Millburn Students Grades 5-12 Return To On-Site Learning Monday

MILLBURN, NJ — While Millburn parents with students younger than fifth grade were able to send their kids back to the public school buildings starting Oct. 5, plans have shifted a few times regarding the schedules for the older kids. But some of the older students will begin their hybrid on-site learning Monday, returning to classrooms for the first time in nearly seven months.

Superintendent of Schools Christine Burton wrote in an update Friday evening, "It may be a couple of months later than usual (although the weather feels like September!), but we are excited to say Welcome Back to our teachers, and our hybrid students in Grades 5-12."

Mayor Jackie Lieberberg wrote in a message this weekend, "The Washington School, Middle School, and High School will begin at approximately 8 a.m. Millburn High School and Millburn Middle School will then be dismissed at approximately 10:55 a.m. The Washington School will be dismissed at 10:35 a.m. with a return for afternoon session at 12:15 p.m. Washington School will then dismiss at 2:45 PM. If any residents are traveling during these times, they should expect a higher volume of traffic around these schools."

The plans for the high school involve three cohorts with rotating schedules, usually with one cohort in school for a half day, then another the next day.

To read the latest plans for grade 5 (Washington School), the middle school, and the high school, click here and scroll down.

Coronavirus rising again

The move comes at a time when coronavirus cases are on the rebound in New Jersey, and several nearby high schools just went remote for two weeks or longer, including Westfield and Summit. Maplewood will stay remote into January.

Millburn has seen relatively few cases, although 12 more were confirmed in the past week, the mayor said. The total Millburn case count since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. is 212. READ MORE: Millburn Low In Coronavirus Deaths, Essex County High

The case count in Millburn was 184 a month ago.

The superintendent wrote on Friday that students must follow these health and safety guidelines:

• The Daily Health Screening form must be submitted for all students. Hybrid students without confirmation that the form was completed will not be allowed to enter the building.
• Middle and High School parents, please submit the form, or confirm that your students’ responses are correct.
• Masks must be worn at all times by students and staff.
• Remember to send your student with a refillable water bottle
• Students may want to have a set of headphones to use with their Chromebooks as needed

Board of Education meeting Monday

The virtual Board of Education meeting will take place Monday night at 6 p.m.

The superintendent wrote, "We will welcome our new teachers and staff to #Team Millburn. They have certainly joined us for a most unusual school year. We want to thank them for their resilience and adaptability, and give them a round of applause. We will also share an overview of the return school for grades 5-12."

To participate:

• Log in to watch the meeting here: https://millburn.webex.com/millburn/onstage/g.php?MTID=eab2d0506fb5e14556d2c732956c8b446
• Listen to the meeting by dialing+1-415-655-0001 with access code: 120 553 7126.
• Viewers and callers will have the opportunity to participate in public comment sessions.
• Board meeting documents and handouts will be available on the website at www.millburn.org, under Board of Education at the time of the meeting.
• See the agenda here.

Other news

A number of petitions have been started by parents about the plans, with some pushing for the district to switch to on-site learning earlier, and others saying the schools needed to do a better job on remote learning.

Have a comment? Post it below or email Caren.Lissner@patch.com.

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