September 2, 2021
Dear Springfield Public School Community:
I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and recovering from the Hurricane Ida storms that impacted our community last night. We are incredibly grateful to Mayor Webber and the Springfield Township Fire Department, Police, Office of Emergency Management, and Public Works for their support. If your family has been affected by the storm and needs support, please do not hesitate to reach out to the school so that we can identify ways to provide assistance.
Today, we reviewed the status of our buildings and our plan for opening our schools. Four of our five schools were not significantly impacted by the storms and will be ready to open and welcome students on Thursday, September 9, 2021, as previously scheduled.
Edward V. Walton Early Childhood Center sustained the most damage due to flooding and will require some significant repair in the coming days and weeks. We are happy that we were able to secure a remediation company, and we expect that work to begin shortly. Over the next few days, we will receive more information to guide us in our decision-making process. We are considering a variety of options and will share specific information as it is available. In order to appropriately set expectations and allow for our families to plan, we are anticipating the first day of school for Walton, including all school-based programs, will be shifted to Monday, September 13, 2021, but additional information will be forthcoming.
Over the next few days, our school principals will be sharing specific information about the opening of the schools, and how we will support our students as they return for the 21-22 school year.
There is no question that this is not the way we hoped to start this school year, but it doesn’t change our excitement to welcome our students back. We look forward to providing more information and updates as they are available.
Thank you for your support, and please stay safe.
Sincerely,
Rachel Goldberg
Superintendent of Schools
Cultivating compassionate and extraordinary learners!