FROM THE DESK OF Phyllis Alpaugh



SUPERINTENDENT'S
NEWSLETTER

Rockaway Borough Schools
November 2020
WORK ON ALL REFERENDUM PROJECTS MOVES AHEAD
RAMS CORNER

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

For more information regarding these or other topics, feel free to contact me at pa@rockboro.org

Happy Thanksgiving and Gobble and Gobble!

Dear Parents and Families,

As we move closer to the Thanksgiving holiday, I just wanted to once again thank you all for your tremendous support, understanding and flexibility in helping us reopen our district schools safely this school year. In the past few months as a result of the virus, we as a district have been forced to make some very difficult decisions regarding our educational and instructional platforms that have truly impacted everyone in so many different ways. Luckily, however due to the dedication of our staff, the resiliency of our students and the amazing support of our parents and the community at large, we have been able to safely bring back students and keep our buildings open while many districts around us have been forced to resort to remote learning. Please know this is something that I am GRATEFUL and THANKFUL for every day!

In the meantime, I hope you and your family can enjoy the upcoming holiday even in the midst of our current health crisis. And even though this is not going to be a traditional Thanksgiving, there is always something to be thankful for as I am truly thankful for our entire Rockaway Borough community!

Best wishes always and please stay safe.
Phyllis Alpaugh
Superintendent of Schools
PLEASE READ ABOUT THE UPCOMING CHANGES
TO OUR DISTRICT SCHEDULE STARTING 11/30


ROCKAWAY BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT



Dear Parents and Rockaway Borough families,
 
Hope this letter finds you and your family well. I also hope that amidst this COVID crisis, you were able to enjoy the beautiful long weekend.

So far we have fared well regarding COVID-19 cases and bringing our students back for in-person instruction as well as keeping our buildings open. I cannot thank our entire school community enough, students, staff and families, for all you have done to support our safety initiatives these past weeks both in school and at home as diligently wearing masks, washing hands and adhering to social distancing has made a difference. But as promised when we created our Reopening School plan we said that we would reassess and do our best to increase in-person instruction. While there has been an uptick in cases locally and around the country, we are currently at “Moderate risk” in Northwest Jersey and are hopeful that we can transition more students back to the building as long as we continue to be vigilant and follow designated guidelines from both the CDC and local and state health officials.

With that said, here are some changes we would like to institute starting Monday November 30th:
  •  Mondays will no longer be dedicated to Virtual Instruction.
  •  Instead Mondays will be become regular cycle days for in-person instruction in which Cohorts A & B will be rotated into the building on alternating weeks.
  • This will provide each Cohort an extra in-person instruction day every two weeks.
  • This change in schedule applies to students in both Lincoln Elementary and Thomas Jefferson and any students unable to attend in person can still continue to attend classes remotely.

Based on our current cycle day schedule, click here for a calendar that outlines the proposed schedule change and designated cohort days starting after Thanksgiving break on November 30th and running through December 23rd.

While this change appears to be a “baby step”, it does equitably increase in-person contact for all students while keeping cohorts intact something that so far has helped us remain open even with positive cases reported in each building.  In addition to this district wide initiative, we are also exploring the possibility of bringing back other students based on their individual needs and of course, being able to safely social distance in each specific class and grade. As this proposed change could be problematic and possibly a hardship for parents, like Election week, any students in Cohort A or B or are unable to attend in-person instruction on their designated Monday, can simply continue to attend classes remotely.  

Moving forward, please know all decisions regarding schedule changes such as these are not made lightly, but with much input from many district and community stakeholders as well as guidance from local and state health officials and agencies.  Again, we will move ahead with caution, and if needed, will modify our schedule and hybrid model to ensure the safety and health of all. 

As always thank you so much for your support, understanding and flexibility as our current successes here in the Borough are truly a result of school and community working together.

Sincerely yours,
Phyllis Alpaugh
Phyllis Alpaugh
Superintendent 
This issue's FEATURED ARTICLE...
Security and Emergency Drills in a COVID 19 World
As per New Jersey School Drill Law 18A:41-1 all principals in the state are required to have at least one fire drill and one school security drill each month within school hours when schools are open for instructional programs, including the summer months. For returning parents, you know this has been our practice for many years in that each school as per state guidance conducts a monthly fire drill in addition to a school security drill to practice procedures that respond to potential emergency situations. Possible school security drills include non-fire evacuation, lock down, active shooter, shelter-in-place, or reverse evacuation. Other drills to practice communication can also be scheduled as part of the monthly practice.

However, with the onset of COVID-19 there has been much discussion on how to safely conduct both fire and security drills especially in regards to social distancing as both types of drills depend on evacuating or assembling large groups of people at the same time or together in the same place. While no drills were conducted last spring during the closure, the state has determined and recommended that emergency drills, both fire and school security drills cannot be suspended this year, and in general, should not be altered drastically as to preserve their basic integrity. As a result, we are following this directive and continuing with our monthly drills, but taking direct guidance from the Department of Education and the Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Management on how best to conduct drills while promoting the safety of all parties, and still be compliant.

To date, both Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson have successfully completed fire and security drills for both September and October. Some of the modifications and adaptations have included scheduling drills on successive days to include students from all three cohorts, focusing on only in-person and not virtual students, discussing how to evacuate instead of actually leaving the building, and staggering groups exiting the building to support proper social distancing. We have also focused on communication drills that practice and test our internal notification system and procedures for staff, but also communicate and notify local law enforcement in case of an emergency. Moving forward, we will depend on future guidance from the Department of Education as well as the Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Management.

To support our Emergency Management initiatives, but also meet state requirements regarding Alyssa's Law, the district has acquired and is using Share911 which is a cloud-based emergency communication system that is designed to alert school employees and law enforcement in the event that a school emergency occurs. It can be manually activated by school employees by issuing an alarm from either a smartphone via a web-application or from a computer using a desktop application. In essence, when an employee becomes aware of a potential emergency situation, he or she activates Share911, and then the alarm simultaneously notifies all building employees as well as district leadership and administration directly. Alarms are sent via the mobile application in the form of text messages, emails, and desktop pop-up alerts which also include an audible alert. At the same time, these alarms are sent directly to the Rockaway Borough Police and are received on mobile data terminals inside police vehicles and on computers located at the police department and at central station itself. This system and its ability to communicate with all parties simultaneously provides important situational awareness to both school staff and police that has been proven to increase the speed in which law enforcement is notified and responds to potential emergencies. It also provides all educators on campus with valuable information to assist with their possible building level responses.

Alyssa's Law which was signed by the Governor in 2019 went into effect this school year, and requires that all public school buildings be equipped with a "panic alarm" system that is linked to local law enforcement. The law was named for former New Jersey resident Alyssa Aldadeff, a 14 year old student who was one of the 17 people killed at the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.