Preparing to open, ready to close: Morris School District covers COVID variables during virtual town hall

Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast addresses Morris School District virtual town hall meeting, Aug. 27, 2020. Screenshot by Marion Filler.
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By Marion Filler

Parents should be prepared for school closures on very short notice this fall in the Morris School District, Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast said on Thursday, during a three-hour virtual town hall about preparations for reopening classrooms on Sept. 8, 2020.

They also should check their kids for coronavirus symptoms before sending them to school each day. The district cannot afford the personnel to screen everyone who enters its 10 schools, Pendergrast said.

The district will continue to closely follow state health guidelines during the pandemic, and will do its best to keep the community informed in this fast-changing environment, he told the 500 or so people who logged into the Zoom session.

“We want to bring clarity to what we are trying to do,” said the superintendent, who has been updating parents frequently about the coronavirus since February.

Thursday’s presentation was grouped into topics, and “what if?” questions topped the list.

What if there is one positive case in a school? What if there are two positive cases?

Emphasizing that his default position always is to follow the science from state officials, Pendergrast said all students who had contact with an infected student will revert to virtual learning for 14 days.

COVID contingency plans, Morris School District virtual town hall meeting, Aug. 27, 2020. Screenshot by Marion Filler.

A sibling cannot return to school without being tested, but classmates more than 10 feet away do not need to test. Sports teams are an exception, and all team members must be quarantined and tested after exposure.

But what constitutes “close contact?” The state Department of Health defines it as being closer than six feet — even when masked–for at least 10 minutes. Pendergrast thinks even 20 feet away for an extended period is worrisome enough to merit testing.

“I’m treating it like it is. That’s my decision,” he said.

COVID contingency plans, Morris School District virtual town hall meeting, Aug. 27, 2020. Screenshot by Marion Filler.

The district serves 5,200 students from Morristown, Morris Township and (for high school) Morris Plains, and employs about 1,000 people.

Shutting a school will involve closing for a day or two, eliminating in-person classes until the district gets a handle on the spread. Closing the entire district depends on the extent of the spread, Pendergrast said, demonstrating with two charts how easily the numbers can escalate.

Controlled spread: Morris School District virtual town hall meeting, Aug. 27, 2020. Screenshot by Marion Filler.
Unchecked spread: Morris School District virtual town hall meeting, Aug. 27, 2020. Screenshot by Marion Filler.

Contact tracing will be done through a partnership with local health departments who will do all the calling and questioning.

The state has coded Northern New Jersey as “green,”  for the lowest rate of positive cases, and school officials hope to keep it that way.

As for screening, one parent described a 15 minute COVID-19 test kit from Abbott Labs that is in the works.

“It would be a game changer,” Pendergrast said. Another parent suggested community participation to cover the cost if necessary.

Health and safety components will include wipes, indoor- and outdoor sanitizing stations, four-times-per-hour air circulation in classrooms, Pendergrast said.

Approximately 20 percent of classes will be virtual, and in-person classes for grades 6-12 will be staggered to create  “a vast reduction” of students in school at any one time.

Lower grades essentially will remain in one room for the day. Frelinghuysen Middle School and Morristown High School will have directional hallways to facilitate movement and avoid crowds. Their classrooms will be cleaned at the end of the day, but not between classes.

Several parents asked if it would be possible to change from virtual to hybrid classes or vice versa. “Yes,” Pendergrast answered.

Social and emotional learning also was on parents’ minds.

“We know this is a period of high stress right now. We are focused on this,” Pendergrast said. “The best thing for an anxious child is to get them engaged, we know that it ignites their brain.”

The district has purchased Chromebooks and arranged Wi-Fi for every K-12 student.

“We’ve been working on this for years,” said Pendergrast, explaining things have improved enormously from a time when one device per family–often just a cellphone–was considered enough.

After posting detailed schedules and charts for every grade level, Pendergrast concluded the discussion with a pledge.

“No matter how disruptive the environment, we’ll work through it and rigorously assess progress just as we’ve always done,” he said. “We’re going to do our level best.”

MORE COVERAGE OF THE MORRIS SCHOOL DISTRICT

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