Barnegat, Jackson, Hazlet School Districts to shut down beginning Monday
The Barnegat and Jackson Township School Districts have both made announcements that their schools will be shutting down effective Monday as a precautionary measure amid coronavirus concerns.
Both Districts along with the Berkeley Township School District follow others around the state voluntarily shutting down ahead of what Governor Phil Murphy described Friday was an inevitable timetable of every district in the state being shut down.
Hazlet Public Schools also announced on Friday that they will be shutting down as well.
"With the safety of our school community our top priority, the Hazlet Township Public School District will close for two weeks beginning Monday, March 16, lasting through Friday, March 27. Students will engage in virtual/home/remote learning as per our Emergency Learning Plan delivered to the County earlier in the day. Beginning next week, students will hear from teachers regarding the specifics of their instructional experience."
The Hazlet School District said that meals for free and reduced families will be available daily from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the cafeterias of both Raritan High School and Beers Street School.
The Barnegat and Jackson School Boards both addressed letters with instructions to parents on Friday.
Here is the letter to parents from Barnegat Superintendent Dr. Brian Latwis:
Good Evening Parents:
First, I would like to thank everyone for their patience and cooperation throughout this
ever-evolving situation regarding COVID 19. I would like to take a moment to provide an update on the District.
Barnegat Township School District has been following guidance set forth by the NJ Department of Health and the NJ Department of Education regarding COVID-19. Although there are no confirmed cases in Barnegat Township, the virus continues to spread in parts of the state.
We have adjusted our school calendar to reflect Monday as a professional development day for staff only. On Monday, at 2pm at BHS, the Board of Education will convene for an emergency meeting to discuss the recommendation to enact our Virtual Schooling Plan as submitted to the County Superintendent’s Office.
This plan will take effect on Tuesday, March 17 and proceed through April 9- the last day of school prior to Spring Break.
We will revisit the plan at that time and determine if we will return to regularly scheduled school days on April 20 or if we will need to continue our virtual schooling option.
The District’s food service provider developed a grab and go program. Each school will prepare meals and make them available for pick up by students eligible for free/reduced meals.
Families can pick up food package between 10am and 12pm at the following locations:
Barnegat High School (For JTDS students also)
Cecil S. Collins Elementary Schools
Robert L. Horbelt
Lillian Dunfee
While meals will be available at each location listed above, the District recommends that
free/reduced qualifying families utilize the location in closest proximity to your residence.
Anyone with specialized needs or find themselves in a situation requiring additional assistance are encouraged to contact the District at: 609-660-7510 x7056 or mmorris@barnegatschools.com
If your child needs a Chromebook for virtual learning at home, please stop by the high school.
We will be signing Chromebooks out to the student’s parents at the parent/student drop off loop in front of the main entrance from 10am until 2pm every day.
Academics will be delivered via online platforms (like google classroom) and those directions will come from your child’s teacher(s) starting Tuesday. If you do not have internet access, or different arrangements have been made, you can pick up the hard copies of lessons and materials from your child’s school. I would ask that you email your child’s Principal for specifics.
Again-that is only if you do not have access to the internet or if different arrangements were made with your child’s classroom teacher. Please wait until Tuesday for that correspondence prior to reaching out or taking action.
During this closure, all school and district events will be canceled or postponed. Before and After care will not be available.
The intent of closing school is to promote social distancing and thereby limit the spread of the coronavirus to our highest risk populations. The highest risk populations are our senior citizens and those with underlying health conditions. Please use this time outside of our school buildings to complete schoolwork and conduct other activities that adhere to guidelines urging us to avoid large gatherings of 250+ people.
As always, if you have any questions you can always reach out to my office at the contact
information listed below. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but student and staff safety are always at the center of our decisions.
Here is the letter to parents from Jackson Township Board of Education:
Dear Parents and Staff,
At 2:30 p.m. today, the state of New Jersey announced that the closure of all schools in order to mitigate exposure during the COVID-19 situation was inevitable. In his address, Gov. Murphy said the state was not yet ready to require that all district schools be closed - because there are districts and towns where remote learning plans and related supports are still in development.
Because of the hard work of our dedicated staff, the Jackson School District is ready to begin the inevitable closure of our schools now. After conferring with the Ocean County Department of Health and the Ocean County Superintendent of Schools office, we are announcing that all Jackson school buildings will be CLOSED to all students beginning Monday, March 16 until further notice. We will begin our Remote Learning Plans on Monday, March 16.
This closure is necessary to promote social distancing and thereby limit the spread of the coronavirus to our highest risk populations. We must do everything we can to fight any community spread that may occur. We know that this will be challenging for our families and for our staff. This decision was made for the safety of our students, staff, and communities.
We have spent the week creating our Remote Learning Plans (RLP) that provide meaningful instruction and related services strategies for grades Pre-K to 12. Our plans take into consideration that students have varied levels of access to technology devices and internet access. They are also inclusive of all learning abilities.
Students can access their Remote Learning Plans (RLP) on our Remote Learning Plan Website. Similar to our summer work assignments, these plans are organized by grade level and/or subject.
The vast majority of our students will complete these assignments through these online links. For our students without access to internet and/or devices, we sent them home today with the exact same work in hard copy packets. We also distributed or made arrangements to distribute devices to those who indicated on our Access to Technology Form. If you are still in need of a device (e.g. Chromebook), please contact your child’s school. Before dismissal today, we reminded all students to take home everything they think they would need for the next few weeks.
As your students begin working on their assignments, please keep in mind:
- Attendance during these remote learning days will be counted based on the completion of all assignments at the end of the remote learning period;
- Assignments WILL count as a homework grade;
- Students can submit assignments as they are completed to teachers via email, Google Drive or whichever submission procedure the assignment calls for. If they cannot be sent in remotely, they can be turned in through hard copies when we return to school;
- If a printer is not accessible, students should either open a Google Doc to complete the assignment, or utilize pen and paper.
Contacting Teachers:
Throughout this period, our teaching staff will continue to be available to our students via email every weekday during their normal school hours. You can find your teacher’s email on the teacher’s page on your school website.
Contacting Administration and Staff:
Although you will not be able to access our buildings while schools are closed, our district administration team and building level administrators and support staff will also be available and can be contacted via phone and email between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day. Please visit our Administrative Contacts List to view a full list of district and school contacts.
IF A CHILD OR STAFF MEMBER GETS SICK WHILE WE ARE CLOSED:
While schools are closed, if a child or staff member gets sick, our school nurses still need to know. Please email or call your school nurse to inform them. See our Nursing Contact List.
IMPORTANT: DURING THIS CLOSURE - ALL of OUR BUILDINGS ARE CLOSED to STUDENTS. There will be NO events or activities. The only people who will enter any building are district staff.
CHILD CARE:
All child care programs are CANCELED during our school closure.
ATHLETICS:
All athletic programs - including ALL practices - are CANCELED during this closure.
TRANSPORTATION:
We will not be transporting any public or non-public students during this closure.
This plan covers a two week time period if a closure of that length is necessary.
Moving forward, we will keep you updated about any new developments.
Please be sure to check our COVID-19 Page,
our district and school websites and your email for updates and announcements.
More Jersey Shore News: