Sign up for Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter to get the latest news about the city’s public school system delivered to your inbox.
Newark Teachers Union president John Abeigon is calling on state lawmakers to loosen restrictions on virtual learning after a blizzard buried the city in snow and raised concerns about getting to school safely.
Newark schools were closed Monday due to the winter storm, but teachers and staff who live in Newark and other parts of the state had been worried about getting to school on Tuesday after some parts of the city got up to 27 inches of snow, Abeigon told Chalkbeat on Tuesday.
By Monday afternoon, Superintendent Roger León decided to move Wednesday’s scheduled staff development day to Tuesday and make it virtual, a decision educators were grateful for as they had an extra day to prepare for the school week, Abeigon added.
But other school districts in New Jersey didn’t have that choice as the current law makes it harder for districts to call for remote learning days during severe weather, even when travel conditions are unsafe, Abeigon said.
“These are not like the days of the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ where teachers lived in town,” Abeigon added. “The vast majority of teachers in Newark don’t live in the city. And that’s the same for any large and mid-size district in the state.”
While schools in New York have the option to move to remote learning during major winter storms, New Jersey’s law doesn’t allow that same flexibility. New York City schools had a snow day on Monday and returned to in-person instruction on Tuesday.
Under state law, districts cannot count remote learning toward their required 180 school days per year unless schools close for three consecutive days. During January’s winter storm, Newark Public Schools also shut down buildings for one day during a week when teachers had a prescheduled staff development day. Abeigon urged legislators to revisit the state law to prevent districts from canceling school altogether in the future.
“We want to find a legislator who would create that legislation so we could support it,” Abeigon added.
Silvia Pereira, one of the vice presidents for the Newark Teachers Union and executive vice president for pre-K to 12 for the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, said she was thankful to have a virtual professional development day on Tuesday, but had that not been the case, she would’ve found it difficult to get to Newark from her home in Union.
Pereira, a Newark Public Schools teacher, also said the state should come up with a task force that could look at how to address snow days in New Jersey, as the state also contends with strategies to address chronic absenteeism and literacy.
“I think it’s important to look at other factors that could be impacting student learning, and how we can really address them when we have major snowstorms that could prompt school closures for more than one day,” Pereira added.
The area’s massive snowfall also prompted Newark city leaders to enact emergency parking measures that allowed residents to park cars in certain school parking lots until 11 p.m. on Monday. Newark Public Schools’ facilities teams were also seen cleaning up snow around schools.
Mayor Ras Baraka on Tuesday urged residents to report unplowed streets, hazardous snow conditions, or other snow-related issues by calling 973-733-4311.
Newark Public Schools students are expected to return to classrooms on Wednesday.
Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
