It’s decision time for dozens of school districts across the state that set the week of Jan. 18 as the time to return to in-person or hybrid learning.
Most said they wanted to give a two-week period after the holidays for the dust to settle on any COVID-19 infections that transpired through holiday travel or gatherings.
Gov. Phil Murphy said during a coronavirus briefing Monday that 339 districts are starting 2021 remotely — an increase of 18 all-remote districts from Dec. 21. Only 77 school districts are returning with full in-person instruction (down from 82 on Dec. 21), and 348 are returning with a hybrid of in-person and remote instruction (down from 362).
As coronavirus numbers continue to swell in certain parts of the state, some districts are rethinking going back even a week from now. School officials from about 60 districts scheduled to return Jan. 18 and 19 are looking at COVID-19 data from their towns and counties and consulting with local health officials to determine if it’s safe to fill desks and classrooms.
Newton, Milltown and Bogota will be making their decision next week. Woodbridge, Vineland, Palisades Park and North Arlington have already extended their remote learning period.
“No one wants to be the first school where somebody gets really sick,” said Bogota Superintendent Damian Kennedy.
In his district, which has about 1,250 students, they haven’t seen student-to-student transmission. “But we have had students in the classroom who then tested positive that night,” he said.
When the district sends out letters alerting parents to new cases or that groups of students and staff have to quarantine, few parents send their children to school the next day. “There have been days where our high school had 25 kids and it should be over 250 in the hybrid model,” Kennedy said.
Vineland announced Friday, along with Woodbridge, that it wouldn’t return as expected the week of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday.
Vineland, which has about 10,700 students in 15 schools, is staying remote until Feb. 16.
“The district’s decision was ultimately based on our area’s status moving from the high risk to very high-risk category,” said Gianina Messore, a spokesperson for the school system. “As always, the safety of our staff and students is paramount and we felt extending the all-virtual instruction was in their best interests.”
North Arlington is staying remote until Feb. 26. Palisades Park will be remote through Jan. 29. And Woodbridge announced Friday it will be virtual until March 1.
An average of 8.6 students and 4.8 faculty and staff in Woodbridge are testing positive each day, according to the most recent five-day average. Those figures are up from 2.4 and 0.4 in October, according to Superintendent Dr. Robert Zega.
Not everyone is reversing course, though. Sparta is ready to go back to hybrid learning on Jan. 19.
“It has been a challenge to balance the instructional needs of our students with the health and safety of our learning community,” said Interim Superintendent Patrick McQueeney. “However, our staff has been tremendous in overcoming obstacles and providing solutions that focus on the growth of our students in an ever-changing instructional environment.”
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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
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Many N.J. districts are supposed to resume in-person learning next week. Will they? - NJ.com
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