Bloomfield School District outlines reopening plan

Bloomfield School District Superintendent Sal Goncalves presents the September reopening plan at a BOE meeting on July 21.

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield School District Superintendent Sal Goncalves and Assistant Superintendent Joe Fleres presented the district’s reopening plan for September at the July 21 Board of Education meeting, a month after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that schools would resume in-person learning after being forced to move online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. Each school district in the state is deciding what reopening looks like in their community.

“We’re going through an unprecedented time in life, and we all need patience,” Goncalves said before presenting the plan. “With what you’re going to see tonight, I’m asking for patience. Every question will probably get another question, but we’re going to work with the community and do what’s best for our students and our staff.”

A survey was sent out to stakeholders to gauge what option would be best for Bloomfield; in-person learning, remote learning and hybrid learning were options included in the survey. According to results, 52.1 percent of people surveyed are either neutral or have some level of comfort about returning to school with social distancing measures in place. Those who are either neutral or comfortable with virtual learning made up 76.9 percent of people surveyed; 74.5 percent said they are either neutral or comfortable with a hybrid. The survey told the district that most people in the district would prefer either all-virtual or hybrid learning.

“With what we were asked to do in March, at a moment’s notice, with no preparation whatsoever, we fared pretty well,” Goncalves said.

Bloomfield settled on a hybrid approach, or “blended” learning. However, each student will have the option to return to school all virtually and opt out of in-person learning in the school buildings.

Before classes start in September, students who are new to the district will be able to visit their school building by appointment to receive any necessary materials and technology. With the exception of kindergartners, all students will begin the year virtually on Sept. 3 and 4. Students and staff will begin all of their scheduled cycles on Sept. 8.

The Early Childhood Center at Forest Glen will rotate through an “A” schedule with some preschoolers in the building on Mondays and Tuesdays, and a “B” schedule with others there on Wednesdays and Thursdays. All students will be learning virtually on Fridays. School hours will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The elementary schools will run on an “A” and “B” weekly schedule, with half days. Mondays through Thursdays will be in-person, and, like the preschool, Fridays will be virtual learning days. According to the presentation, afternoons will include virtual instruction and professional development for staff.

At Bloomfield Middle School and Bloomfield High School, students and staff will adhere to a three-day cycle from Tuesday through Thursday. Mondays and Fridays will be virtual learning days for all students. The afternoons will provide virtual instruction and professional development for staff.

Special education students will attend all in-person learning days at their respective buildings in addition to virtual learning. Special education students whose IEP outlines inclusion services will follow the hybrid learning model.

Some health and safety protocols are still being developed for September, such as those regarding face coverings and gloves, social distancing, medically fragile students and staff, screening and admittance procedures, and contact tracing.

“Because of the length of these protocols, we do not have them available for you now,” Goncalves said. “They are part of the document that’s being submitted to the NJDOE. Once we receive approval from the NJDOE we will release the entire document to the entire community.”

The presentation did outline the plan for transportation, however. BMS and BHS students who are eligible will have transportation provided, but all drivers, students and bus aides must wear a mask to board the bus. Two students will be seated socially distant on the three-person seats and one student will sit on the two-person seat. Windows will remain open to the greatest extent possible for ventilation.

The cleaning and sanitization process was outlined in the plan as well. Classrooms and offices will be cleaned daily, and bathrooms will be cleaned every two hours. Outdoor playground equipment will also be cleaned more often. Air-conditioning and HVAC filters will be changed once a month.

“On Fridays, all of our schedules allow an entire district virtual day for a deep cleaning,” Goncalves said. “That includes but is not limited to carpeted rooms being shampooed; large areas will be addressed, specifically gymnasiums, media centers and cafeterias, even though they’re not in use for food distribution.”