Westfield High School Football Parents Criticize Sports Shutdown – Westfield, NJ Patch

WESTFIELD, NJ — After Westfield Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan announced Wednesday that the high school will go remote until Oct. 1 because six students tested positive for coronavirus, some parents have expressed concerns about the school’s sports programs being shut at the same time.

One parent whose son is a junior at WHS and plays football said he and other parents of student athletes are requesting a special board meeting to discuss the closures. He has written a letter asking for a special Board of Education meeting in advance of the scheduled next meeting on Oct. 6.

He said parents of football team members have offered to let their kids attend fully remote from now on, instead of in the hybrid format, so that they can maintain a consistent team schedule.

He said that he doesn’t see the need for all sports programs to stop while students learn remotely.

The shutdown was announced on the fifth day of school. The six student cases were unrelated to each other or to school, Dolan had said.

Parent Matthew Sontz, who also has two younger children in the schools, wrote a letter to the board and superintendent about athletics, also asking what happens with siblings of WHS students if the older kids are quarantining.

The letter states:

I object to the closure of WHS today and to the suspension of sports for the next two weeks.

While we all understand student safety is paramount, the board’s actions today do not further safety. We were advised that the covid positive students did not contract the virus at school. If that is the case, then there is no reason to close the school. The school has over a thousand students. Is the school going to close every time a student gets covid regardless of source?

The fact that no student contracted the virus at school shows that the precautions taken were and are working. Remote learning is simply not the same as in school learning.

Also, your closure of WHS has led to collateral consequences. Parents of other students in Jefferson [Elementary] are now questioning whether my daughter has to quarantine because she has been exposed to her brother who may have been exposed to one of the students who is covid positive. We don’t even know who the covid positive students are. This is leading to unnecessary worry and confusion in the other schools.

Finally, there is simply no reason whatsoever to suspend sports for two weeks. Even schools that have all remote learning, such as Elizabeth, are permitted to have fall sports. The fact that some students contracted the virus at other locations and did not give it to other students at school is no reason to suspend an already limited fall schedule. I am not sure if you are aware, but not having many activities to do this summer was very difficult on the kids. Limiting their extra-curricular activities now exacerbates this problem.

I think we need to trust in the precautions we are taking at school and at the athletic fields. I think it is important to not overreact. I think we have to not swat every fly with a bazooka.

Please reopen WHS. At the very least, please lift the suspension of WHS athletics. This two week closure and suspension of sports is not in anybody’s interest and furthers no goals.

Sontz also wrote to the candidates running in the Nov. 3 school board election.

He listed some points that he and other parents have made to the board, including: “We are offering to have all of our football players switch to all remote so that they are not at risk and our season can get started and not be interrupted.”

The school’s announcement Thursday came the day after Mayor Shelley Brindle said there had been an uptick in cases in town. READ MORE: Westfield Mayor: Coronavirus Cases ‘Ticked Up’

Westfield students had returned to school the previous Thursday. Wednesday was an all-virtual day for the students as part of the district’s hybrid learning model.

The other nine schools in the district will remain open, officials said.

The superintendent’s comments

Dolan wrote, in her letter Wednesday, “We have learned that 6 students who attend Westfield High School have tested positive for COVID-19. Based on her department’s contact tracing process, Westfield Health Director Megan Avallone reports that these student cases are the result of exposures outside of school, and that none of these cases appears to have a direct link to one another at this time.”

She added, “The Health Department is continuing to contact trace, and any individual who is identified as a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be contacted. I am grateful that the families with positive cases were proactive in following health guidelines, keeping their students and siblings home and quarantined for the health of the community.”

“Beginning tomorrow, (Thursday), September 17, 2020, Westfield High School will switch to an all-remote learning schedule for fourteen (14) days, as outlined by WHS principal Mary Asfendis. All sports and other extracurricular activities are suspended at this time. At this point, we plan to resume in person, hybrid instruction at Westfield High School on Thursday, October 1. “

Dolan said she could not provide more details about the students affected.

