Just because schools reopen doesn’t mean the kids show up

Eric Fieldman misses his students.

An overwhelming number of Collingswood High School students have decided to learn remotely, even though the South Jersey district offers in-person instruction. On most days, only about 30 students show up for school. Fieldman, a history teacher, typically has one or two students in a class — and sometimes none.

“I hate it, but it’s better than everybody being sick,” said Fieldman, who has been teaching for 15 years. “I miss the people. This is not what I signed up for.”

Across the region, districts are struggling to reopen schools. They hope to eventually get students back five days a week. But the kids don’t always come back.

It’s been left to many parents to decide whether and when to send their kids back once schools do reopen, with many students now approaching a full year out of school buildings. Some don’t have the choice: Philadelphia and Camden public schools haven’t reopened since the pandemic shuttered them.

» READ MORE: As virus cuts class time, teachers have to leave out lessons

In-person attendance varies in South Jersey, depending on the district and grade level. In some cases, like Collingswood, high school students are learning remotely in large numbers, while elementary and middle school students have higher in-person attendance rates.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania state education officials say figures for in-person attendance won’t be available until the end of the school year.

When the Lenape Regional School District gave students a chance to switch to full-time, in-person learning in February, Nolan Samson, 15, a sophomore, decided to remain virtual, at least for another marking period. He’s been logging on online from the dining room table in his Mount Laurel home since last March.

“It’s been working for me. I’m in a set routine,” said Samson, an honor student at Lenape High.

Samson said remote learning has its shortcomings, such as missing lunch in the school courtyard with his friends. A lacrosse player, he looks forward to some normalcy when the season starts in April — a month late.

His mother, Nikki Samson, said the isolation has made her son more disciplined and mature. She and her husband let Nolan make the decision about school.

“I’m glad it’s working for him,” she said. “It’s another layer of anxiety and worry that our kids never had before.”

Experts said it’s not surprising that some students, especially high schoolers, prefer virtual learning. Students say they can better set their own learning pace online and that it’s easier to focus without distractions in the classroom.

“Every kid handles this completely differently,” said Kara Ieva, an associate professor in counseling at Rowan University’s School of Education.

Ieva, who mobilized a group of school counselors from almost 600 New Jersey districts to help them cope with students’ needs during the pandemic, said some want more socialization than sitting in a classroom with only a few other students. Most schools don’t have lunch periods or in-person extracurricular activities and clubs.

“School isn’t what it was for them,” Ieva said.

At Cheltenham High School just outside Philadelphia, only about 584 of its 1,386 students were in the building when it reopened for two days in February. The district switched back to virtual instruction because of staffing problems.

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Elsewhere in South Jersey, at Overbrook High in Pine Hill, about one-fourth of the school’s 662 students show up on the two in-person days, Principal Adam Lee said. In December, only about 80 students were there.

In Haddonfield, about 70% of high school students are showing up for school, about what was expected, Superintendent Charles Klaus said. Almost 90% of elementary and middle school students are in-person, he said.

“The kids are showing up,” Klaus said. The district is moving its kindergarten classes to five days beginning Monday and other grades later in the month.

In Cherry Hill, about 600 students are in the district’s two high school buildings, spokesperson Barbara Wilson said. The district has about 11,350 students and 19 buildings.

Ryan Naddeo, a freshman at Cherry Hill School East, isn’t among them. He said he was excited to start hybrid classes in November. But his “high hopes” were dashed in his first class when the teacher instructed the seven students in the classroom to log into Google Meets, the same as remote learners.

Because of social distancing guidelines, Naddeo said there was little interaction with the teachers or his peers — what he was looking forward to the most. He eventually returned to virtual instruction. Cherry Hill plans to move to a four-day-a-week hybrid model on March 9.

“Going into school just makes no sense, if some of the teachers will just act like the kids in front of them are on the computer screen anyway,” said Naddeo, 15. “It’s pointless.”

During a meeting last week with the Social Justice Club at Collingswood High, history teacher Fieldman, the group’s adviser, and seven members offered mixed views about in-person classes. About half of the school’s 750 students were expected to come back, but only a few dozen are showing up.

Lila DiMasi, 18, a senior, believes the school is relatively safe. But she said there’s little to be gained by attending in person.

“You just basically do the same stuff you would be doing at home,” said DiMasi. “It doesn’t feel like there is too much to miss.”

Vivian Koory, 16, a junior, said her grades have improved during remote learning. She said she buckled down and started making college plans. She wants to become a pediatric nurse.

“It actually is going better for me,” Koory said. “I’ve had more time to focus.”

Vincent Haro-Moss, 15, a sophomore at Camden County Technical School, was relieved this year to return to the school’s Gloucester Township campus in person for four hours one day a week. He struggled with virtual instruction.

“During the quarantine, I felt really lonely at home,” said Haro-Moss, of Collingswood. “We can’t do all the things we used to do, but something is something.”

Fieldman feels the students’ frustration. Because so many students are learning online, he must interact with everyone through his headset, including students sitting right there in his classroom. Some students never turn on their cameras, so he hasn’t seen their faces or heard voices.

“We’re doing the best we can,” he said. “Everyone is waiting for the day we can come back.”