Hillsborough Schools Survey For Fall School Re-Entry
The Hillsborough Township School District is requesting input from parents & legal guardians of Hillsborough students entering Grades K-12 in Fall 2020. The survey will be useful to the District Administrators and Pandemic Response Teams from all Hillsborough Schools as they determine the best possible options for school re-opening.
You can complete the survey by clicking the link below. Please note that you will need to complete a separate survey for each enrolled child. You will also need the child’s student ID number or htps.us email address.
Below is the message from Dr. Lisa Antunes that accompanied the survey request.
Good Evening HTPS Community,
I hope everyone enjoyed a healthy, relaxing, and fun holiday weekend!
As you may be aware, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) released its return to school guidance titled, The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education. District administrators have been thoroughly reviewing the plan and are in the pre-planning stages, working diligently to prepare the best possible options for our students and staff for the Fall.
There are many components to the plan and we will address them all to the best of our ability utilizing the most up-to-date information we have at the time, however, this is very likely to change as the summer continues. Nevertheless, we are seeking important input from you, the parents/guardians of our students. Please utilize this link to respond to a short survey (11 questions), which will be available until Monday, July 13.
Although more questions than answers remain, based upon the NJDOE’s publication, there are several points that are clear at this time:
NJ schools will reopen for in-person instruction (in some format) in September
All students will be required to wear face coverings when physical distancing (6 feet) is not possible unless medical conditions prohibit doing so
All staff members will be required to wear face coverings unless medical conditions prohibit doing so
Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting routines will be in place, including hand sanitizing stations
Additionally, please be assured that options are being explored for in-person, virtual, and a hybrid model of instruction. A hybrid model (some time in our school buildings and some time in a virtual environment) may include alternate schedules, A/B days, shortened days, split schedules, etc. There are many factors to consider for each model, including, but not limited to, the developmental age of the child, the social-emotional needs of the child, any special needs or accommodations, transportation, technology, staffing, cleaning and disinfecting, as well as other resources.
Each school will be convening a meeting of their Pandemic Response Teams made up of a variety of stakeholders including students (where appropriate), staff, parents, and administrators, so please do not be surprised if your principal reaches out. The building principal will act as the liaison to the District Resart Committee (DRC) which is also a crosssection of the community, including administrators, Board members, staff members, parents, and local association representatives. Together, we will formulate a plan that best meets the needs of our community. A recommendation for a reopening plan will be provided to the Board of Education.
As I am sure you can imagine, the timeline presented by the NJDOE is very aggressive and we have a lot of work to accomplish in a very short time. We know that our community needs to plan and we will do our best to provide as much time as possible to do so, however, it is very important to remember that conditions may change and plans will likely need to be revised and adjusted accordingly. Public health trends and decisions / guidelines from the Governor’s Office and the NJDOE will guide our planning, however, we are seeking to provide some level of flexibility to our families and expect that you try to plan accordingly as well.
We will do our best to provide as many details as possible, but please know that many questions may remain unanswered right up until the first day of school and beyond. Our goal is to provide the HTPS community with a solid framework for September and into the Fall. Additionally, final plans will require Board support, as well as support from the local Department of Health and the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE).
As always, please know that every decision made is done so with the health and safety of our students and staff in mind, so while the plan may not be ideal for every individual, it will seek to ensure a continuity of instruction and equity, while taking into account the socio-emotional needs of students and staff.
I would like to thank you for your support and patience.as we continue on this journey to develop and finalize plans for 7300 students and 1000 staff members that are Hillsborough Township Public Schools. We understand that each family has differing comfort levels and our goal is to provide options that will meet the needs of our students, families, and staff members. We respect the individual perspectives of all of our families and know that the decision to send your child(ren) back to school is personal and complex.
Please utilize this link to respond to a short survey (11 questions), which will be available until Monday, July 13. While I acknowledge that there may be questions that are difficult to answer, please do your best to do so, as your answers will provide us with much needed baseline data. Finally, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be forthcoming via School Messenger and will also be posted on the district website soon.
Respectfully,
Lisa M. Antunes, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
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