Quarantines, cases rise in Ocean City schools
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – As the Ocean City School District began surveying parents about the remote education students have been receiving, the district updated its COVID-19 statistics Friday, Nov. 13, showing that here have been 18 positive cases in the district since the school year began and 142 students placed on quarantine.
As of Friday, there have been 11 positive cases at the high school, six at the intermediate school and one at the primary school.
That doubles the number of COVID-19 cases reported through Oct. 30, but does come along with the substantial rise in cases throughout Cape May County and New Jersey (see related stories.)
As of Oct. 30, there were five cases at the high school and four at the intermediate school. The new case at the primary school reported in the latest update is the first.
As of Nov. 13, 98 students or staff who have been in close contact with someone infected have been placed on quarantine since the start of the school year. There have been 28 at the intermediate school and 16 at the primary school.
Two weeks earlier, the cumulative total of quarantined staff/students was 71 at the high school, 20 at the intermediate school and nine at the primary school.
According to the district’s website, because it is important to define close contact, it is using updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which means spending a total 15 minutes within 6 feet of someone who tested positive for coronavirus over a 24-hour period.
Those people should quarantine for two weeks.
The new statistics on the website are cumulative, meaning not all of those students or staff are still on quarantine or those who tested positive remain active cases.
District surveys parents
The Ocean City School District sent a form to parents in the district that was to be returned by Tuesday, Nov. 17.
According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor, the district plans to continuously improve on the education being offered in both virtual and hybrid learning.
“If you have constructive feedback for your child’s teacher or specific ideas to improve your child’s current learning model, please reach out to the appropriate school principal directly. We value your input,” Taylor wrote in a letter to parents accompanying the survey. “We also welcome notes recognizing what is working well or acknowledging a teacher or staff member who has gone above and beyond this academic year. Such notes are not as frequently received, but they go a long way to boost the spirits of those who are dedicated to ensuring that learning continues this year.”
The survey sent to parents asks if there are subjects their students need help with, what they think about the level of academic work on remote learning days and how much time parents or other household members are working with their children so they understand and complete work assigned on a daily basis.
The survey asks parents to rate the “rigor” of academic work and screen time during remote learning dates, the frequency of communication from teachers, satisfaction with the school’s efforts to support social and emotional learning, and satisfaction with students’ peer relationships.