“While I understand that you may wish to know more,” she wrote, “the school district is not able to provide additional details about those who have tested positive.”

She said, “I am as disappointed as you are by this need to temporarily move to all-remote instruction at the high school. As I have written to you throughout the summer, hundreds of people have worked hard to reopen our schools safely. Our K-12 students were excited to enter our buildings last week. As always, the district is committed to meeting the academic and social and emotional needs of our students. We also continue to be vigilant in sanitizing, disinfecting, and ventilating all classrooms and other spaces. I value your cooperation and support in following social distancing and other important health and safety guidelines as we work together to protect one another.”

The ‘uptick’ in town

Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle said Tuesday night that the town had received a report of 11 new coronavirus cases since a week earlier, bringing the town’s total to 383 since the pandemic began.

Brindle wrote, “Our case numbers have ticked up, which was fully expected as things reopened, but it is imperative that the number of new cases stays manageable.”

The total fatalities in town remain at 43, with the most recent death announced on June 3.

Here are some other recent Westfield coronavirus and reopening updates:

SCHOOLS

  • The Westfield schools reopened this past Thursday. See photos here.
  • Here is Superintendent Margaret Dolan’s most recent letter, including a link to a video tour of the classrooms and safety measures.

HOW TO GET TESTED: WALK-UP SITES

  • Union County has added mobile walk up test sites in addition to the testing site located at Kean University. Testing is free for Union County residents and is by appointment only with no car required; participants must wear masks and observe social distance. Any Union County resident can make an appointment for a test, whether they have symptoms. To pick a location, date and time, and to make an appointment online, visit ucnj.org/coronavirus-update/walk-up.
  • Union County residents who need to make an appointment by phone can call 908-518-4307 for assistance. Non-profit organizations and other community groups can call the Union County Office of Emergency Management at 908-654-9881 to request a visit from the Mobile Test Unit.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT/DINING

  • Tickets for the Westfield 300 Summer Movie Series are free but require advance registration here.
  • Read about updated Quimby Street events, rules, and street closings here.
  • Indoor dining is allowed at 25 percent capacity. For a list of rules, click here.
  • To read about outdoor dining in Westfield, click here.
  • Gov. Murphy recently signed an executive order allowing gyms, health clubs, and indoor amusement facilities to reopen at 25 percent capacity effective Sept. 1. Equipment must be adjusted to allow a minimum of six feet of distance, and must be sanitized between uses. Everyone must wear masks. More details can be found here.

NATIONAL TRENDS

HOW TO GET HELP WITH HEAT, RENT, AND MORE

  • During the State of Emergency in New Jersey, no tenant is permitted to be evicted from their home or apartment for the inability to pay rent. Talk to your local mayor’s office if you are experiencing difficulties.
  • The CARES act has made money available to help with rent in each city. More information is here.
  • New Jersey residents can get help with heating and energy bills. Information is here.
  • Various other avenues of relief and benefits have also been made available, including family leave for 12 weeks if you can’t work due to your child’s school or camp being closed, and changes to unemployment rules to help those who were at a job for a short time, or freelancing.

LONG-TERM CARE

  • New Jersey residents have become alarmed at the high number of residents who have passed away in nursing homes, rehabs, and similar facilities. The state announced plans in May to increase testing at some long term care facilities and to bring in the National Guard to help make changes.
  • The state released death toll statistics for long-term care facilities like rehabs and nursing homes. See the list here.
  • You can report problems with long term care facilities here, or if you suspect coronavirus related misconduct, here.
  • Some New Jersey long-term care facilities reopened for limited visits, with precautions, in July.
  • Other states have been dealing with nursing home deaths more recently, including a recent outbreak in a Texas nursing home.

Here are statewide coronavirus resources:

  • NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
  • General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
  • NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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