The classroom is the best place for students. Morris School District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast agrees with parents on that score.
But when health officials recommend closing schools, “I’m going to follow through every single time,” he said this week, defending his Dec. 9 decision to go all-virtual for the rest of the month.
Health officials representing all three of the district’s sending towns–Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains–urged him to suspend classroom instruction, he said.
Some parents challenged the move at Monday’s virtual school board meeting, saying remote learning is hurting their kids emotionally and academically, and suggesting children are safer from COVID-19 inside schools, where transmission rates are low.
Although district officials only have identified “two or three” cases of in-school transmission, Pendergrast noted rising infections in Greater Morristown.
Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows “if you have a high transmission rate in the communities, it gets into your schools. And then the worry is…it could be a multiplier effect,” Pendergrast said.
The novel coronavirus is blamed for 18,000 deaths in New Jersey and nearly 1,000 in Morris County since March, according to state statistics.
District board members on Monday also bade fond farewells to Lisa Pollak, retiring after 22 years on the board. And Pendergrast recognized high school students who have achieved state and national honors despite the pandemic.
But the pandemic dominated the evening.
TEACHERS ‘DEEPLY ANXIOUS’
Noting spikes after Halloween and Thanksgiving, one teacher asked the superintendent to push back the Jan. 4, 2021, resumption of in-school classes by two weeks, as a buffer against infections students contract over the Christmas break.
“The staff is deeply anxious about returning to school on Jan. 4th,” said Liz Ostendorp, a Morristown High School art teacher. While administrators and custodians have worked hard to implement safety protocols inside schools, she said, “our community is currently not safe.”
Earlier this month Pendergrast admonished some parents for ignoring quarantine restrictions for their children and sending them to school with symptoms, “needlessly exposing hundreds of students, staff, and families to the coronavirus.”
Still, Pendergrast said he hopes a Jan. 4 reopening will give kids a chance to interact with teachers and friends. He anticipates closures may follow in mid-January, if state models are accurate.
“I think it’s safer for teachers if we start Jan. 4 than Jan. 19, at the peak,” he said.
The district’s 10 schools already have had numerous closures and partial quarantines since September, with more than 150 individuals testing positive. Some 93 of those cases have occurred over the last month.
“That’s a lot more than other school districts have, especially in Morris County,” said Pendergrast.
If local health officials had not weighed in, Pendergrast said he would have made the same closure decision within a couple of days. Too many bus drivers were quarantined, he explained. He was thin on teachers, substitute teachers, administrators and nurses, too.
At some point, the district may run out of money for substitutes and be forced to remain all- virtual, said board member Linda Murphy.
Uncertainties extend even to the timing of remote instruction. District officials thought they was helping middle- and high school pupils get more sleep by pushing start times back one hour.
Instead, they got pushback from students and parents concerned about disrupted morning routines and afternoon work schedules. Changes were shelved. Students will be polled in coming weeks, Pendergrast said.
As for academics, the superintendent said there is no evidence, aside from one or two elementary level math classes, that students’ performance has suffered from remote learning.
Pendergrast had no answer for parent Melissa Scibetta, who asked when the district would start holding parents accountable for knowingly sending to school children who are symptomatic, or are pending COVID test results, or have had a known positive contact.
Parents were advised in September that children who failed to wear masks would be asked to study from home, Scibetta said.
“Why is the same not held when parents cannot follow the quarantine guidelines or the guidelines of when to keep their child home?” she asked.
Pendergrast offered glimmers of hope. Vaccines started rolling out this week, and the state forecasts declining infections after a January spike, he said.
If the district can keep a lid on the coronavirus for another six weeks or so, “we’re looking at a really good end of the year here in the Morris School District.”
KUDOS AND (VIRTUAL) KISSES
In other business, Pendergrast congratulated National Merit Semifinalists Nicholas Voltaggio — a student correspondent for Morristown Green — and Colin Yip.
He also spotlighted Morristown High students who earned National Merit commendations: Ethan Huang, Owen Kelly, Olivia Kemper, Benson Liu, Isabella Ma, Carigan McGuinn, Nina Mohs, Jessica Sama and Talia Wagener.
Olivia Kemper and Lena Schmitt were cited in a National African American Recognition Program. The National Hispanic Recognition Program honored Evan Haralampoudis, Daniel Bourland and Michael Mohs. And Anya Coffeen Vandevan and Lila Lucia are candidates for corporate scholarships (Colgate Palmolive and GAF, respectively).
Pendergrast praised them for “persevering through a lot of obstacles,” and thanked teachers and parents for their roles.
Lisa Pollak was hailed by fellow board members as a mentor and a lodestar for 22 years.
While she pushed for pre-school expansion, equity and inclusion, her enduring legacy may be the tone she set, said board President Nancy Bangiola.
“When she came on the board, this was a community kind of at war with itself. There was a lot of anger between parents, teachers, central office. Things were not cohesive. They were not collaborative. They were not productive. Lisa changed that,” Bangiola said.
Battling health issues all year, Pollak, a retired attorney, was not present for the Zoom tribute.
Bangiola described Pollak as “part of the group of leaders on this board of education that said there’s a better way. A way to work with the superintendent and with central office and with the teachers and professional staff, as a professional board, to bring the best to your community, in a peaceful and collaborative way.
“Lisa did that. That was no small thing. And she did it gently, without a parade, or any great celebration, or any hoopla. It was not a small thing. It made us who we are. And she really does deserve our thanks. So, she’s not here. And there’s no parade, and there’s no hoopla. Thank you very much, Lisa Pollak. You will be missed. And your mark is indelible.”
