BERGENFIELD, NJ -- Today, Governor Phil Murphy and US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited Bergenfield High School to witness the extraordinary work that Bergenfield has done to get students back into the classroom in a safe environment. The Governor and Secretary spoke after touring the school about how Bergenfield serves as a model for school districts across the country that are looking to bring students back after the COVID-19 health emergency.
“Bergenfield is a great community in Bergen County New Jersey and putting some proof to that, it is my second visit here this week,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “We are proud to hold Bergenfield up as a model of the tremendous progress New Jersey has made statewide in creating the safe environments where our students, educators and support staff can get back to the business of in-person instruction. Bergenfield is one of the now more than 400 school districts that is open for five days a week in-person instruction.”
Bergenfield schools are consistently ranked as some of the best in the country, with US News and World Report scoring them a 93.07/100.
“I read a sign inside that said children come first and here at this school, it is clear that children come first. Students belong in school and that is what we saw today,” said US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “We are at a point now where collectively we can experience signs of recovery and I saw that here today at the school. I walked in and I saw students learning, seniors learning, talking about graduation in a couple weeks and their plans for post graduation. We walked in and heard a band playing. They had the covers on their wind instruments to make sure they are not spreading air. So they did all the right things to make sure that the arts is alive and well in their classrooms.”
“I would like to thank Governor Murphy, Secretary Cardona and Congressman Gottheimer for coming to Bergenfield today to see the results of our strong commitment to get Bergenfield students back in the classroom for five day a week instruction,” said Mayor Arvin Amatorio. “In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic pushing students to at home learning for a period, our teachers and support staff continued to deliver a tremendous learning experience for our students. Now that vaccinations are going up and it is safer for students to be in the classroom, I am proud of our ability to bring students back because they learn best in an in-person environment.”
