Brick Schools Delay Shift To 4 Days In Person Amid COVID Spike

BRICK, NJ — A week before the district was set to shift students to four days a week of in-person instruction, the Brick Township School District has postponed the move amid concerns over the rise in cases of the coronavirus.

Parents were notified Tuesday evening that its Phase 2 plan for instruction in the pandemic had been delayed. Kindergarten through fifth-graders had been scheduled to start the four half-days of instruction starting Nov. 16, but that has been delayed to Nov. 30.

Middle school and high school students, meanwhile, are anticipated to move to four days a week after winter break, Superintendent Thomas Farrell said in a letter to parents posted on the district's website.

"Please keep in mind that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, conditions are ever-changing, and that the situation is fluid," he said in the letter.

Farrell's decision to delay Phase 2 came as new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have risen significantly throughout New Jersey, including in Ocean County and in Brick, he said Wednesday in a telephone interview. It came after discussions with health officials and the executive county superintendent's office, reviewing the rising numbers not only of overall cases but of cases involving children.

"This has been my decision, not the board's," Farrell said. "I don't take it lightly; I take it very seriously."

"While we want our children back in school, I know delaying Phase 2 was not an easy decision," said Stephanie Wohlrab, president of the Brick Township Board of Education. "As a parent and grandparent of three children in the (district), I respect Dr. Farrell’s decision and applaud his leadership."

New Jersey has added more than 14,000 new cases of the virus in the last five days, with more than 1,800 people hospitalized, the highest number since early June.

Ocean County has added more than 4,000 cases since Oct. 1, rising from 13,676 to 17,891 as of Wednesday, according to Ocean County Health Department reporting. Brick has added more than 300 cases in that time, going from 1,506 to 1,841.

"Brick has 3.5 percent increase just from last week," said Susan McNamara, the district's director of research, planning and evaluation, who has been leading the district's pandemic planning.

Also concerning is information from the American Academy of Pediatrics, she said. The academy reports a 25 percent increase in positive cases among children in New Jersey from Oct. 22 to Nov. 5, when cases rose from 10,200 to 12,767. Child hospitalizations in New Jersey rose from 287 to 435 during that time, according to the reports, an increase of more than 50 percent.

McNamara said the increase in cases in schools has officials wary. There have been 146 cases of COVID-19 that resulted from in-school spread, linked to 36 schools.

"These are cases that took place within the schools," she said, as opposed to a student or a staff member who tests positive because they were exposed to a family member or during an event that has no ties to the schools.

More than 60 schools statewide have shifted from hybrid instruction to fully remote, and others that started the year remote have only recently gone to hybrid models.

"We worked really hard as a district to open with focus on health and safety," McNamara said. "We continue to focus on health and safety and we've been able to maintain (in-person) instruction as a result."

Brick has had a handful of cases in the schools. Nine classes were shifted to remote learning at different times, though Farrell declined to specify whether they involved students or staff due to privacy concerns. But he said efforts to ensure the safety of everyone have worked so far, and the goal is to continue that.

"The district's goal is to have more students return to in-person instruction," he said, but the move to four days a week of in-person instruction puts students in closer proximity to each other.

"It's a challenge for us to maintain the proper social distancing," Farrell said. Delaying the move to four days a week in school is "the right thing at this time."

"There is no question the last eight months have been challenging and emotional," Wohlrab said. "We have never faced issues like COVID before. Nobody has all the answers on how to properly and safely navigate this pandemic. When we come together in group settings, such as in school, we increase our chance of exposure. This is the harsh reality of this pandemic."

"Dr. Farrell is a strong leader and a good man; I trust him. Although we are all tired and frustrated, I believe in this administration, our teachers, our students and our community," she said. "I am proud of our school community; we have come together to protect one another while preparing an educational system which was forced to adapt quickly. Our teams and families have shown what Brick Strong really means. We will overcome this adversity and be a stronger school and community."

"This is the right thing to do at this point," Farrell said. "The health and safety of our students and staff is still our top priority."

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