The NJDOH considers eating lunch in a school setting without masks a high risk activity.

The New Jersey Department of Education considers full day instruction as students attending school five days a week, even with a single session schedule.

While the District is considered full day to the NJDOE, we are planning for a traditional full day in September 2021 (i.e. lunch in person with a traditional school schedule).

We have considered outdoor options for lunch, however, the challenges of safety, supervision, weather, and scheduling would create a substantial disruption for our students at this point in the school year.

Committees of administrators, building principals, and teachers are planning to accommodate a full day of school, with lunch, for September.

Governor Murphy stated districts should expect to return to a full day of school in September.

Committees of administrators, building principals, and teachers are planning to accommodate a full day of school for September, including lunch.

The District will continue our cleaning protocols, health and safety measures, contact tracing, and social distancing as recommended by the NJDOH.

Governor Murphy announced that there will only be a remote option for ‘medically fragile’ students and staff.

We are awaiting additional guidance to determine who is eligible for remote learning during the 2021-2022 school year.

The District has sent wellness surveys to students and staff throughout the school year.

The student surveys allowed counselors, our REACH clinician, and child study team to identify those students in need of additional support.

Based on the results from the staff surveys, professional development with a focus on wellness and mindfulness activities have been implemented. Mental health support through the District’s employee assistance program has been shared.

Social-emotional learning programming has been enhanced across the District this year in anticipation of increased anxiety and other mental health concerns because of the pandemic.

The District dedicated the afternoon of March 26 to social-emotional learning in honor of International SEL Day and provided SEL resources for students, families, and staff to explore.

School counselors, child study team, and REACH clinician continue to be available to provide resources as needed.

Building principals and administrators have been collecting data for the past few months to target students who are behind academically.

Those students have received individualized plans and we are already seeing improvement in reading levels.

The district is developing summer academic programs to address targeted student needs.

While the CDC provides guidance for the entire country, Summit Public Schools follows recommendations from the NJDOH, who may or may not adopt CDC guidance based on the data and trends in New Jersey.

While District staff members work in Summit, they travel from all areas of New Jersey to come to work.

Summit parents and guardians also travel to work outside of Summit.

The NJDOH has determined that these are risk factors that contribute to the regional transmission of COVID-19.

The Central East region is currently in a moderate (yellow) activity level. Please see #2 for response.

In the school setting, excluded individuals who are close contacts of staff or students who tested positive for COVID-19 may be considered for a reduced exclusion period based on Regional Risk Levels, not city risk levels:

1. High (orange) exposed close contacts should be excluded from school for 14 days. A negative test does not reduce the 14-day quarantine.

2. Moderate or Low (yellow or green) exposed close contacts should be excluded from school for 10 days (or 7 days with negative test results collected at 5-7 days).

Please see quarantine protocols under Quarantine tab.

Unvaccinated travelers and residents returning from any U.S. state or territory beyond the immediate region (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) should self-quarantine:

• • If travel is unavoidable, travelers should consider getting tested with a viral test (not an antibody test) 1-3 days before the trip and again 3-5 days after the trip.

  • If travelers test positive, they should self-isolate for at least 10 days and should postpone travel during that time.

  • If travelers test negative, they should quarantine for a full 7 days after travel.

  • If testing is not available (or if the results are delayed), travelers should quarantine for 10 days after travel.

You no longer need to quarantine or get tested before/after domestic travel if you are fully vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 in the past three months:

• • It has been more than two weeks since you received your second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine;

  • It has been more than two weeks since your received your first and only dose of the Janssen/Johnson and Johnson vaccine; or,

  • You have clinically recovered from COVID-19 in the past three months.

Please note that for international travel, the federal requirement for testing upon return to the United States still stands for both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated travelers.

Please visit the Travel tab for the most updated guidance.

The District is handling athletics and quarantine protocols as we do in our classrooms. Our Athletic Director, coaches, trainers, principals, and nurses are committed to conducting diligent contact tracing, including reviewing practice and/or game footage if available, so that close contacts can be identified.

Those identified as a close contact to a positive individual will still be required to quarantine for 10 days (or 7 days with negative test results collected at 5-7 days), as per the NJDOH (when the region is in a moderate risk/yellow activity level).

Please keep in mind that NJDOH has identified that athletic activities have a higher risk of transmission than in a classroom setting.

The Human Resources department sent an anonymous, voluntary survey to staff to get an estimate of how many staff members are vaccinated.

While it was encouraged to fill out the survey, staff members were not required to answer.

As of April 8, 2021: 288 staff members said they received both doses of the vaccine, and 90 said they received one dose.

Continue to follow health and safety protocols at home

Wear masks when out in public

Socially distance and avoid large gatherings

Keep children home when they are not feeling well

Temperature screenings daily

Follow NJDOH travel restrictions

Encourage children to wash hands frequently