PARAMUS, NJ — The Paramus public school district will be offering an enhanced summer learning program for all Paramus students, according to the superintendent.
In a quest to answer public questions, Superintendent Sean Adams released the following question and answer statement.
● How are the costs of the program being covered if not by the participating students’ families?
○ The full cost of the program will be covered by federal grant funding, specifically the ESSER II grant.
● Why was the full program not announced until May 14?
○ The ESSER II grant provides approximately one million dollars in funding for our district and is being utilized to support a number of different initiatives beyond just the enhanced summer program. Per grant requirements, each of these initiatives must be vetted out at multiple district, county, and state levels to ensure it meets the required parameters and works in conjunction with each other initiative to ensure maximum benefit to all of our Paramus students. While a reference to the possibility of an enhanced summer program was included in the Public Budget Hearing Presentation, which was presented at the May 3 Board of Education meeting, it was not until May 12 that the district learned definitively whether the details of the enhanced summer program, including full-day options at the elementary and middle school levels, would be approved and therefore able to be offered to our students.
● Are students who are entering Kindergarten in the fall eligible to participate? ○ Since the program is built upon reviewing and expanding grade level concepts covered during the regular school year, it is available only to students who have completed the particular grade level already.
● When and how can I register my child for this program?
○ Registration for the elementary school program opened today and can be accessed through the Genesis Parent Portal. Comprehensive overviews of the In-Person Elementary Summer Learning Academy 2021 and the Virtual Elementary Summer Learning Academy 2021 are available for review.
○ Registration for the middle and high school programs will open on the Genesis Parent Portal starting May 28. Additional details regarding these programs are being finalized and will be provided soon.
Updated NJDOH Requirements
Yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Health issued clarifications regarding travel and masking requirements (”Travel and Masking Clarifications for K-12 Schools”) following updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While you may review the document in more depth by following the link above, the essential points are as follows:
● Masking
○ The below requirements follow the mandates put forth in Governor Murphy’s Executive Order No. 241, specifically Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the order (page 6).
■ Participants involved in school-related activities that are outdoors and after school hours are not required to wear masks.
■ Participants involved in school-related activities that are indoors are required to wear masks.
■ Participants involved in school-related activities that are indoors or outdoors and during school hours are required to wear masks.
● Travel
○ Unvaccinated students and staff should continue to follow CDC recommendations for quarantine and testing after travel. If they test positive, they should isolate and follow COVID-19 exclusion criteria outlined in the NJDOH Recommendations for Local Health Departments for K-12 Schools.
○ Vaccinated students and staff returning from prearranged domestic travel on or after May 17, 2021, should no longer be asked to quarantine but should self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate and get tested if symptoms develop.
■ Domestic travel is defined as travel lasting 24 hours or longer to states or US territories other than contiguous states (i.e., Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware).
