Westfield 'Specials' Teacher Says School District Is Taking Risks

WESTFIELD, NJ — At the Westfield Board of Education meeting on Monday, after months of discussions, Superintendent Margaret Dolan revealed the 57-page fall "restart and recovery" reopening plan.

But one teacher is concerned about safety precautions for teachers and students taking special subjects like art, music, library, and languages. Her letter is below.

In the plan (document here), all students have the option of full-time remote learning, something the state has required all districts to offer. Westfield students also will have the option of being in the buildings two to three days per week, depending on grade level, and supplementing that with remote learning. Right now, Westfield students can switch options at any time during the school year.

A teacher sent a letter to Patch this week, saying:

<blockquote>

I am writing on behalf of the "Specials" teachers of the Westfield Public School District. (Art, Music, Library, Spanish, etc.) I wish to alert the parents to the dangerous level of student/teacher exposure that is inherent in Westfield's current reopening plan for the elementary level.

Under Westfield's current proposal, Elementary Specials teachers will risk exposure to hundreds of children every week as they will be forced to teach in the classroom rather than virtually. This goes directly against Governor Murphy's plan to limit adult exposure in the cohorts and these details were not made public when the plan was revealed yesterday. Additionally, all of the surrounding NJ school districts have adopted online learning for Specials classes to prevent said exposure. In fact, our own elementary principals actually oppose this plan, deem it unsafe, and they encouraged us to take action to change it with our Union.

Unfortunately, it appears that our Union, the WEA, has actually dictated these terms. They have forced the principals into this plan, claiming that "regular" classroom teachers must be afforded a 30 min prep during their 4 hr meeting with their cohorts. This is indeed a contract stipulation for half days per our normal, pre-pandemic situation. However, returning to school during the pandemic does not translate into normal school year "half days." Moreover, the "regular" classroom teachers can readily take their preps in the afternoon after the children leave.

Our very own elected representatives are choosing to put the safety and well-being of our children, principals, secretaries, Specials teachers, and respective families, in jeopardy over a 30 minute prep period.

</blockquote>

Various teachers' unions have complained about safety issues with the return to in-person learning in fall, including, most recently, the Summit teachers' union.

Schools in Westfield reopen on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

The Westfield plan

In Westfield's plan, for those desiring some in-person instruction:

• Pre-K through kindergarten students would attend school two days a week as well as alternating Wednesdays, all single-session days without lunch. They will get remote learning as well. There will be two "cohorts," A and B, alternating which days they are in the building.
• Grades 1-5 also will be on that cohort schedule, four hours per day.
• Grades 6-8 also will be on that schedule, five periods per day.
• High school students will be on the A/B model as well, but they will be in the building only two days per week and always home Wednesdays for remote learning.
• Special education students, English as a Second Language students, and others will have specific provisions in the schedules.
• To skip to the schedules in the above reopening plan, start on page 33.

The document also includes health precautions (desks will be 6 feet apart, and all students in New Jersey must wear face coverings, with exceptions); information on extracurricular activities and wrap-around care, and answers to that common question, "What happens if a student or teacher tests positive?"

Kids and coronavirus

See the most recent update on Westfield coronavirus statistics here.

While most children in the United States have avoided severe symptoms from the virus, a large-scale study in South Korea, quoted widely last week in American media outlets from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, suggested that teens spread the virus at the same rate as adults, and more easily than younger children.

The CDC also confirmed a large outbreak at a camp in Georgia in a press conference Friday.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warned last week and this week that New Jersey's coronavirus cases are on the rise again, and he believes that indoor parties have been largely responsible. Read more: Gov. Murphy Warns That NJ's Coronavirus Cases Are Rising Again

On Monday, Murphy said that the state's transmission rate has climbed to 1.48, as high as it was in early April during the thick of the crisis. He has said recent large parties have increased transmission and Monday reduced the limit on indoor gatherings to 25 people.

A total of 13,971 New Jersey residents have now died as a result of the virus, and 182,350 cases have been confirmed. He said 356 people are currently hospitalized statewide with the virus, including a child under 18, as well as another 382 hospitalizations under investigation.

But the current daily death rate is down from New Jersey's peak: a high of 460 deaths in 24 hours on April 30, or one person every three minutes.

Last month, Murphy ordered residents to wear masks. He also has asked for residents to quarantine after coming from 34 states that are seeing spikes.

States around the country that reopened earlier than New Jersey have had to pull back on some of their reopenings, including Texas, which began seeing a record number of hospitalizations and deaths as facilities reopened this summer. See the daily increases in each state here.

Murphy's administration released its broad school reopening guidelines to the districts in late June.

Testing

• To find out about getting tested in Union County, contact your doctor, visit covid19.nj.gov/testing, or see this link for more information.
• If you're a Union City resident, you can make an appointment at the testing site by calling 908-214-7107.
• The schedule for the Union County drive-through testing center has changed several times. For more information, click here.

What do you think about Westfield's plans? Will you send your child? Why or why not? Comment below.

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