We recently secured coverage on NJ.com for education thought leader Newark Trust for Education. The Trust’s Executive Director Ronald Chaluisan spoke about his thoughts on New Jersey schools reopening this fall after closing in March because of COVID-19.
Reopening schools after students have been learning at home for months comes with complications. Educators and school officials have conflicting thoughts on the state’s new back-to-school guidelines: are they too strict or are they too vague? Different school districts, whether urban or suburban, have different needs. For Newark, Chaluisan’s main concern is about the digital divide students face; many children may not have access to the internet or technology they need to succeed. The city has 55,000 students and one device is typically not enough for an entire household. The state’s guidelines also do not indicate how schools will know if their reopening strategy is effective or not.
In the article, Chaluisan is quoted, “We could talk about reopening, flexibility, local decision-making, but one of those guideposts needs to be — ‘We will be successful if…’ And since the state holds that definition, it’s important they make that explicit.”
You can read the full article here: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/06/too-many-rules-or-not-enough-nj-plan-to-reopen-schools-has-district-leaders-scrambling.html
