Dear Verona Community Members,
The Verona Public School district continues to monitor the emerging public health issue with COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. The health, safety, and well-being of our students, staff, and community members is our main priority. The CDC recommends a community-wide approach focused on slowing the transmission of COVID-19 by limiting large gatherings of people and practicing social distancing.
In my letter to our community on March 12, 2020, I shared that our district is tentatively scheduled to return to school on March 30, 2020. As we continue to monitor this fluid and evolving public health concern, I am notifying our community today that our schools, in the physical sense, will not reopen on March 30th. On March 16th, Governor Murphy closed all schools until further notice. Remote distance learning will resume and I am confident that our faculty will continue to educate our students. The previously scheduled April Spring Break remains in effect for April 6th – 10th. As we have all been monitoring the current public health issue, I would be remiss if I did not share with you that it is probable that school will remain closed for an extended period of time into the foreseeable future. We recognize that this school closure is disruptive for families, but we have a collective responsibility to address this public health challenge.
In the meantime, we strongly recommend that families continue to practice recommendations by the CDC, specifically avoiding large gatherings and social distancing as a critically important preventive measure to arrest the spread of the virus. We encourage students to stay home during this prolonged closure. During this time, only essential school and district personnel will be permitted in our buildings and on school grounds, including playgrounds, fields, basketball courts, and the HBW track.
We will continue to evaluate this evolving situation and provide updates to the community via email, our district website, and social media. Our faculty and staff continues to work remotely and is available via email, phone, and videoconference. School is not closed. It just looks a little different right now. Please reach out to your building principal, nurse, counselors, and teachers with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to educate our children while implementing best practices to keep everyone safe.
All my best,
Dr. Rui Dionisio
Superintendent of Schools
