Marlboro Parents Petition For Full-Time In-Person Classes

MARLBORO, NJ - Parents in the Marlboro Township School District are advocating for full-time, in-person classes after the district has remained remote since mid-November. A petition filed earlier this month by one parent in the K-8 school system claims that previous efforts, including letters, public comments and requests made to the Marlboro Township Board of Education have “fallen on deaf ears”.

The petition on Change.org, dubbed “Demand a choice for full time in-person learning” was created by Eileen Newman and has garnered over 200 signatures. The petition is directed to Lester Richens, the Interim Executive County Superintendent of Schools in Monmouth County.

“Our students are suffering academically, socially and emotionally as a result of remote and hybrid learning,” Newman wrote. “Virtual learning strips our students of the ability to be a part of our society, to read body language, make real eye contact, truly advocate for themselves, and to engage in social situations.”

Parents of the district’s 4,700 students were originally promised a return to a hybrid schedule by Jan. 19 after moving to an all-virtual schedule in November over "safety and classroom coverage issues ... for several of our schools," according to a letter from Superintendent Dr. Eric Hibbs. However, unforeseen delays have since deterred the plan - delays which reportedly stem, at least in part, from a COVID-19 outbreak among school staff, according to an Asbury Park Press report.
It was not immediately clear how the outbreak began or how many staffers are affected.

A protest was reportedly planned outside Marlboro Township's town hall for Saturday, Jan. 23.

Earlier this month, according to the Asbury Park Press, Superintendent Eric Hibbs wrote in an email that the transition back to the hybrid model would be delayed to Feb. 1 over “multiple staffing issues that will not allow for our safe return to school on Tuesday, January 19th.”

But to some Marlboro parents, the Feb. 1 return is unacceptable, with over 200 guardians now demanding that the Marlboro Township Board of Education "immediately develop a proposal that gives families the option of full-time virtual or full-time in person instruction ... and that the plan be implemented within 30 days," according to Newman's petition.

"It's too long - he's losing interest," Marlboro parent Ashlee McCormack told abc7 of her child AJ. "He's in kindergarten, he should love school right now."

“Our students need to be prioritized,” Newman’s petition continues.

“During this time, we have been met with resistance, avoidance, condescension, and defensive responses. Most importantly, and after nearly 10 months, there has been no plan on moving forward. There has been a complete lack of transparency and no one is listening to our pleas for a plan to get our students back into school.”