Elementary and middle school students in a large school district in Hunterdon County have the potential to return to classes five days each week beginning in March, the superintendent announced on this week.
The Flemington-Raritan Regional School District may welcome all students back to the buildings on March 15 with an abbreviated school day, Kari McGann, the superintendent of the district, shared during Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.
Outdoor sports are also set to resume at the school district beginning March 5.
The new plan for in-person instruction has not yet been approved, and will be up for discussion and possible policy approval at a special board of education meeting, planned for March 1.
These actions have been proposed on the heels of declines in the number of COVID-19 cases, percent positivity, and hospital rates in the region, McGann noted during the meeting.
There are 3,011 students currently enrolled in the school district. Since Jan. 4, a total of 50 students have tested positive for the coronavirus, as well as 18 staff members.
Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Raritan Township, where students who graduate from the Flemington-Raritan Regional School district continue their public education, follows a hybrid schedule.
In returning to in-person instruction for five days each week, the school district will allow cohorts A and B of the student body to co-mingle despite the fact that social distancing in the classrooms cannot be achieved.
“At this time, according to the current requests for in-person, and those already here in-person, almost all of our classrooms would be over capacity if we combine cohorts … six foot distancing would not be able to be maintained,” McGann said. “It is not six foot distancing. I can’t even say to you that it’s five foot distancing. I cannot even commit to four-foot distancing.”
However, all students and teachers will continue to wear masks. Plexiglass barriers will be erected on all students’ and staff members’ desks, and these desks will continue to face in the same direction.
In preparation for the return to larger-scale in-person instruction, on Tuesday the board moved to purchase 3,000 plexiglass dividers for student desks at a cost of $101,400, and 400 plexiglass dividers for teacher desks at a cost of $24,000. These will be paid for by the $571,040 allocated to the district by the CARES Act II.
Face shields will also be available for use by all faculty and staff members. Additionally, the district will appoint a lead nurse to facilitate health and safety procedures, and serve as a conduit of communication between local health officials and the school district.
“We will continue to not make impulsive decisions,” McGann said. “The decisions that we make are always based on logic — they’re based on analyzing the data from our local health experts, and reasoning that needs to take place.”
Parents with children who are fully remote must submit a written request to their child’s building principal expressing their desire for their children to return to in-person status by this Friday.
A number of parents and teachers from the district expressed their support for returning to in-person instruction five days a week, as well as their concerns with the execution of this plan.
Sherill Degenova, a teacher for Copper Hill, praised the thoroughness of McGann’s presentation on Tuesday while expressing some apprehensions about how it will impede students’ ability to social distance.
“I think it’s important to remember we social distance with our students not just in the classrooms, but on the buses, in the hallways, in the bathrooms … and also, I’m very concerned about lunch,” Degenova said. “I hope lunch will not be taken away from elementary students.”
Sue Vala, president of the Flemington-Raritan Education Association and a teacher at Reading-Fleming Intermediate School, said teachers are “very eager” to have more students in the building. However, she highlighted three primary concerns shared by the teachers, including social distancing, the co-mingling of students, and the state’s non-prioritizing teachers to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Michelle Hurley of Raritan Township supported the return of students to the school district, stating the district “should be ashamed” that larger districts with lower budgets and higher rates of COVID “have returned well ahead of our children.”
“There’s a group of almost 300 parents that have gotten together and have finally admitted out loud together that our kids are struggling and we can’t be patient,” Hurley said. “Virtual learning is obviously no substitute for in-person instruction.”
Matt Lombardo, a parent from Raritan Township, said the ideal situation would be to offer a full-time virtual learning option or full-time in-person learning option.
“In-school learning is far superior to virtual learning,” Lombardo said. “Clearly in-school learning is low-risk. So what about virtual learning? I would say a vast majority of children are socially and psychologically damaged from being isolated from other children.”
As of Wednesday morning, nearly 550 people have signed a Change.org petition supporting the reopening of the district for full week in-person instruction.
“A departure from 5 days of in-person learning is causing a large proportion of students to struggle,” the petition reads. “Kids are struggling academically, socially and emotionally. This current model of learning was implemented as a temporary solution but very few changes have been made to remedy the issues experienced since the start.”
According to the petition, 42 people responded to a poll circulated on social media in the fall indicating that their child is struggling during the pandemic, while an additional 49 people responded that improvements need to be made. Only 23 respondents indicated that the current system is working well for them.
Looking forward, McGann said the district intends to return to a more normalized schedule by the start of the 2021-22 school year.
“I hear you parents. The majority of you want your students back to in-person instruction five days a week for all students. We are planning for that in September,” McGann said. “Can we get there sooner? I hope so.”
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Caroline Fassett may be reached at cfassett@njadvancemedia.com.
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N.J. school district considers welcoming students back for in-person instruction five days a week - NJ.com
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