Only Some Chatham Students With COVID Can Access Remote Classroom In 2021-2022 School Year

CHATHAM, NJ — When positive or suspected COVID cases crop up with the School District of the Chathams the source of that transmission, it is the only time during the 2021-2022 school year, says Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa, when students with COVID may learn in remote classrooms.

LaSusa brought up the topic during the Board of Education meeting on Monday night in response to inquiries he had received. He referenced his letter to families dated Aug. 17, which notes that remote classroom access will only be given to students who were exposed to COVID at school.

During the 2020-2021 school year with hybrid learning options, LaSusa explained, it was a challenging front for both teachers and school administrators.

This was in part to quarantining rules during that school year, when students were quarantined because of the possibility of COVID-19 exposure at events outside of school.

LaSusa likened the experience to the “Wild West,” in that it was difficult for teachers to prepare as to which students would be in or out of school each day; and how to ready for class accordingly, describing the 2020-2021 school as having operated in “crisis mode.”

COVID cases that emerge from the school district, however, are the only ones the School District of the Chathams can verify and track, LaSusa said.

After recently speaking with a number of superintendents throughout the region, LaSusa said that the majority are handling quarantines similarly, with the only students allowed remote classroom access, the ones with COVID sourced from the schools.

There are other challenges LaSusa addressed, when it comes to live-streaming from the classroom. He said guidelines are very stringent, for privacy reasons, as to how much of the classroom can be videotaped. In order to be appropriately socially distance last year, with classrooms more sparse in terms of student attendance as well, LaSusa said teachers were asked to stand in a taped area to address remote students, away from the students in the classroom.

With the change in social distance for the 2021-2022 school year, LaSusa said not only is there a nearly full classroom at most times, but the social distance has been lessened from six to three feet in between people in each classroom. This makes it more challenging to livestream from a classroom, LaSusa said.

He also said the 2021-2022 classroom differed, with about 90 percent of staff who are vaccinated districtwide, as well as a significant number of students in the 7-12 grade levels, adding to the movement in the classrooms.

Additionally in the 2020-2021 school year, teachers had to handle distractions with offline students that complicated their days, which included one inappropriate instance when the father of one elementary school student appeared onscreen in his underwear, LaSusa recalled.

What happens when a student is required to quarantine because of a COVID-positive test, suspected symptoms or as a close contact from an event outside of school? LaSusa said the district will provide those students with access to Google Classroom, including materials online, as absences were treated in the past.

In the 2021-2022 school year versus 2020-2021, LaSusa said there has been a reduction in quarantine times, with it previously 14 days and this school year set at 10. With the transmission rate in Morris County presently at a “moderate” status, according to LaSusa, students have a lesser amount of time they will need to quarantine, dropping that number back to seven days, LaSusa said. Typically, a student is out of school on an average of three to four days with this scenario, he told the Board of Education and audience.

“I recognize it’s not perfect,” LaSusa said, but noted students will still be able to follow at home through Google Classroom, without a stress on the school district.

Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber said the emphasis placed on the schools for the 2021-2022 school year has been on in-person learning.

See LaSusa's full remarks on the topic in the video below:

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