Livingston Schools Mark Another Big Milestone In Quest To Reopen

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston Public School District has marked another big milestone in its quest to return for a full week of in-person classes by September 2021.

On Monday, students in grades K-2 returned for a five day, in-person school week, kicking off the district's Spring Forward LPS 2021 plan. See the full plan here.

The end goal? According to administrators:

“We ultimately plan to have all of our elementary school students able to access in-person instruction five days per week for full days, and to have our secondary students back in-school for more and extended in-person days. This plan sets a pathway for the Livingston Public Schools to return to school in September 2021 for full days, five days per week, at all levels.”

Here’s the timeline, according to school officials.

Why isn’t the district bringing students back for full days yet? According to officials:

“The primary mitigation measure recommended by the Department of Health, the CDC, and the Department of Education is masking. Students would need to be unmasked for lunch, and six feet apart. Our cafeterias do not currently have the space to allow this to happen, and we will be using some of our larger spaces to get our students back into school for more in-person instructional time. Additionally, as we bring more students back to school, it will be difficult to provide the needed distancing and the supervision required of students in the classroom, if we allowed eating in the classroom. After April break, we will reassess our ability to navigate the logistics of lunch during the pandemic. As the weather gets warmer, we will be able to utilize outdoor spaces to accommodate mask breaks, lunch, and recess. We plan to announce our next pivot to full day schedules at our elementary schools once the weather improves and outdoor lunch is a possibility.”

Livingston school officials said they “intend to hold on to this plan.” But if the state department of health provides new guidance, or the weekly New Jersey COVID-19 Activity Level Report indicates a “significant fluctuation” in the pandemic, administrators may take a detour.

Staffing during the pandemic has been an issue for the district, with educators previously calling for the state to include them on the COVID-19 vaccination list.

• See related article: Livingston Teachers 'On Deck' For Vaccines Long Enough, BOE Says

“The virus is seriously impacting staffing,” Superintendent Matthew Block said in January. “There are still many teachers on [medical] leave, quarantined, sick, or working from home and will need to teach remotely … This forces us to use proctors to cover classes, particularly at the secondary level.”

• See related article: Coronavirus 'Seriously Impacting' Staffing In Livingston Schools

But the plan for a return to class should get a big boost from the recent addition of teachers and school staff to the state’s vaccine eligibility list for COVID-19 vaccinations, administrators said earlier this week.

According to officials:

“We are actively working to help our staff members schedule appointments to receive the vaccine and access this important step to our collective recovery. The district, in partnership with the Livingston Education Association, has contacted a healthcare provider who is willing to come on site and administer vaccinations to employees. Additionally, there is a group of volunteers in Livingston who have assisted members of the community with scheduling appointments. We are working with this group as well to help staff members schedule appointments.”

District officials shared a video of photos taken during Monday’s return, calling it an “awesome morning.” Watch it below.

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