By JACOB LoCASCIO
The decision to reopen schools using a hybrid model in Kinnelon still remains controversial halfway through the school year among parents of the community.
Parents continue to voice concerns over the nature of the hybrid model, which involves some school days being conducted remotely and others in person. These concerns vary, however they mostly revolve around the fear that virtual formats do not provide adequate education. Parents are also troubled by their children’s lack of socialization in both hybrid and virtual formats.
“A lot of the parents want their kids to go to school 5 days a week,” said Ann Marie Caprio, a lunch aide at Kiel School in Kinnelon.
Currently, 1,832 students attend the Kinnelon School District in grades PK-12 according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Students in all grades must alternate throughout the school week between staying at home and attending school in-person.
According to Caprio, parents who work at home are burdened by having to watch their children, which interferes with their work. She explained that the difficulties of having a child at home and the inadequacies of virtual education are the main reasons why Kinnelon parents are determined to reopen schools in-person.
Other parents are less enthusiastic about in-person instruction. Mally Noel, mother of a Kinnelon High School student, believes that the students in kindergarten through 5th grade need in person classes. However, she argues that older students find the format unnecessary.
“There was really no difference in staying home than being there because there was no socialization,” Noel said.
Noel described how students are confined to their desk for the duration of the day and have to carry around a protective shield to safeguard from the virus. High schoolers “feel that they can get more done actually doing it online than if they’re there,” according to Noel.
Thank you to our Fall Athletes for welcoming back our amazing staff at each school. We are lucky to have such an amazing group of educators. #GoKHSColts!! 1/2 pic.twitter.com/XCpxEJQAGo
— KinnelonHS Athletics (@KHS_Sports) September 9, 2020
Community Efforts to Reopen Schools
Since August, parents have taken action within the community to ensure that their calls for reopening schools in-person were met.
Students and parents publicly fought to reopen schools in August by organizing a rally, which demanded that in-person classes be held for the coming school year. Those who attended the rally held signs and shouted slogans in objection to virtual learning , according to a report by News 12 New Jersey.
“We feel that it is very safe for our kids to go back. As parents, we think we have the right to assume that risk for them,” said Jean Donaldson, the organizer of the rally, in an interview with News 12 New Jersey.
At that time, the town’s plan for the upcoming school year was plagued with uncertainty.
The school on July. 28th made a public announcement about their decision to change the starting date of school to Sept. 8 . Later, in August, the school’s restart and recovery plan warned parents of the potential to shift to a completely virtual format if health and safety precautions demanded it due to Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 175.
Eventually, the school reopened in the fall using the hybrid model as the learning format. Mally Noel feels that parents had little influence on this decision.
“The way that the school district has handled themselves, they would have done it whether they’re criticized or not,” she said.
The Risks and Backlash Towards Reopening Schools
Perhaps the most significant criticism of the decision to reopen schools in New Jersey has not come from parents, but rather from teachers and teacher unions.
Several prominent teacher unions in New Jersey have objected to the prospect of schools reopening in person on the grounds that the risk of exposure to teachers and students was too great according to a statement by the directors of three major teacher unions.
The controversy was especially pronounced in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey. According to the Elizabeth Schools Superintendent, 402 teachers stated that they could not teach in person due to health risks.
The health-related concerns of teachers, parents and students still remain prevalent in Kinnelon and throughout New Jersey. There have been 35,563 reported cases of COVID-19 and 1,097 deaths in Morris County alone as of Feb. 17, according to USA Facts.
However, a recent study has suggested that schools are actually safe to reopen. After analyzing the data using multiple estimation methods, the study concludes with the statement that “school reopenings have not increased COVID-19 hospitalizations”.
Therese Hausler, mother of a Kinnelon High School student, believes that due to the low risk the virus poses to children, the schools are safe enough to reopen. According to Hausler, her child should “absolutely” be at school full time in-person.
“The kids just aren’t as focused,” she said. “They’re held much more accountable in school.”
Your subheadings are very well done! Each section helps explain the story in a way that divvies up the bulk. You also did a great job of attributing where you pulled all your information. There is a lot of great research and stats, along with some key voices on each side of the debate. Adding in the part about teachers being concerned about their safety was also an important thing to touch upon. If anything, adding in a quote or two from a concerned teacher would add a different voice to the conversation. Overall, very nice!