Dear SOMSD Community,

• To view or download the letter:  https://bit.ly/3zJZBrb
• Haga clic aquí para leer la carta en español:  https://bit.ly/3tfPxnq
• Klike la pou li lèt la an kreyòl ayisyen:  https://bit.ly/3zVuskQ

As we all recover from the impact of Tropical Storm Ida, we sincerely hope this message finds you and your family safe.  As a school district, we suffered significant losses,  and from the evening of the storm throughout the long weekend, our staff has been assessing the damage.   

The purpose of this communication is to share the District's status with you. We suffered damages to our facilities and our transportation vehicles.  Our Facilities Team has worked tirelessly throughout the weekend and done a terrific job of remediating the water damage to our facilities. However, the most pressing concerns for our reopening center around our school buses and transportation vans. We have been working closely with our insurance adjuster and the mechanics that we have an ongoing relationship with to assess the situation. At this time, we have received updates that have made us somewhat optimistic that our transportation fleet will be operational sooner than our original estimates. 

Another significant concern for us is the valuable school and classroom preparation time lost by our educators. We want our Fall Reopening to be a positive experience for all after the challenges presented by the last 18 months. To that end, we will be delaying our first day of school. The new date for all students is tentatively Monday, September 13, 2021. 

All staff will report to their buildings on Thursday, September 9 & Friday, September 10 to finalize their preparation for the return of our students. This delay will allow us to have a clearer picture of the condition of our Transportation Fleet, as well as other ongoing remediation efforts. 

In closing, the school year calendar will be shifting, the first day of school will tentatively be Monday, September 13 for all grade levels Prek-12. Staff will be returning to the buildings on Thursday, September 9.  If this plan is required to change, we will immediately update the community.

South Orange & Maplewood School District

 Join us Friday, September 10 for a Welcome Back Ice Cream Social.

6:00pm for 3rd Graders and their Families

6:45pm for 4th Graders and their Families

7:30pm for 5th Graders and their Families

Enjoy an Ice Cream on us! Food Trucks will be on-site with items for purchase. 

NOTE: Virginia Rd will be closed to allow for maximum space. Please park accordingly. 

Click here to view or download the guide.

We are pleased to share with you the fall 2021 Return to School Guidebook. This guidebook provides an overview of our plans for a safe return to in-person instruction, five days a week, for all students. 

All schools will open at full capacity for in-person instruction with a teacher in every classroom, a visionary administrator leading every school, and support staff providing critical wraparound services and support for our students and communities. Schools will return to their pre-pandemic times, class schedules and extracurricular activities.