About 500 COVID Cases In Chatham Schools Since Dec. 15

CHATHAM, NJ — The School District of the Chathams estimated an average of 16 COVID cases monthly through Thanksgiving until the Omicron variant hit, Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa reported at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.

Since Dec. 15, however, there have been approximately 500 cases districtwide, he told meeting attendees.

For the time period of Dec. 18, 2021 and Jan. 14, 2022, there have been 476 cases so far, per the breakdown below:

“Omicron arrived in Chatham and kind of exploded the frameworks we’ve been dealing with,” LaSusa commented, “and it’s put a lot of pressure on the system.”

Student illness is “only half of the equation,” he added, with staff members sick, as well as students needing to be on livestream, school nurses involved with contact tracing and more.

“When you have a large number of staff members that go down it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the staff to cover,” he also said, calling it “a difficult few weeks,” with school impacts alternating each day.

On Jan. 6 before the snowstorm, the schools, as he put it, that were “in the roughest shape,” were Chatham Middle School and Washington Avenue School. On Jan. 10, Lafayette Avenue and Milton Avenue Schools faced the greatest challenges because of COVID.

“It’s a day-to-day type of chore to make sure we got students covered and classes running as best as we can,” he said.

There was a “surge in staff cases over the holiday,” LaSusa explained, with the number of positive staff cases now ebbing.

Many staff members who were out ill returned to work on Jan. 10, according to LaSusa.

“We hope we’re through the worst of it,” he said.

Over the holiday break, the CDC updated its guidance, with the New Jersey Department of Health directing schools to wait for their guidance instead, LaSusa stated, which would be more school-specific than CDC recommendations. On Jan. 10, the Department of Health came back with shorter quarantine and isolation periods for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, said LaSusa.

LaSusa continues to stress the importance in keeping classes in-person, something he said that both the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have advocated for.

It’s important to keep schools open because it’s what’s best for students,” LaSusa explained.

Once students and staff return from the long weekend following Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17, the school district will only offer live-streaming for COVID positive students and those who are close contacts, with it offered for all at the moment, LaSusa had previously explained, should students not be comfortable with heading to school during the surge, he said.

RELATED: Chatham Super Spells Out COVID School Virtual Contingency Plan

The district is additionally offering parents the option to pick their children up at lunchtime and at the high school, there’s an open campus for students to pick up younger siblings, something that, LaSusa said, is expected to be discontinued after Jan. 17.

Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber commended teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, substitutes and maintenance staff during the meeting, who she said have gone “above and beyond; and we [the board] are so appreciative.”

“The goal is to keep kids in school at all costs” for in-person learning, she added, with teaching staff stepping up to cover one another to keep classes in-person.

Board Member Michelle Clark said virtual learning can end up “like a surprise party” for many teachers, with kids “popping onscreen,” with it not always certain if students had been on the list for virtual learning or not.

“Teachers should not have to navigate that,” Clark said.

Staff needs a window of time to prepare, rather than the continuous livestream, she suggested, with more proactive communication among teachers, staff and families, when returning to the previous standard of what qualifies as virtual learning.

Chatham Middle School teachers and Education Foundation Members James Hitchings, George Iannuzzi and MaryAnn Massumi, each spoke during the public session about the middle school in the midst of COVID.

Hitchings called the past few weeks “challenging,” with schools “remained committed above and beyond for students and the community.”

Teachers have been covering large volumes of classes plus live-streaming, with secretaries making sure there is coverage. Counselors, nurses and support staff are part of the process as well as custodians, called at a moment’s notice to disinfect spaces, Hitchings added.

Masumi discussed grants, fundraisers and various events at the schools, including a speaker coming up on Jan. 18, a food drive and fundraising drive for the "Frozen Jr." performance.

Iannuzzi thanked the board for their support and called the "past few years difficult for everyone.”

Resident Bill Heap said it’s been critical to keep schools open, thanking the board and district, many students “getting the short end of the stick” in districts that closed.

See the full discussion in the video clip below:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.