By Kayla Cohen ‘21, Editor-in-Chief

As schools across New Jersey shut down due to coronavirus cases, NA is determined to remain open, implementing preventative testing and maintaining the safety standards that have governed this fall semester. Trying to limit the spread, the Newark Academy Return-to-School Task Force has announced that during the winter months, students should plan on leaving school by 2:30pm unless they are receiving extra help from a teacher, playing a winter sport, or meeting with the faculty advisor of their club (both separately or as a small leadership group). As a result, the typical club meeting slot, between 2:30pm-3:15pm, is erased from the schedule. 

NA clubs are encouraged to meet virtually at any time. However, the likely mismatched schedules of club members and faculty will greatly impact this ability in the upcoming months. Although sports won’t be a conflict until 2021, the NJSIAA’s new staggered schedule will place winter athletes on different schedules between January 11th and April 24th. While this will prevent the amount of contact between schools, this means that coordinating times for clubs to meet via Zoom will be much more difficult. 

As a result, some club leaders have decided to jump ship altogether. One senior leader said, “Athletes won’t be able to attend in the afternoons. Other students won’t show up past 6 pm. Since there is no time that works for everyone anymore, I would rather only meet when we have to.” While this low-frequency method may work for some clubs, competitive clubs and publications have deadlines to reach. Faculty attendance at these meetings is vital for the club to stay on track and reach their goals for the year. 

But my question remains: why? Will cutting these 45 minutes from the schedule truly reduce the risk of COVID-19 at NA? This schedule change reflects the Task Force’s decision to cut down on unstructured time spent indoors during the school day. The Task Force additionally removed the 20-minute “mask break” from the schedule. However, students will still eat lunch and use their free periods independently. 

The Task Force is doing remarkable work to make Newark Academy as safe as possible. However, by removing in-person club meetings, they are trying to erase a problem that NA simply does not have. Clubs have been really successful so far in their social distancing, providing a safe outlet for students to meet others and get involved. Students not involved in clubs either return home or are able to successfully socially distance themselves with the extra physical space available.  

From a student’s point of view, the after school time slot (excluding sports) seems like one of the safest parts of the school day. Since club spaces are large enough to accommodate all members signed up for the club, there is typically additional space available, as not all members will attend every meeting. The faculty advisors maintain the coronavirus safety protocols that are in place during all of their classes. In addition, the indoor physical activity clubs (dance team and volleyball club) have been temporarily paused as those are more difficult to run safely. 

The NA administration has placed its faith in the students to uphold the community health protocols even without faculty around. Because of this trust, NA students don’t have to sit in study halls during free periods or eat lunch with their advisor group. And while I understand wanting to limit this liberty after school when the entire school is free, I don’t think cutting club meetings is the answer. 

Perhaps as the Task Force begins to examine protocols when winter sports begin, they will reconsider this policy. With the inability to gather, it has been hard to connect the school as a whole. Current club meetings bring the four grades together safely. I have found some of my greatest friends, explored my passions, and grown through clubs. If school is able to run safely in person, I hope that after January 11th, club meetings can resume, providing the irreplaceable energy that comes through face-to-face learning.