Chatham COVID School Cases Spike But District To Remain Open

Jennifer Jean Miller
Updated ·3 min read
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CHATHAM, NJ — With a rise in COVID cases since Thanksgiving districtwide, Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa says schools are expected to remain open but are making alternate plans.

In a letter to families and staff on Wednesday, LaSusa outlined case counts, with cases between Nov. 20 and Dec. 17 at:

Chatham High School - 56
Chatham Middle School - 23
Lafayette Avenue School - 12
Milton Avenue School - 4
Southern Boulevard School - 6
Washington Avenue School - 12

See all of the case counts in LaSusa’s full letter since Aug. 30, available here.

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14, Chatham Borough had 60 new positive COVID cases, with 26 within the 11 and under age group and 11 for ages 12 to 20, according to an update from the borough released on Friday. Year-to-date in Chatham Borough there have been 71 cases among the 1-11 age group and 95 between the ages of 12 and 19. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 82 cases within the 1 and 11 age group; and 145 between the ages of 12-19.

LaSusa wrote that entities like the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics have advocated that schools should be among “the last places in society to close," with closure likely to have a minimal impact if students don’t limit outside activities.

On a local level with the Board of Education and Department of Health, LaSusa said all agree that “in-person school is vital to students.”

“Accordingly, the district will remain open on our regular schedules and there is no plan to transition to virtual instruction,” he said.

As he discussed at the Board of Education meeting on Monday, Dec. 13, the only case would be if there was a staffing shortage that would result in a closure.

RELATED: Chatham School Board, Teachers Discuss COVID And Staffing Impacts

That could occur, he said, if staff need to call out to “take care of a sick or quarantining child,” themselves.

“Fortunately,” he said, “we have not reached this moment as of now, thanks in large part to the efforts of our existing staff to cover vacant positions on a daily basis.”

Going forward though, the district has decided:

  • Beginning Dec. 20 through at least Jan. 7, 2022 - all classes will be livestreamed each day by Google Meet and a one-way stream, for students who are out ill or quarantining as close contacts, to be able to stay in touch with classrooms. LaSusa said “this is not long-term virtual instruction,” with students out from school marked absent, unless they give the district results of a positive COVID test. Students who are absent can’t attend school-sponsored activities, he said.

  • Children who aren’t feeling well shouldn’t be in school, with LaSusa having reported in his letter that there have been an “increase in the number of students who are coming to school symptomatic of illness and then must be sent home.” Some students waiting for their COVID tests are being sent to school and then have later tested positive, LaSusa reported.

  • Families should send email updates about their child’s health to nurses or principals, who will respond by the next day.

  • Students have been asked to bring home Chromebooks each day, in case they need to stay out of school.

  • COVID testing will continue to be offered each Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. at the middle school for both students and staff.


Parents can find the student consent form for COVID testing here.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.

This article originally appeared on the Chatham Patch