NUTLEY, NJ — Like every other school district in the country, Nutley Public Schools had to close its doors when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shutdown of normal life, moving classes online until at least the middle of May. A month into using the new system, Superintendent of Schools Julie Glazer said staff and students have adapted as best they can.
“Nutley was well-prepared to begin remote education,” she said in an email to the Nutley Journal on April 22. “We started to survey the community early in March to ensure every student had access to a device and internet, we already had a learning management system in place to deliver instruction, and we were able to provision for meal distribution from the first day of implementation. This, along with consistent communication, has allowed us to succeed on many levels.”
Nutley has been using Schoology, a virtual learning platform, for its online classes. The first two weeks were spent teaching the system to staff, students and parents, according to Glazer.
“In the second two weeks we integrated resources and provided professional learning to staff on using tools, such as those for videoconferencing. In these two weeks we have begun to focus on providing feedback to students in real time, and live meetings, and we will continue to progress,” she said. “When we are able to return to the classroom, the flexibility and adaptability we have gained will make us better prepared to support student-learning goals and objectives well into the future.”
Kent Bania, the director of curriculum for grades six through 12, said he was confident in the district’s ability to pivot to online learning, especially at Nutley High School.
“I am well aware of amazing qualities of our faculty, staff and students. I had full confidence that they would rise to the occasion, and they have,” he said in an email to the Nutley Journal on April 22. “That is not to say we have not had our challenges, and we will continue to be challenged since this is new to all of us. But this is a team effort; administrators have their role, as well as teachers and parents. Students also have a role, and after looking at much of the data coming back, I am happy to say that students are performing well in this unprecedented time.”
Nutley’s school district serves more than 4,000 students, and Bania said he has been impressed with how staff and administrators were able to adapt in such a short period of time.
“When looking at what happened over only a month of time, bringing 4,200 students, teachers and families from a traditional classroom setting to remote learning, having to modify curricula that was written for classroom strategies, I feel this endeavor has progressed better than expected,” he said. “I look forward to reflecting on this program with teachers, administrators, students and parents with the intention to make the best program we can for the Nutley community.”
Glazer agreed.
“I am grateful to our staff, students and the community for embracing the challenges of remote learning and changes to the delivery of curriculum, instruction and services,” she said. “The collective support, patience and willingness to engage has proven that we are truly ‘Nutley stronger together.’”
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