Letter from the Superintendent – ES Return To School (2/17/2021)

February 17, 2021

Clayton Public School District Community:

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy and safe. I am writing this letter to inform you of some possible changes to our district Road Back to School Plan. As the number of COVID-19 vaccinations steadily increase and New Jersey’s COVID-19 case rate steadily decreases, it is time to begin thinking about how we can increase the in-person instructional time safely for our youngest students.

We are exploring transitioning Herma Simmons Elementary School students to a 5 day per week half day schedule (Clayton Back to School Plan-Phase 3). We are targeting the week of March 8th as a possible start date. In order to make a final decision, we need your input to help inform our decision. We are asking parents/guardians to complete a survey regarding this possible adjustment to the current plan. When taking this survey, please keep the following information in mind…

• All Herma Simmons hybrid students would attend school 5 days per week
• The current 2 days per week hybrid schedule would no longer exist
• The daily school times would remain the same
• The use of individual desk shields will be implemented in all classrooms
• We will be implementing random temperature checks
• Social distancing in the classrooms and on the buses would continue to be promoted to the extent of our ability; however, it cannot be guaranteed
• Average class sizes are estimated to be between 14 and 18 students but will vary depending on the grade level enrollment and the instructional program
• The Cyber School Remote Learning option would still be available
• Implementation of this schedule change will be based on the feedback from our stakeholders and a continual review of NJDOH COVID-19 activity reports
• We have successfully implemented a similar schedule with our Pre-K and Kindergarten students

Please click here to complete the survey.  We are asking parents/guardians to respond to this survey by midnight of February 21, 2021. Thank you again for your flexibility, support, and patience in dealing with these challenging times.
 

We remain Clipper Strong,

Nikolaos C. Koutsogiannis
Superintendent of Schools
NK/rml