Hazlet School District To Go Virtual For 2 Weeks In November

HAZLET, NJ - Hazlet Township Public Schools will be shutting in-person facilities for two weeks in November in anticipation of widespread out-of-state travel.

In an online message posted Thursday, the district announced the suspension of in-person classes from Nov. 9 until Nov. 23 over public health concerns, namely the spike in positive COVID-19 cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties as well as predicted vacation travel during the school district's fall break.

“Recently, NJ has experienced a significant spike in Covid-19 as earlier this week, the highest level of new cases in six months was reported. Furthermore, Monmouth and Ocean counties lead the State in this spike,” the message reads. “In the past ten days, several neighboring districts have gone virtual—all due to reported cases with students. I recognize that this will cause some challenges for families though, in the bigger picture, this is about keeping kids—and families—safe and healthy and we will continue to honor that commitment.”

The letter states that eight school nurses in the district support the decision “from a public health standpoint."

“The District is closed from November 2nd through the 6th and again on the 11th for Veteran’s Day. During this time, a significant amount of both families and staff may leave New Jersey and many of them could be traveling to a state on Governor Murphy’s Quarantine List,” the message continues.

“This could conceivably result in a number of students and teachers having to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. As such, the District will transition to an all-virtual learning platform beginning on Monday, November 9th and lasting through Friday, November 20th, a total of nine days for virtual learning. Our current schedule of instruction will resume Monday, November 23.”

All remote learning days will count toward the NJ Department of Education’s required 180-day quota, according to the letter. The district is still “prioritizing” a five-day in-person schedule with the hope of “beginning to move in that direction as the New Year begins.”

Several schools in the district, including Raritan High School and Raritan Valley School, already reported positive cases earlier this year. Raritan Valley School shut down for two weeks on Oct. 5 amid 2 positive cases. Read more: 2 COVID-19 Cases Shut Down In-Person Classes At Hazlet School

A class at Hazlet Middle School was also found to be exposed to COVID-19 in September, but no closures were ordered.

At a news conference on Thursday, State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli stated that New Jersey will likely get a second wave of the virus as the weather gets colder and more people retreat to the indoors. Among others, the commissioner cited Monmouth and Ocean counties as two regions with rising positive cases. Gov. Phil Murphy said he may suspend further reopenings if cases continue to rise. Read more: 11 NJ Counties Backslide In Coronavirus Crisis: Here's Where

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