One thing that can be said with 100% certainty is that no school administration, head of school, medical doctor or parent knows what to fully expect from the 2020-2021 school year. While all 14 yeshiva day schools and high schools in the region plan to welcome their students back to campus on August 31, there is no telling what the school year will truly look like. For that, one would need a crystal ball.
In July, the New Jersey governor’s announcement that schools would be permitted to reopen in the fall—if they could effectively institute appropriate safety guidelines—was met with joy and gratitude by parents and educators who have longed for a return to in-person learning since the pandemic forced schools to close back in March. Many camps also opened successfully for a shortened 2020 season, and parents hope that the overwhelmingly healthy summer with no major communal outbreaks will be a harbinger of a successful school year.
While some public school systems, including Teaneck, West Orange and Livingston, have opted to begin the year with a remote-only learning program, leaders from these 14 day and high schools, primarily in Bergen County and its environs, together with a committee of more than 20 parent physicians, collaborated to develop a set of guidelines that would allow students and faculty back in their buildings with adequate safety measures in place. A 29-page document was drafted by this medical advisory group, and then the schools took it from there to apply the guidelines to their own buildings and school populations.
Details for how the guidelines are being applied differ for each school, but the schools are generally adhering to universal masking per state policy (with time outside for “mask breaks”), in addition to daily temperature checks, visual health checks by school nurses, strict adherence to out-of-state quarantine guidelines and, in one case, COVID pod testing. Many schools have also upgraded their air-filtration systems and are making efforts to build outdoor spaces to hold class and lunch, as the virus appears to spread less in well-ventilated and outdoor areas. Some classes and grades will also operate as independent pods or hubs, which are groups of either classes, grades or age groups (for example, a middle school), without interaction with other groups.
While no one doubts that wearing a mask, particularly for young children, is challenging, the goal for doctors and school administrators is to create a positive attitude among the children that wearing a mask is a great way to protect themselves and those around them.
“The goal is to create conditions for learning that address students’ and educators’ basic physical safety needs and students’ academic needs, while also factoring in the social and emotional and environmental factors that can impact educators’ capacity to teach and students’ capacity to learn and grow,” said Yeshivat Noam’s head of school, Rabbi Chaim Hagler, in a statement that was sent out to parents.
Moriah’s head of school, Rabbi Daniel Alter, told parents that his primary goal was “to provide a healthy and safe environment for all students, faculty and staff with guidance from the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, New Jersey Department of Health, and the New Jersey yeshiva day school joint medical committee.”
Rabbi Eliezer Rubin, head of school/Klatt family rosh hayeshiva at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (JKHA/RKYHS) in Livingston, told The Jewish Link that “the Kushner ‘return to learn’ process is predicated upon two guiding principles: To mitigate risk wherever possible and to uphold our commitment to academic excellence and ensure that instruction and learning go unabated.”
While the benefits of in-person learning for emotional, social and academic wellness seem to outweigh the risks at this particular time, the medical staff cautioned that should a resurgence in COVID-19 occur, parents and faculty must be prepared to return to online learning.
The decision for students or faculty to return to school requires each family to independently do a risk-reward analysis. If someone in the home is immunocompromised, be it a parent or a child, in-person learning might not make sense. Like for all healthcare decisions, each family must decide what is best for them. Remote learning, in most schools, will continue to be an option for those who are not ready or able to enter the building.
As students arrive on campus next Monday, things will certainly look different than they did last March. The protocols for arrival and departure will be vastly different, with many students arriving at staggered times. Buses will have reduced capacity. Many classroom desks have been outfitted with plexiglass dividers. Lunchtime, recess, bathroom trips and visitor procedures will all be altered. Classrooms will also be spaced accordingly to allow for proper social distancing, and health monitoring will occur for all students and teachers upon arrival and throughout the day, as necessary. The yeshiva league for sports has suspended all activity for the fall, and many afterschool programs have been suspended, cancelled or moved online for the fall.
At the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey (RYNJ), students will have their temperature taken each day upon arrival. Signs reminding students about social distancing, wearing masks and hand sanitizing have been stationed throughout the building and each classroom is equipped with plexiglass dividers separating desks to create an isolated workspace for each student. At RYNJ, students will eat lunch in their classrooms to reduce opportunities for viral transmission.
“This is a time for overcoming obstacles and reaching new heights by using new tools and pathways,” said RYNJ’s head of school, Rabbi Daniel Price, in an opening-day video. “We can do it together with understanding and teamwork.”
Dr. Diana Bryk Straus, a molecular pathologist who just concluded a fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, served on Moriah’s medical task force, and spoke about the relatively low risk she believes younger children carry toward spreading the virus. “Moriah has the advantage of having a campus with large classrooms, so it has made it relatively easy for us to plan to adhere to social distancing, and having the teacher socially distanced as well.
“While elementary school children can get sick and can spread COVID-19, they also get sick to a much lesser extent than adults, and transmit to a lesser extent than adults. So with social distancing, masking and hand washing, the risk of transmission at school can be very low. I think, with proper precautions, school can actually be a pretty safe place during the pandemic.”
Dr. Steve Stein, the science department chair at RKYHS and a virologist, believes it is critical to identify potential spreaders of infection before they seed an outbreak. His view, contrary to that of Dr. Straus, though relating to older, high school-aged children, is that data clearly shows that when children are infected they can transmit the virus at rates similar to that of adults, although they are significantly less outwardly symptomatic. If one waits for symptoms to appear before isolating a potentially infectious individual, it is too late, he said.
To address this potential problem, RKYHS is initiating a frequent testing program twice weekly using small saliva samples taken from each individual in the building.
School leaders and physicians are by no means saying the path forward is flawless, recognizing that these rules are subject to change at any time. Understanding that the schools cannot eliminate the spread of COVID-19 entirely, the plan attempts to reduce transmission so that schools can remain open safely and for as long as possible.
By Andrea Nissel and Jewish Link Staff
