Superintendent Ronald Taylor announced on Friday that the South Orange-Maplewood School District would be moving forward with an all-virtual start to the school year for all students, delaying the start of a hybrid-in-person option through the first marking period, November 12.
“Ideally, we would like to provide an in-person learning environment beginning this September; however, we are facing a situation that is far from ideal,” said Taylor in an email to parents and families. “We prefer to err on the side of caution and begin the year with significant improvements to our virtual-learning model under our new learning management system, Canvas. Also, after reviewing the survey results, we feel that this shift will allow for far more live instruction/student-teacher engagement for all.
Although district staff has worked extremely hard over the last several months, there is still much work that needs to be done to ensure the safety of our students and staff.”
The new re-opening plan will be discussed on Monday, August 18, at the regular Board of Education meeting. The virtual meeting is open to the public:
Join By Computer / Smartphone
www.somsd.k12.nj.us/webmeeting
Meeting ID: 129 305 5669
Meeting PW: MapleOrange2020
Join By Phone
Telephone Number: 408-418-9388
Meeting ID: 129 305 5669
Meeting PW: 62753672
Also on the agenda is the appointment of an Asst. Superintendent for Access & Equity, Dr. Gretel Perez. This is a new position.
