Princeton Submits School Reopening Plan To County, State

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Board of Education members unanimously approved a reopening plan on Tuesday to be sent to the Mercer County Superintendent and the NJ Department of Education for approval.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Barry Galasso and the board stressed that the plan is not set in stone and changes will continue to be made to it moving forward.

"We are going to be modifying this on a daily basis as we move forward. We will modify this when we begin school in September. It is going to change dramatically once one illness occurs, if an illness occurs, if there is a spike in the Princeton community," Galasso said during the virtual Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.

Prior to the vote many parents and teachers voiced their opinions and concerns with the 97-page reopening plan. Some asked about the availability of personal protective equipment(PPE) and athletics.

"This document is not intended to have a protocol for every situation. That's not possible. I think people have to be somewhat realistic about what can be achieved with a plan that is written," Galasso said.

Galasso and the board agreed to approve the plan as of July 30 in order to meet the state's deadline of Aug. 3. However, changes will continue to be made.

"We have no option but to follow the Governor's orders and will adjust as he adjusts," Galasso said.

"For me is it important to move this forward," Board member Brian McDonald said. "I am pleased to hear this remains a work in progress."

Based on new guidance from the Department of Education, Princeton made some revisions to its initial plan.

As of July 30, the plan includes:

Pre-K through Grade 5:

• Cohort A attends school in-person on Monday and Tuesday and learns remotely Wednesday to Friday.
• Cohort B learns remotely Monday to Wednesday and attends school in-person on Thusday and Friday.
• All in-person days are 1 p.m. dismissals.
• Teachers interact with their remote learners daily, after 1 p.m.
• Special-education pupils in self-contained classes (no Cohort A or B) attend school four days per week until 1 p.m.
• Learning for most pupils is remote on Wednesday to allow custodial staff to fully sanitize every building before a new cohort arrives on Thursday. Having Wednesday off allows for teacher planning and training to support instruction. It also means the district can eliminate some PD half days from the calendar. Finally, this structure allows the district to use Wednesday as a swing day when a holiday eliminates one of the other days.

Grades 6-12:

• In an A-Week, Cohort A attends school Monday through Thursday, while Cohort B learns remotely.
• In a B-Week, Cohort A learns remotely, while Cohort B attends school Monday through Thursday.
• School days are 8:30 to 1 p.m.
• Learning on Friday is remote to allow custodial staff to fully sanitize every building before a new cohort arrives on Monday. Having Friday off allows for teacher planning and training to support instruction. It also means the district can eliminate some PD half days from the calendar. Finally, this structure allows the district to use Friday as a swing day when a holiday eliminates one of the other days.
• Instruction for special education students in full-time self-contained classes will be in-person.

To see the full plan as of July 30, look below:

The district also released a video about how schools will be different this coming September:

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