Jersey City Public Schools Plan To Follow State In Fall Reopening

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Jersey City Public Schools are welcoming the news of a full return to in-person classes, following the announcement by Governor Phil Murphy on Monday.

Jersey City Public Schools Superintendent Franklin Walker told Patch that the district will be in full compliance with the state guidance on school reopening for 2021-22. The district had a rough start to its recent reopening the last few months, but Walker said it has served to help prepare Jersey City for a smooth rollout in the fall.

"The short reopening period from April to June, gave the district time to iron out some of the practices and place staff and students in a safe mindset," Walker said.

For the last three months of this school year, the district offered parents the option to keep students remote —A March survey issued by the district found that 20 percent of parents wanted their children to return in-person, but most parents in the district did not answer the survey. All grades had the option to return to in-person learning on May 10.

The district's full reopening plan can be found online.

Under Murphy's plan, there will no longer be a full-remote option.

Read More: NJ Lifts COVID Travel Advisory, Orders In-Person School Next Year

Summer school programs are not impacted. More details on what the safety guidelines and protocols will be for the next school year should be expected in June, Murphy said.

"We are facing a much different world than one year ago when we had to begin planning for this school year," Murphy said. "We know much more about this virus and how it spreads. We have much more on-the-ground experience in fighting it. We have a robust vaccination program that now reaches adolescents as young as 12. As time moves forward, we will gain more knowledge and more tools. We know that we can get back fully in-person safely with the right protocols in place, and that is what we all should be planning to do."

Patch reporter Anthony Bellano contributed to this story.

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