Teachers, parents kick off week of action to oppose school reopening in New Jersey

A growing chorus of parents and educators are putting pressure on New Jersey to delay the reopening of schools this fall, amid continuing concerns about local districts' readiness to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday, the education advocacy group NJ21 United kicked off a week of demonstrations and lobbying calling for schools to remain closed until authorities can assure it’s safe to return. Last week, education leaders and school nurses cited a long list of health and safety concerns in a 2½-hour online meeting of the state Assembly Education Committee.

“We want to make sure schools are safe. We are seeing other states where schools opened and there was a spike in cases," said Chris Cannella, a Cedar Grove teacher and NJ21 co-founder. "Lots of schools in the country will not be going back, at least not to brick-and-mortar schools,”

Schools have scrambled to put plans in place to open amid a pandemic that has killed almost 148,000 Americans since March. Strategies under consideration in New Jersey feature a mix of in-person and online learning and social distancing. Still, some educators say schools are not ready to open and need more health protections and guidance from the state before they can agree to return.

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has said schools should open with at least some in-person instruction but that families could choose to keep a child home and proceed with all-remote education this fall. He reaffirmed that stance on Monday.

“We must acknowledge that every education expert we’re talking to in the last few months has confirmed that in-person education is critical, and that remote learning is only an acceptable substitute if absolutely necessary,” the governor said at a news conference. 

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On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new recommendations on how to safely reopen, but also cautioned that school leaders should consider COVID-19 transmission rates in their communities before taking that step. New Jersey has had about 15,800 deaths, but hospitalizations have fallen precipitously from their peak in April.

On Monday, members of NJ21 called county schools superintendents asking them to support the movement to keep schools closed. Their week of action is also scheduled to include a social media day, letter writing to the governor and a “motor march” in Trenton on Aug. 3.

The group has called for schools to remain shut until the state reports 14 days with no new COVID-19 cases. Districts should be shifting resources and training toward improving remote instruction, Cannella said, instead of focusing narrowly on how to open school buildings with social distancing and COVID screenings in place.

“We feel the rush to go back isn’t educationally sound,” said Cannella, president of the Cedar Grove Education Association. “A lot of schools have hybrid plans. You have half or a quarter of the kids only coming in on certain days. If we are going to put kids in danger and staff in danger and not going to get consistent education, why not just perfect what we were doing in the spring with online learning?”

NJ21 was launched in spring 2019 by members of the New Jersey Education Association, the union representing teachers and other school employees. But the group also includes parents as members. It has advocated for reforms to pension and health care, equitable funding and social justice issues in schools.  

'Difficult' decisions

Chrissy Kosar, a bus driver and NJ21 member, said the group has petitioned lawmakers for more funding to cover schools costs associated with virus containment, including cleaning supplies, protective equipment and computer devices.

“It’s not good to have remote learning at home all the time,” she said. “[Students] need the socialization they get in school. We have to have these accommodations in place, but it comes at a cost. If it’s not funded by the federal government, it needs to be funded by the state and local government. Decisions need to be made that are difficult.”

Education advocates raised a long list of concerns at the Assembly Education Committee meeting last week. 

Robin Cogan, legislative chair for the New Jersey State School Nurses Association, said people were not abiding by social distancing protocols in their own communities, something she said could affect the ability to operate schools safely.

“We must have community buy-in, because without it we cannot contain outbreaks,” Cogan said. “We cannot guarantee, no matter how diligent we are with social distancing, facial coverings, hand-washing and isolation [of students with symptoms], that exposure will not happen.”

Christine Miles, the NJEA's associate director of professional development and instructional issues, said districts didn’t have enough funding to buy protective gear or to address poor ventilation in schools. She said substitute teachers are in short supply and warned that substitutes, who often work at multiple schools, pose a risk of spreading the virus across multiple districts.

Schools are being asked to open with only ambiguous health guidelines from the state, added Patricia Wright, executive director of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association.

“It is the lack of these guidelines that is causing the anxiety, discomfort and uncertainly about what is going to happen in the fall,” Wright said.

“We can’t just open schools for opening schools’ sake,” she added.

President Donald Trump previously called for all schools to fully reopen, or risk losing federal funding. But amid a surge of COVID cases in some states, he said Thursday that some schools may need to delay reopening.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has also stressed that schools should reopen where it is safe to do so.

“Schools provide access to services that are sometimes hard to do online or virtually,” Dr. Wayne Yankus, the medical director for the Ridgewood and Leonia school districts in Bergen County, told NorthJersey.com in an interview last week. "In some cases, schools provide safety for children. They also provide meals to many.”

Hannan Adely is an education and diversity reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: adely@northjersey.com Twitter: @adelyreporter