May 27, 2021
Dear Springfield Public Schools Community,
We hope you and your family are enjoying the beautiful weather and preparing for the long holiday weekend! As a reminder, the district is closed on Friday, May 27 through Tuesday, June 1st. We will welcome students back into our classrooms on Wednesday, June 2nd.
Throughout the last two weeks, the state guidance regarding health and safety protocols has been updated multiple times, and we have been in close contact with our local health officials to appropriately interpret that guidance for our community. The purpose of this letter is to share the steps the district is taking in response to these shifts.
Mask Wearing
As noted in the update on Friday, May 21, 2021, Governor Murphy removed the requirement for the wearing of masks in “outdoor public spaces” but continued the mandate for wearing masks in indoor facilities. Additional guidance provided by the NJDOH clarified that while masks are not required for events outside of school hours, they strongly recommend that unvaccinated individuals continue to wear masks in outdoor settings.
As per this guidance, masks will no longer be required for outdoor extracurricular activities. Consistent with the guidance provided by the NJDOH, the district strongly recommends that unvaccinated students and staff engaged in extracurricular outdoor activities continue to wear masks.
Masks will continue to be required for all students and staff during school hours on school grounds, whether indoors or outdoors, consistent with the NJDOH guidance.
Travel Restrictions
On Monday, May 17, 2021, Governor Murphy announced New Jersey will no longer require quarantine for individuals who traveled within the United States and U.S. territories for vaccinated individuals. For domestic travel, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that unvaccinated individuals continue to take precautions during their travel, including quarantine upon return. As a district, we are no longer requiring students or staff members to report domestic travel on the OnCourse Questionnaire. At the same time, we ask families and staff members that are able to do so, to follow the CDC guidance linked above. In addition, we ask that individuals that are symptomatic in any way please stay home—while many adults are fully vaccinated, we must remain vigilant to protect the health of our community and those that have had access to the vaccine.
For staff and families that travel internationally, the district will adhere to guidance provided by the NJDOH and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The district will require proof of a negative test between days 3-5 upon return from international travel (whether vaccinated or unvaccinated) and requiring unvaccinated staff and students to quarantine per the recommendation of the “Recommended Minimum Quarantine Timeframes” set by the NJDOH for a full 7 days, prior to them returning to in-person learning. This change is now reflected in the OnCourse daily health screening.
We look forward to continuing to provide updates as the State adjusts the requirements.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Sincerely,
Rachel Goldberg