The first presumptive positive case of coronavirus in New Jersey was announced on March 4. It was only two weeks later, on March 18, when all schools in the state were closed, at the order of Gov. Murphy.
Thus began public education’s unprecedented move to remote learning.
Educators and parents don’t yet know how effective the learning experiment was, and at this writing, districts are still figuring out what school will look like in September. But we do know that the pandemic closures prompted creativity and inventiveness on the part of both teachers and students. Nearly everyone became more familiar with videoconferencing systems and online learning platforms. Students reaching milestones like high school or eighth-grade graduation were celebrated in different ways. School districts reached out to their communities, honoring local volunteers and health care workers, providing donations of personal protective equipment and food and meals for essential workers.
Still, life looked a lot different. In this photo feature, School Leader provides a glimpse of how New Jersey carried on connecting with and educating its students. NJSBA thanks local districts for providing the photographs in these pages.
Janet Bamford is NJSBA’s manager of communications and publications.
