Newark Schools Will Start 2022 All-Remote Amid 'COVID Spikes, Surges'

NEWARK, NJ -- New Jersey's largest public school district is going all-remote to kick off 2022.

On Friday, district administrators in Newark announced that schools will switch to remote instruction beginning on Monday, Jan. 3, and continuing through Friday, Jan. 14. The anticipated return to in-person instruction is Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Superintendent Róger Leon said he made the decision in consultation with the Newark Health Department in light of several factors that have arisen in recent days, including "spikes and surges in COVID-19 positive numbers."

"This is not the news I want to be sharing with students and their families at this time because we need to continue in-person instruction, but the health and safety of students and staff remains the top priority," he said.

• See related article: What If Newark Pivots To Remote Learning? Here's What We Know.
• See related article: COVID Uptick Prompts Newark Schools To Prep For Potential Shift

Board of Education President Dawn Haynes said the district will do everything it can to protect students while getting back to in-person learning "as soon as possible."

“The lives of all of our students mean more to me than anything else, especially since three of them are actually mine,” Haynes said.

Newark school officials released the following statement to the community:

"Newark's return to in-person instruction this fall included adherence to very strict district health and safety protocols and procedures. With those and other mitigation strategies, including vaccinations and weekly COVID testing, the district created a safe environment in its schools and buildings. The percentage of vaccinated Newark Public Schools students and district staff is itself a story worthy of a headline. In the district, 100% of executive staff, 90% of school administrators, 91% of instructional support staff, 88% of classroom teachers, and 75% of non-instructional staff are vaccinated. The fact that over 83% of students 12 years and older in Newark are vaccinated is incredible, with the opportunity for children 5 and older underway. In response to the rise in COVID-19 positive numbers in the weeks after Thanksgiving, the district began to implement precautionary measures and asked everyone to prepare for the possibility of remote instruction at the start of the new year. Students were instructed to take home everything they would need to prepare for remote instruction."

Additional resources for students and families are available on the district's and schools' websites. For the next two weeks, meal distribution sites will be open on Mondays at various schools from 8 to 11 a.m. Meals for each full week will be available to all students and their families regardless of the school they attend in Newark.

"We anticipate that the city will announce the opening of learning pods in partnership with the district to assist families who have childcare concerns," administrators said. "Upon our return, we will continue the district's protocols, procedures and weekly COVID-19 testing in schools."

• See related article: Masks Are Back; Newark Indoor Mandate Returns As COVID Spikes
• See related article: Newark Will Require Vaccine Proof To Enter Many Businesses, Bars
• See related article: 2021 COVID Stats For Newark: See Weekly Case, Death Totals

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