Wayne Halloween Parties Lead To COVID Cases, School Closures

WAYNE, NJ — Wayne Schools will move to remote learning for the week of Nov. 9 after positive coronavirus cases were reported, stemming from multiple Halloween parties in the township, Superintendent Mark Toback said.

In addition to the school closure, all sports and extracurricular activities will be suspended as well.

In-person instruction is set to resume Nov. 16.

Toback said the issue dates back to Halloween, when district students attended and hosted at least three Halloween parties.

"Unfortunately, some of the parties were attended by individuals testing positive for COVID," said Toback.

There are a few reasons beyond just the positive tests that are causing the closure of schools, Toback said.

The volume of contact tracing measures, to start, is "beyond our capacity," Toback said, due to the number of students said to have attended these parties.

Additionally, Toback said that some party-goers are likely to have brothers and sisters at other grade levels throughout the township's public school system, prompting the shift to remote learning for all schools, not just the township's two high schools.

Toback also noted that students from outside the district were in attendance at these parties, potentially causing a separate issue of virus spreading.

"This is a difficult time for all and we understand that everyone is seeking a normal routine including events outside of school," said Toback. "Our oversight and ability to respond to events outside of school are limited."

Though virtual learning will be instituted for district students, Toback said SAT testing scheduled over the weekend has not been canceled.

"We will continue with the SAT testing scheduled for this weekend noting that opportunities to take the SAT are extremely limited," wrote Toback.

For SAT testing, the College Board has screening requirements for test-takers, which include:

• A signed student-parent waiver acknowledging risk
• Student temperature and question screening before entry
• A mandatory mask policy and 6-feet social distancing