During the Tuesday, February 1, meeting of the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education, director of school counseling Sinead Crews presented an annual report about the experiences of the Class of 2021 graduates and the role of the school counselors and related staff members who supported them. The meeting, intended to be hybrid format, was conducted in person, but there were technical issues with the livestream and webinar. It was expected to be posted to the Livingston Public Schools Facebook page once the issues had been resolved.Students in the Class of 2021 submitted 4,975 applications to 413 different schools, an increase from the previous year in both the number of applications and the number of different schools. The students matriculated into 144 different colleges, one more than in 2020. These include 39 universities ranked in the top 50 by US News and World Report.Over 96 percent of the class of 2021’s 464 graduates are attending a post-secondary institution, with 91 percent in four year schools and five percent in two year schools. Four percent went into employment, the military or are participating in a gap year program.Comparing the post-secondary plans of general and special education students,77 percent went directly into a four-year college or university. Another eight percent went to a two-year college, and 15 percent entered employment, the military, a vocational or gap year program, or continued education.According to a survey of the Class of 2021, over 43 percent of students did not apply for scholarships. This is a 12 percent decrease compared to the Class of 2020.Officials said the takeaway from the report was consistency of fouryear college matriculation despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials also noted the increase in the number of schools to which students are applying.For the Class of 2022, 4,852 applications have been sent out as of January 6, an average of 11.7 per student.The report is expected to be posted on the Board of Education section of the district website.Remote DaysThe Board discussed sending a letter to the state Department of Education, Governor Phil Murphy, and local legislators, concerning the potential for the district to have flexible remote learning days to help offset snow days and other emergency needs in a tight school calendar.A state bill is in its early stages, which, if passed, could give districts the ability to declare remote days (or provide the option to attend school remotely on a given ...
