Long Branch Schools Will Start Year All Remote

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Yet another New Jersey school district has announced it will be all-remote to start the school year, and this time it's Long Branch.

Long Branch public schools previously had a hybrid plan in place, where students would come into the school a few days a week or choose to stay home.

But on Monday, Long Branch said it had received requests from nearly 275 teachers, asking for either accommodations or paid leave. And so the district said it was "forced to pivot."

"Well, we tried," said Long Branch superintendent Michael Salvatore in a YouTube statement, see below. "We tried to open our doors to students in September."

The superintendent made it a particular point to say that after Gov. Murphy gave the surprise announcement last week that schools could do an all-virtual option "our requests for remote learning, for accommodations, for work leaves have absolutely skyrocketed."

Salvatore did not seem happy with the decision, and said he had mixed emotions. He said the district is still providing childcare in the elementary schools.

"With nearly 275 staff requests for accommodations and leaves, and more than 2,100 families opting to start remotely, Long Branch Public Schools is forced to pivot and aims to provide a high-quality digital learning experience beginning September 8," said the district in a formal statement.

Previously, Long Branch parents could send the children in a few days a week or elect entirely to keep their kids home.

So far, these are all the New Jersey school districts starting the year entirely remotely, and the list is growing by the day:

• Asbury Park
• Atlantic City
• Bayonne
• Bridgeton
• Camden
• Edison
• Elizabeth
• Fair Lawn
• Flemington-Raritan
• Freehold Borough
• Freehold Township
• Garfield
• Hackensack
• Hillsborough
• Jersey City
• Lacey Township
• Linden
• Long Branch
• Montclair
• New Brunswick
• Newark
• North Brunswick
• Old Bridge
• Plainfield
• Princeton
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood
• South Brunswick
• Teaneck
• Toms River
• Willingboro

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