She says Return to School Committee putting health and safety first
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor said the Ocean City School District is working with its own committees, state guidelines and parent concerns to get students educated come September, either in the classroom or at home.
In her letter to the community dated July 17, Taylor acknowledged the results of the parent survey (see related story) and said the district “is looking at how we can feasibly offer options” for remote and in-person education.
“Our hybrid in-person plan will strive to meet the 6 feet social distancing guideline,” Taylor wrote. “We recognize that there are many considerations that families will need to weigh when selecting an option that is right for your child. Within the next few weeks, we will present to families our proposed remote and in-person plans. At that time, families will also receive a survey for selecting the best available option for your child.”
New Jersey is following federal Department of Education guidelines to give parents a choice. (See related story.)
Taylor said the district’s Return to School committees are continuing to work on details for the reopening of schools and she was dealing with that Monday morning. The district plan has to go to the state Department of Education for review and then it will go before the local board of education next month.
“I am really looking forward to seeing our students and our staff,” Taylor said Monday morning. “We want the teachers to teach, and the students to learn in as much normalcy as possible. We are in this together.”
In her letter, the superintendent said the Return to School committees “know that there is no perfect plan and that many of the decisions we are making are based on set guidelines that are out of our control. However, we are using our surveys of both parents and staff to work within the parameters we’ve been given to craft the best plan for the Ocean City School District.”
She acknowledged various aspects of the parent survey showing the highest concern about in-person learning is students catching or spreading COVID-19 and how the district will handle social distancing. Parents’ top priority is advancing the children’s education with quality instruction and that 87 percent of parents are somewhat to very comfortable having their children “physical in our schools for some portion of the day or week.”
Health and safety of all who work and learn in the district will be “first and foremost” among the district’s plans, she said, as the district works out protocols for social distancing and masks.
“After we take the recommended steps regarding health and safety for our students and staff, we must focus on what is best for our students when it comes to academics, social/emotional learning, and mental health,” Taylor wrote. “We will aim for a consistent instructional model for our students, staff, and families to help everyone adjust throughout the year, regardless of the model we implement in response to changing health conditions.”
Addressing all the goals of safety and education won’t be easy.
“Both health and education experts share our frustrations in determining how to give students the best possible education – and OCSD certainly knows how to do that – but to also keep them, staff, and communities safe,” Taylor wrote.
She said the district will follow the governor’s mandate and state Department of Education guidelines for in-person instruction as the district also works with families who are not comfortable with sending their children back into the classroom.