Lakeland Regional High School’s administration and staff are abiding by New Jersey’s new vaccine and testing mandate for all school personnel, which went into effect on Oct 18, 2021. 

Under the mandate, teachers and staff must get vaccinated or get tested every week, and according to Mr. Novak, assistant superintendent of Lakeland Regional High School, teachers began weekly testing the week the order took place. The order, known as Executive Order 253, was signed on August 23 by Governor Phil Murphy and puts the responsibility of enforcing the mandate to each New Jersey school district. 

Mr. Novak told The Ledger that since the start of the pandemic, the school has a Pandemic Response Team. The team is made up of staff from different areas around the school. The team still meets to talk about how they can keep the school year running as normal as possible while authenticating that everyone is safe. The team also works closely with local health officials from Ringwood and Wanaque. 

The coronavirus pandemic changed things for students and teachers, but LRHS is putting forth the best effort in their actions to get this school year back to normal and ensure safety for everyone.