STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Several school districts in New Jersey are opting to keep school buildings closed and return to remote learning on Monday following the holiday break due to the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy has repeatedly stated since the start of the 2021-2022 school year that he wants schools to stay open for in-person classes as it’s the best for student learning, according to NJ.com. The governor also said last week he had no plans to close schools despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
The governor said last week he had no plans to close schools despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases statewide.
“I hope we don’t need to do that,” Murphy said, according to NJ.com. “We know the impact of learning loss has been overwhelming, particularly in underserved communities. We’re going to do everything we can to stay in person, obviously safely and responsibly.”
Though he said in the past he could change his mind based on the circumstances, but he hoped schools in New Jersey wouldn’t have to go virtual again statewide, NJ.com reported.
According to ABC 7 News, Murphy said that the state is doing “everything possible” to keep kids safe in school during in-person learning but that it is ultimately up to school districts to make those decisions depending on what they are facing upon their return to school.
New Jersey has more than 600 school districts.
Several districts, including Pennsauken, Irvington, South Orange-Maplewood would keep buildings closed and move to remote learning, NJ.com reported. Additionally, Camden, New Brunswick, and Carteret districts announced plans for remote learning.
And at least five Hudson county school districts, including Jersey City and Bayonne — which are not too far from Staten Island — also announced that classes would be taught remotely for the week starting Monday.
Meanwhile, Newark and Paterson announced it would keep kids remote through Jan. 14, with an expected return date of Jan. 18, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
PLANS FOR NYC PUBLIC SCHOOLS
While many school districts in New Jersey are making remote plans, New York City continues to push forward with its plans to stay open for in-person learning. It altered its school coronavirus policies in hopes of reducing the number of classroom closures and students who are required to quarantine.
Last week, former Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mayor Eric Adams announced the city’s “Stay Safe and Stay Open” plan, designed to minimize the number of classroom disruptions through increased testing and shortened quarantine periods.
Though not required, the city has encouraged all public school students and staff to get tested for COVID-19 before they return to school on Monday.
The city is also doubling the amount of in-school PCR tests administered to students and staff on a weekly basis, expanding it to both vaccinated and unvaccinated students — as opposed to the previous policy that required only unvaccinated students to be tested.
As has been the case, only students whose parents have signed a parental consent form will be subject to in-school testing.
Should a positive case arise in a classroom, the city has altered its policy to reduce the number of full classroom closures and the number of students who are required to quarantine.
When there is a positive case, each student and staffer in the classroom will receive an at-home test kit and will be required to take two tests over the next five days. Students who test negative and are asymptomatic can continue to attend school, regardless of their vaccination status, causing less disruptions to their education.
Those who test positive for the virus will be required to quarantine for 10 days.
In line with new state policy and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fully-vaccinated staff members who test positive for the virus, but are asymptomatic, will only need to quarantine for five days.
On the sixth day, staffers will be able to return to school, so long as they are asymptomatic, have not had a fever within 72 hours and wear an appropriate high-quality mask, which will be provided by the school.
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