2 Wayne Schools Institute Virtual Learning Until 2021

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne Valley High School and Schuyler Colfax Middle School will remain on a virtual instruction model until January 2021, Superintendent Mark Toback announced in a letter.

Toback and the Board of Education presented a COVID-19 update at the Board's Dec. 3 meeting, in which they shared coronavirus totals per school, staffing issues and other new information about the district's next steps.

From Nov. 19 to Dec. 3, the district reports an increase in staff cases and quarantines, as well as student cases and quarantines.

Here are the numbers from Nov. 19:

• Staff positive — 11
• Staff quarantining — 39
• Students positive — 45
• Students quarantining — 242

And the updated numbers, from Dec. 3:

• Staff positive — 27
• Staff quarantining — 109
• Students positive — 82
• Students quarantining — 375

As illustrated by the numbers, cases and quarantines were up across the board, which became a problem for staffing schools on a daily basis.

The Board reported schools considered "staffing hotspots," meaning "there is already an inability to cover teacher absences," resulting in the combining of classes "on a regular basis."

These schools include:

• Packanack Elementary
• Fallon Elementary
• Randall Carter Elementary
• Wayne Valley High School
• A.P. Terhune Elementary

There are also schools with "significant daily staffing problems," the district said.

Essentially, this means schools are experiencing significant shortages depending on the day.

"For example, Wayne Hills has many days where they must cover 10-12 absences, usually with current staff due to a lack of subs. In many cases, there is a need to combine classes in large spaces," the district said.

These schools include:

• Theunis Dey Elementary
• George Washington Middle School
• Schuyler Colfax Middle School
• Wayne Hills High School
• John F. Kennedy Elementary

This has also been an issue for the way students get to school, according to the Board.

"Currently, the WTPS Transportation Department reports that we are down 12 drivers and 7 transportation paras due to COVID related circumstances or are out on long term medical leave. We are able to cover the absences starting on December 7th only due to the fact that six private schools for the disabled serving Wayne students have closed

for in-person instruction," the Board said.

"While we are able to cover for the short term, this is assuming no additional absences. We have no backup. Parents and students may experience delays or a loss of transportation services depending on the day and the daily call out list."

All public schools partook in virtual learning last week, as a planned gap post-Thanksgiving. However, Wayne Valley and Schuyler Colfax didn't return to in-person learning Monday.

The Board of Education said some of the issues at Wayne Valley in particular arose prior to Thanksgiving, however.

"Prior to the Thanksgiving, Wayne Valley experienced a significant number of COVID cases across multiple cohorts and activities. The Wayne Department of Health advanced the information to the New Jersey Department of Health for a determination about whether or not there was an outbreak. However, the Wayne Department of Health determined that the number of cases at Wayne Valley showed SUSTAINED COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION," the Board wrote.

According to the Board, there are additional students and staff who won't return to in-person learning Monday, either due to a positive coronavirus test or an active quarantine.

The latest numbers show 18 staff are positive for the coronavirus, while 52 staffers are in quarantine. Additionally, 13 students in the district are positive for the coronavirus while 75 are quarantining.

With two district schools already shifting to remote learning, the Board said that parents and students at other schools should begin to consider that possibility as well.

"The pandemic is very fluid and we are at a point where unexpected school closures may happen. While the goal is to keep every school open, we cannot keep any school open that is not safe," Toback wrote.

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