SOUTH ORANGE / MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The South Orange–Maplewood School District and South Orange–Maplewood Education Association, the teachers union, began mediation meetings on Feb. 19, after the Feb. 15 announcement that hybrid learning would not begin as scheduled. It was a reversal of the decision made only a few hours before that in-person classes would begin on Feb. 16. The SOMEA refused to teach from the school buildings, citing disagreements with district officials over workspaces.
“SOMEA leadership will be meeting with a mediator tomorrow, with the hopes of beginning mediation with the board and superintendent next week,” the SOMEA said in a statement on Feb. 18. “As we work towards a safer return to our work sites, know that your association leadership has your health, safety and best interests at heart.”
The district made a lengthier statement on Feb. 19, referring to the Jan. 25 agreement that the union and administration had signed that allowed teachers whose classrooms were not COVID-19 safe to receive alternate work space and allow those who wanted to remain virtual to do so.
“The board previously negotiated with SOMEA regarding the building-related concerns they raised in their Jan. 25 letter. The board’s labor counsel has been in contact with SOMEA representatives regarding the current circumstances and, since their Jan. 25 letter, the board and administration have chosen to work with the union to do all we can to negotiate in good faith and be empathetic to the concerns that teachers and other employees have during the pandemic,” the district said. “However, we were disappointed and blindsided by SOMEA’s decision to not have teachers report for in-person teaching for Tuesday, Feb. 16. After reviewing SOMEA’s most recent letter, the district respectfully disagrees with regard to SOMEA’s assessment regarding rooms, safety measures and other issues presented.”
The district said that while the school buildings are old, they are safe. Poor weather and the amount of snow that has fallen this winter are factors that affect the classroom ventilation systems. The ventilation systems in many classrooms in the district are in the process of being repaired, and this is one of the reasons, the union said, that teachers would not return to the buildings.
“Even in the best years, systems break down. It gets hot or cold in a room and we take action to fix it. We’ve had poorer weather this year than the last three years combined, which is unfortunate,” the district said. “But because so few students are in the buildings and we have a sidebar agreement, principals were relocating a small population of teachers as needed on a daily basis to put them in suitable rooms. Just like with anything else, we had to prioritize our responses to complaints and grievances, and there needed to be some patience to allow our facilities staff time to look into the issues presented.”
In its statement, the district said the reopening plan was designed in phases to allow for delays and pauses as needed. Special education students and English language learners were to be the first students to return to in-person learning in the school buildings. An all-virtual option also remained as part of the plan.
“We’re not doing anything unique by returning for in-person instruction. Hundreds of schools are doing this to a greater degree than we are. In our instance, we have chosen to implement a measured reopening approach consistent with what we’ve determined is safe for our community and staff,” Superintendent Ronald Taylor said. “The N.J. Department of Education has given every family a choice as to whether to be fully remote or to go in person consistent with the district’s plan. The families that have chosen to have their children resume in-person instruction have relied on us to provide safe in-person instruction, and, in good faith, we have been providing that.”
At this point, the district said in the statement, its goal is to bring students and staff back for in-person learning in the classrooms that have already been determined to be safe.
There is a population of parents and students who want in-person learning to begin sooner than later, and they expressed that desire at a protest at Maplewood Town Hall on Feb. 22. SOMA for Safe Return to School, which has been keeping track of the number of days virtual learning has gone on, says the virtual instruction is having a negative effect on students’ well-being.
“The lack of opportunity to participate in in-person schooling is showing profound negative effects on our children — impacting not only their education, but their social and emotional well-being,” Julie Fry, a parent of students in the district and a co-leader of the group, said in a press release in advance of the protest. “And continued closure will only continue to lower our kids’ attainment of key academic milestones.”
Ben Kaplan, whose children are in first and fifth grades at Seth Boyden Elementary School, said his son, who has ADHD, has been struggling with online classes. He was set to go back to school in person when the district was going to open last week.
“After a year of intense struggles, he finally qualified for in-person learning through his IEP. We signed him up, talked about it all weekend and he packed his backpack,” Kaplan said in the press release. “He was so excited. The night before he was set to go back, we got a call that devastated us and him: In-person school was canceled. It sent him into a deep depression and made me question whether the teachers union really cares about these kids.”
Parents who are advocating for in-person learning have pointed out that the South Mountain YMCA has been operating with students since September.
“While there’s no doubt our dedicated teachers are working hard to make virtual learning as effective as possible, the reality is that nothing compares to having children sitting with their peers in the same physical space with teachers,” Marshall Elementary School parent Michael Krans said in the release.
Photos by Amanda Valentovic
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