BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Faced with a disruption of student progress because of pandemic-related school closures, the Bloomfield School District administration and the Bloomfield Board of Education have initiated a program to provide help to eligible students.
Simply called “Backstop,” the program began in September. According to Bloomfield Assistant Superintendent of Schools Joseph Fleres, what distinguishes the Bloomfield program from similar programs in other districts is that students here will be given instruction by their own teachers.
“The big takeaway is, ‘What better way to teach children than by their own teacher?’” Fleres said in a recent interview with The Independent Press.
The goal of the program, he said, is to address unfinished learning, which is a result of the pandemic. The program will support the normal district curriculum, but with smaller class sizes of just 10 to 12 students.
“The program utilizes COVID relief money to increase the teacher-to-student time together,” Fleres said. “Our teachers identified eligible students through specific academic criteria. We will provide educational services before and after school, and during the summer. Our initial plan is to identify four to eight teachers in each building, but our numbers are fluid. Kids are constantly placed in and out of the program.”
Backstop started in September 2021 and will continue throughout the school year. Fleres said program coordinators meet with the principal of the school where the program is underway to determine student placement.
“A lot of the coordinators are interventionists and track student progress,” he said.
According to Brookdale Elementary School Principal Lauren Barton, her students in the Backstop program have gained confidence and support in the areas of math and language arts to strengthen their skills in areas of unfinished learning.
“Students in attendance in grades K-6 have grown tremendously throughout the school year thanks to the program and have made great strides in order to achieve mastery in grade-level standards,” she said in an email.
In a telephone interview, Bloomfield BOE Vice President Shane Berger said that the pandemic was not going to decide the quality of education Bloomfield children received.
“We went to the administration, and they had an ambitious plan to focus on teacher–student contact,” he said. “We were funded by relief money, and we want to make sure the student is not permanently at risk. We’re funded all the way to 2024.”
Teachers have really stepped up and the effort will not stop, Berger emphasized.
Fleres said program classes meet two to four days a week. He is hopeful this will occur for six to eight weeks, based on availability. He was most gratified by the increased proficiency in language arts and math.
“It’s where the kids had the most unfinished work,” he said. “We’re building on the curriculum already in place. The program will be broken into sessions.”
But if a student continues to have academic problems, interventionists and referral services are available. The Backstop program is available to students K-6, but there are programs, which are “a little different,” for the higher grades.
“Our interest was to put our teachers in front of our kids because they know them best,” he said. “This is like providing a tutor service with district money. It seems all stakeholders are pleased with the product.”
Entering the program is not a parental choice.
“It’s based on academic needs,” Fleres said. “A student has to qualify.”
Fleres said the number of students in the program varies.
“We continuously reevaluate,” he said. “There are various measures we use to support the fluidity of the program.”
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