Parents Of Quarantining Cranford Kids Say They Need More Hours Of Remote Learning

CRANFORD, NJ — This year, the state of New Jersey made it clear that despite the rise of the Delta variant of coronavirus, all students had to be back in school bulidings learning, with a few exceptions. Among the exceptions: students quarantining because they were sick with or exposed to COVID-19.

Now, parents of kids in an Cranford elementary school say kids who are quarantined at home for two weeks are getting only an hour or two per day of instruction, and it's not enough.

Parent Michael McIntyre said Thursday, "There was covid exposure at Orange Avenue School last week. The students exposed are required to quarantine for a 14-day period. During this quarantine period Cranford Public Schools has enacted a version of 'The Road Forward' [the state's plan] that provides virtual instruction for 5 hours per week in core subjects."

A petition for more instruction had garnered 37 signatures of parents later that day.

The petition noted that the state said a school district "should be prepared to offer virtual or remote instruction to those students in a manner commensurate with in-person instruction..."

The petition says, "There is no reason that CPS cannot provide quarantined students with full-day virtual instruction. Five (5) hours of core instruction (the CPS plan) is NOT COMMENSURATE with the level of instruction afforded to in-person instruction. Quarantined students deserve the same educational opportunity as in-person students. The CPS version of 'The Road Forward' denies students that equal opportunity and is unconstitutional (14th amendment)."

The petition is here: https://chng.it/tSdKw8XL

Cranford released its school reopening plan in July and gave updates in August. READ MORE: Cranford Superintendent Gives School Reopening Updates Amid COVID

Unlike some districts, Cranford has been regularly updating its school community when a member of the community tests positive.

Most Recent COVID Update

Most recently, on Monday, the superintendent sent out this note:

"The purpose of this letter is to inform you that an individual at OAS middle tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently self-isolating. The District continues to work closely with public health officials in order to assure the health and safety of our community. Please be advised that contact tracing has been completed and the District has already communicated directly with any individual who has been identified as a close contact and advised those families accordingly.

"As per the NJ Department of Health, close contact is defined as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated. Exception: In the K–12 indoor classroom setting, the close contact definition excludes students who were within 3 to 6 feet of an infected student (laboratory-confirmed or a clinically compatible illness) where both the infected student and the exposed student(s) correctly and consistently wore well-fitting masks the entire time.

"In addition, parents/guardians of any individual at OAS who has one or more classes with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 have already been notified."

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