100 Students, Parents Protest Scotch Plains-Fanwood Virtual Shift

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — About 100 Scotch Plains and Fanwood students and parents came out on Monday night to protest the district's decision to switch to virtual learning for the next two months due to the spike in cases of the coronavirus.

Danielle Wildstein, a Scotch Plains mother of three who has been a big proponent of having students return to in-person learning, set up the rally outside of the Board of Education office on Monday night.

"We had a really good turnout at the rally. About 100 parents and children gathered outside the Board of Education office yesterday to challenge Dr. Mast's decision to close our entire school district for all students, including the special education students who need to bein school learning the most," Wildstein said. "We are seeking to understand why she did this because it doesn't make sense."

Superintendent of SP-F Schools Dr. Joan Mast sent a letter to parents on Sunday saying that since the district reopened for in-person, hybrid learning there have been 15 COVID-19 positive cases impacting 6 schools and 84 people in quarantine. All of these cases happened outside of the school district.

"Due to the significant increases in COVID-19 cases throughout our state and community, and after careful consideration of the risks associated with continued in-person instruction, Scotch Plains – Fanwood School District will shift to full remote learning for all students, including special education students, from Monday, Nov. 16 through Friday, Jan. 15, 2021," Mast said.

Many parents were upset with this announcement and attended the rally.

At the rally, Wildstein said two local pediatricians (who are also district parents with school children) spoke about how the closure of schools is detrimental for children's mental and emotional health.

Three high school students also spoke about the trauma and educational regression not being in school has caused them, their siblings, and their friends.

A father of a special education student spoke about how his daughter needs to be in a physical school to learn and how closing schools will harm her.

Wildstein noted that many parents at the rally have lost faith in Mast's leadership since students already were delayed in returning to in-person schooling.

"We need an effective leader during this pandemic and unfortunately many parents do not think she is that person," Wildstein said.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood students only recently returned to in-person, hybrid learning. Students were phased back into schools with the first students returning on Oct. 22. High School students were set to return Monday, but that has since been canceled. Read More: Scotch Plains-Fanwood School Releases Phased-In Reopening Plan

John and Marie Dimitrakakis sent a letter to Mast on Tuesday in disagreement with the virtual switch.

"Some of the children of this tight-knit community have not been to school since March, others only a few weeks of hybrid learning, the rest has been all virtual. Our [Board of Education] has done nothing for the seniors last year and will do nothing again this year. How are we teaching our children to become adults, contributing citizens, and accountability if the school district cannot uphold these elementary values we share as Americans?" according to the letter by the Dimitrakakis.

Mast responded to the letter explaining the district's decision on Sunday.

"It is my responsibility to keep all 5,550 students and 850 employees safe each day that our school buildings are open. While it’s true that the cases originated outside of our schools, they have a direct impact on our daily operations as indicated in my letter to the community on Sunday. As the number of positive cases, and individuals requiring quarantine started to rise, we were forced to operate with less staff each day. Operating a school with inadequate supervision is a risk I am unwilling to take at any time," Mast said.

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