NJ: ‘Unmistakable Movement' To Get Kids Back Into Classrooms

NEW JERSEY - Tens of thousands of students are returning to their classrooms this month for the first time since last year, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday.

More than 650 school districts in New Jersey are now open to in-person instruction at least partially, with 64,000 more students going back to in-person for the first time last week, Murphy said at a Monday news conference.

The sizable change comes after Murphy urged districts to reopen now. Read more: Gov. Murphy: NJ Schools Should Move To Reopen 'Now' Amid COVID-19

One-hundred-sixty-five school districts are now open for full-time in-person classes, while 496 school districts are open for hybrid instruction. Within those, 810,000 New Jersey students are currently learning under a hybrid model, an increase of 64,000 students since last week.

Two districts finally opened their doors on Monday after a long period of remote learning: Newark and Montclair.

Related:

• Montclair Elementary School Students Return To Classrooms
• Newark Public Schools Reopen From Coronavirus: Here's The Plan

SCHOOLS UPDATE: Of our public-school districts, charter schools, renaissance schools, & schools for students with disabilities:
165 open for in-person instruction⁰496 open for hybrid instruction
118 all-remote learning⁰32 districts using a combination across buildings
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 12, 2021

“There is now unmistakable movement back into our classrooms, and I know that for students and educators, and for moms and dads and countless families, this is a tremendously positive sign and a great relief,” Murphy said.

Nearly 120 districts are currently following an all-remote learning schedule, the governor said. However, many of the 323,000 students learning virtually may be returning to classrooms this week following spring break quarantines.

Thirty-two New Jersey school districts are using a combination of in-person, hybrid or all-remote learning across school buildings.

Murphy’s remarks come as he commended the most populous school district in the state, Newark Public Schools, for switching from an all-remote schedule to a hybrid schedule more than one year into the coronavirus pandemic.

“This means that, for the first time in more than a year, children and educators are getting together in their classrooms. I again applaud Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Newark Superintendent of Schools Roger León and Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon, for their efforts to get New Jersey students and educators safely and responsibly back to school.”

They also come as New Jersey continues to deal with a high number of new cases reported each day. The state has the second-highest per-capita, seven-day average in the nation. Read more: NJ In New CDC Coronavirus Hot Zone: 2nd Highest Case Rate In U.S.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.

Vaccines have a big help in getting teachers and, ultimately, students back into the classrooms the governor said.

The governor announced that over 5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered and that more than 2 million New Jerseyans - or one-quarter of the state population - are fully vaccinated as of Monday.

According to Murphy, New Jersey currently ranks fifth nationwide in vaccine supply administered, seventh in daily doses administered (with over 105,000 doses being administered per day) and ninth in percentage of the population having received at least one dose.

Among older residents, 75.4 percent of all New Jerseyans ages 65 and older have received first dose, including 74.8 percent over the age of 75.

“This is a journey that is not yet complete, particularly as it relates to equity and getting to folks who are hard to reach, but it is a fact, we do continue to have one of the nation’s best performing vaccination programs,” Murphy said.

“Look at the other states - there are states … that don’t have as many people as Bergen County or Essex County. We are by any measure a big state.”