Planning

• Bus routes have been finalized and bus passes have been sent out to families. Subscription busing waitlist is open. No changes will be made until after the first two full weeks of school. Students are required to wear a mask while traveling to and from school. Buses will be sanitized daily with an electrostatic sprayer, and will be wiped down between runs.

2021-2022 School Hours can be found here:

https://www.millburn.org/apps/...

School Calendar And Holidays

See the Millburn school calendar and preliminary list of holidays off with this link.

The first day of school in Millburn, according to the current school calendar, is Sept. 1.

Read More:

• NJ K-12 Students Must Wear Masks This Fall, Murphy Says
• Rise In Child COVID Hospitalizations Prompts Vaccination Plea
• NJ Hospital Preps For COVID Surge As Kids Set To Return To School
• Hoboken Mom Urges: Listen to COVID 'Long-Haulers'
• 4 Things To Know About The Delta Variant Of Coronavirus In NJ
• New Jersey Town Says: Get Vaccinated Or No Spaghetti For You
• 200 Students And Teachers In Florida County Have Virus In First Week Of School

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

Read more about the schools: Millburn High School 'Period Club' Combats Menstrual Inequity

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