EAST BRUNSWICK–Continuing to educate East Brunswick Public School District students during the coronavirus outbreak, Superintendent Victor Valeski discussed how virtual school days are operating.
“The East Brunswick Public Schools team has rallied together during this unprecedented event and I’m so proud of the entire East Brunswick schools community,” Valeski said. “The central office team, principals, supervisors and department chairs have conducted virtual staff meetings daily and throughout the week with their faculty to maintain consistent and open communication as we refine this new model of learning.”
Valeski said he keeps in touch with the entire team multiple times during the day, especially as new information is released from either the New Jersey Department of Education or Gov. Phil Murphy’s office.
In order to continue educating students in kindergarten through seventh grade, Valeski said parents receive daily learning plan emails from their child’s teacher each morning.
“We’re listening closely to parent feedback and work as a district to begin ways to adjust this process as we continue to expand our experience, knowledge and delivering high-quality distance learning,” Valeski said. “You can expect that our current model may be adjusted as distance learning continues to evolve.”
As the district work toward meeting the needs of all learners, Valeski said, “Our district distributed [more than] 1,050 devices to students in grades 3-12 to ensure each student is able to participate in distance learning. This is in addition to the 1,060 Lenovo laptops distributed to students in grades 10-12 at the beginning of the school year to kick off our one-to-one initiative.”
Valeski said the district will continue to work with families to ensure they have access to the internet.
“We are grateful that the internet providers in our area are offering free access for eligible families. [Parents can] contact local providers for information on services that each have the internet providers are offering,” Valeski said. “Students in grades 8-12 are logging on to the Canvas Learning Management system for their daily assignments.”
Valeski said the district is confident that its adoption of a learning management system this school year, eased the transition to distance learning for both Churchill Junior High School and East Brunswick High School students. The district’s secondary schools are following a block schedule format where students virtually attend four classes a day.
Despite the schools’ closures, its guidance counselors, child study teams and nurses continue to actively support students, according to Valeski.
With the last day of the third marking period being April 3, Valeski said, “At this time, I’m trying to maintain the consistency of our board-approved school calendar. I’ve been told by the New Jersey Department of Education that we will get credit for the days we conduct distance learning. Each distance learning day will be counted as a regular school day.”
Valeski said the Child Nutrition Department has set up a grab-and-go pickup system at select locations throughout the district, and the district is using parking lots at its 11 schools along with eight other strategic locations.
“Grab-and-go meals contain breakfast and lunch items that are available for eligible students. This week, East Brunswick Public Schools has provided [more than] 1000 meals,” Valeski said. “I want to give a huge thank you to our child nutrition staff, bus drivers, transportation department, school security officers, and our Aramark foodservice partners for quickly getting the system up and running.”
For families with changes to their financial situation, Valeski said they should log on to the school district’s website under the parent access tab and then under the forms tab to complete a free and reduced meal application.
During this stressful time, Valeski said resources are available on the district’s website to support parents in talking to their children about coronavirus, as well as additional educational resources.
“I want to say an absolute unbelievable thank you and I don’t even think the words are invented for [Valeski’s] staff, admin this week. I have five kids in this game and the support they receive [with] virtual learning just been incredible. How did it happen so quickly is beyond me, how it happened so quickly and perfectly executed. … Thank you, everybody, who put this together,” Board Member Jeff Winston said.
For more information on how to get internet access, call the child nutrition office at 732-613-6718.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@newspapermediagroup.com.
