Princeton Public Schools students, except for the youngest learners, will be learning remotely for the first few weeks when they go back to school on Sept. 14, based on the latest iteration of the school district’s re-opening plan.
The Princeton Public Schools Board of Education approved the re-opening plan, which administrators hope will eventually bring students and teachers back together in the classroom in a scaled-back level, at its Aug. 18 meeting.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Barry Galasso walked the school board through the phased re-opening plan at the virtual meeting, beginning with the first phase that starts Sept. 1. That phase focuses on providing teachers with training on the new learning management system, as well as showing them techniques for improved hybrid learning.
The second phase begins Sept. 14, when students in grades pre-K to first, as well as special needs students, will be brought into the classroom with the teacher. General education pre-K students may attend full day, in-person instruction at the Princeton YWCA on a space-available basis.
The kindergarten and first graders will be divided into three groups. Group A will attend class Monday and Tuesday, and learn remotely Wednesday through Friday. Group B will be in the classroom Thursday and Friday, and learn remotely Monday through Wednesday. The third group will learn remotely full time.
Galasso said educators believe “the little guys” would do better with face-to-face instruction, so that’s why they are being brought into the classroom ahead of the older children. Social distancing measures will be put into place, and all must wear facial masks.
The third phase begins Oct. 5, and brings students in grades 2-5 into the school in the hybrid model in which they split their time between learning in the classroom and learning remotely.
The students in grades 2-5 will be divided into three groups. Group A will attend class Monday and Tuesday, and learn remotely Wednesday through Friday. Group B will attend class Thursday and Friday, and learn remotely Monday through Wednesday. The third group will learn remotely full time.
The fourth phase, which starts Oct. 19, brings students in grades 6-12 back into the classroom, also following the hybrid model. Group A will be in the classroom Monday through Thursday one week, and Group B will be in class Monday through Thursday the next week. Each will learn remotely when they are not in the classroom. Group C will only learn remotely.
Overall, the plan is subject to contingencies, Galasso said. The hybrid model – bringing students and teachers together in the classroom – cannot be implemented if there are not enough teachers to properly staff the schools. If that occurs, the district may have to continue remote learning, he said.
Nearly 100 teachers of the 400-member teaching staff have sought accommodations to teach from home because of health reasons, and have brought physicians’ notes, Galasso said. There are legitimate medical issues, he said.
“I am recommending remote learning through Oct. 12 [because of the lack of classroom teachers]. There really isn’t any choice for us. We don’t have enough staff. I know it’s a disappointment to the parents,” Galasso said.
Meanwhile, school district officials are committed to improving the ventilation and filtration systems in the schools, Galasso said. There are new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in four of the buildings, and the district is installing ionization devices to control the spread of airborne viruses.
“I hope there is enough confidence [in the district’s provision of personal protective equipment, the installation of plexiglass shields and HVAC improvements] to have the teachers come back to the classroom. We want to bring the staff back,” he said.
School board member Dafna Kendal said she was disappointed that there may not be in-person teaching, but the health concerns are “very real.” The times are both unpredictable and unprecedented, so “we just have to make the best of it,” she said.
The reaction from parents and staff members was mixed. Parents were disappointed, but one staff member supported her colleagues who have chosen not to enter the classroom now.
Julia Dippl, who is an emergency room physician, said she was “very disappointed.” She said personal protective equipment has worked to protect the physicians. She said that she and the other medical personnel were “scared to death that we would get sick and die,” but the personal protective equipment has been effective.
Dippl said that before she went into work, she expressed her fear to her husband. She said he told her, “How do you want to be remembered for this? Do you want to be remembered as someone who stood up and did the right thing, who went in and did your job, or who cowered in fear?’”
“I hope the teachers that don’t come in are not doing it because of fear [and that] they will stand up and think about how they want to be remembered at this time,” Dippl said.
In response, Princeton High School librarian Jen Bigioni said many staff members are nervous about going back into the classroom. They are not accustomed to wearing personal protective equipment, and “it is a tremendous thing to ask of us.”
Bigioni said it’s not a question of whether teachers want to go back into the classroom at this time. Some of the teachers have underlying medical conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes. If there were no COVID-19, there would be no issue, she said, adding that teachers have “agonized” over presenting physicians’ notes.
Sam Wang, who described himself as a data scientist and neuroscientist, sought to put the fear of COVID-19 in perspective. One way to make things “a little more concrete” may be to think about it in terms of the current level of COVID-19 in New Jersey and Mercer County, he said.
At the current level, there might be one or two cases per month in people with no symptom screening, Wang said. With symptom screening, it might be brought down to one case every one or two months. It might help the staff and parents to feel more secure, he said.
Wang suggested that with pooled testing, perhaps in a homeroom, it could get the rate of a student slipping into school with COVID-19 down even further.
“I think if we say one undetected case slips in every two months on average, this would be more concrete. I wonder if it would be helpful in making parents and the staff feel more secure. It makes it a known risk,” he said.
“We need to be clear, there is not a wave of death approaching us. [COVID-19] is a concern and we must address it, but it is not the black death,” Wang said.