Chatham Super Spells Out COVID School Virtual Contingency Plan

CHATHAM, NJ — School District of the Chathams’ Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa has told families and staff several times in letters and at meetings that the district is doing all that it can to keep school in-person.

“Our goal is to remain open for in-person instruction and not have to retreat into virtual instruction,” LaSusa wrote in an email to Patch.

“Last year, the only week the entire district was all-virtual was the week after the December break,” he added.

In a letter to families on Thursday, LaSusa announced that the district was looking into implementing a “test-to-stay” plan, in hopes of reducing the number of students having to quarantine and isolate. LaSusa said he’d be in touch with families and staff with more information soon. Plus, the district, which offers testing on Fridays at Chatham Middle School, plans to expand that to two days each week, adding time on Wednesdays.

Just before the most recent holiday break, the district did switch to an early dismissal schedule with a virtual component, because of the rise in cases. However, the schools kept in-person classes in session with a virtual component even after holiday break, when only 77 percent of students made it to school.

COVID Pivots Chatham Schools To Early Dismissal Schedule

125 Students, 60 Staff Out From COVID In Chatham: Superintendent

LaSusa told families in a letter, in spite of 125 students and 60 staff members out from COVID, it wasn’t a showstopper. On 2020s first day back after break “before any of us ever heard of a coronavirus,” he said the number of returning students was 90 percent.

Friday’s weather forecast also complicated the opening of school because of staff COVID absences among custodial and maintenance employees. With the absences and the need to have snow cleared and walkways salted by 8:30 a.m., LaSusa instead closed, rather than delayed school openings.

Snow, Staff COVID Case Counts Closed Chatham Schools Friday

As LaSusa wrote in his Jan. 3 letter, this round differs than the virtual schooling had at the start of the pandemic, because staff this time are out ill or are taking care of their own COVID-positive children. The only case when school would have to transition to virtual, he has reiterated, at both meetings and in letters, if it was difficult to find coverage for classes, with current staff and substitutes filling in the gaps when available.

"If we are unable to provide in-person instruction, we have virtual schedules drafted for all of our schools and we have Chromebooks available for all of our students,” LaSusa told Patch. “We would move to a virtual format temporarily for as long as necessary, and then transition back to in-person mode.”

See the district’s COVID-19 Dashboard here and its Return to School document with updates, with its current return to school plan here.

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