Citing staffing problems, the Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton School District will offer only virtual instruction for seventh- through 12th-grade students next week.
The district administration intends to bring those students back to in-person school Monday, Oct. 19. They will not be in virtual or in-person school Thursday and Friday of this week.
A shortage of substitute teachers coupled with Covid-19-related staff absences prompted the district to make the decision, said Superintendent Travis Anderson.
“Our rationale was based on staffing the building to best meet the needs of our students,” Anderson said. “We have a short supply of subs, and the substitutes we do have are doing an amazing job, and we thank them for that! We just simply don’t have enough to cover the entire building on a daily basis in all positions effectively at this point.”
The shift will allow in-person staff to focus on pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade students.
“We believe this is the best option for optimal learning, as we can shift some of our substitutes from the junior/senior high to the elementary so that we can allow our teachers and support staff to be able to do their own jobs in their own classrooms,” Anderson said.
He added, “We have great teachers here, and they have shouldered the added stress this year as a great, cohesive team. It’s amazing how our teachers are working virtually even when they can’t be in the building.”
Starting this year, N-O-W offers a technological device for each student, and, as a result, “going virtual for our older students will be a much easier transition,” Anderson said.
“Our teachers also have been doing an amazing job building in virtual learning platforms since the beginning of the year and have been using these platforms since the first week of school, familiarizing our students with virtual learning in the event that we would have to transition that way.”
Only one of the district’s substitute teachers is available to work at any grade level every day. The rest can teach only occasionally for specific classes, specific grades, or specific teachers, Anderson said.
“This is not a complaint, of course,” he said. “We are fortunate to have people sub in our district, and we are thankful for their time spent with our students. All of our subs are great people and do a wonderful job when they are in the building.”
As of Oct. 6, among the staff, N-O-W had one active case (that person will be considered recovered Oct. 10) and four recovered cases. The district also had three active student cases and nine recovered student cases.
