Nearly 700 people have signed an online petition that calls for the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) to drop hybrid learning and return to full-time, in-person learning.
The petition, which was launched March 1 on www.change.org, claims that hybrid learning has negatively affected students and teachers, contributing to mental health and physical health crises among the students.
The Princeton school buildings were closed in March 2020 under an executive order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy to stop the spread of COVID-19. Students learned remotely, at home on a computer, through the end of the 2019-20 school year.
Pre-school, kindergarten and first-grade students began hybrid learning in September 2020. Students in grades 2-12 began hybrid learning in October 2020.
Hybrid learning alternates bringing small groups of students into the classroom for in-person instruction for part of the week, and learning remotely at home for part of the week. A third group of students opted for full-time remote learning.
The petition signers, however, have made it clear that they want Princeton students to begin full-time, in-person learning.
Princeton Public Schools officials do not disagree with the request to reopen the schools full time to in-person learning, but the district has not announced plans to do so at this time.
The petition claims that the schools are safe and that COVID-19 poses a very low risk to students.
The petition pointed to the low community transmission rate among Princeton residents. As of March 4, a total of 623 Princeton residents had tested positive for COVID-19, or about 2% of Princeton’s population of 31,104 people.
According to the petition, hybrid learning has contributed to mental and physical health crises among students.
“This includes screen/Zoom fatigue, premature exposure to social media and dramatically increasing incidents of anxiety, clinical depression, suicide ideation and obesity,” the petition said.
The petition states that hybrid learning is not popular among many Princeton Public Schools teachers and that it has put them in an “impossible, unsustainable position.” Many teachers find it is less effective than traditional, in-person instruction.
While everyone wants to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 in the schools and the “well-intentioned desire of PPS to protect the children, teachers and staff” is understood, there is concern that an overly cautious approach may be causing greater harm, the petition said.
Some of the petition signers made it clear that they want the Princeton Public Schools to resume in-person learning in the comments they left on the petition’s change.org website.
“We want school,” one petition signer wrote, while another petition signer said she wants to go back to school to see her friends.
Other signers pointed to the long-term health issues that they said are much more serious than the potential risk of contracting COVID-19 in school. They said the public school district should follow the lead of the private schools that have brought students back into the classroom.
Meanwhile, Barry Galasso, the interim Superintendent of Schools, said the school district would like to resume in-person learning.
“The school district, faculty and staff share a common goal of returning as man students to in-person learning as possible,” Galasso said.
The Princeton Public Schools expects to announce plans soon to achieve a return to in-person instruction, as well as in-person clubs, art, music and sports, Galasso said.