The Rochester City School District announced that it would pivot to remote learning beginning Thursday, Jan 6. SuperintendentLesli Myers-Small said the suspension of in-person classes was necessary due to the rising number of staffabsences and a shortage of substitutes.
“I would imagine Rochester isn’t going to be the only district to make these shifts,” the superintendent said at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
For many Monroe Countyschools, 2022 sure feels a lot like 2020.
Most schoolsopened in-person Monday for their spring semester start, others shifted to remote learning and a growing number of other schools seem to beconsidering the shiftto remote learning amid the omicron-fueled surge in coronavirus infections and subsequent staffing shortages.
Locally, the Young Women's College Prep Charter School in Rochester opted for virtual classes for its students this week, with plans to return to in-person instruction on Jan. 10.
Barbara F. Zelazny, principal of Young Women's College Prep, said that six teachers over the holiday break tested positive for COVID-19. That, coupled with several teachers unavailable for otherreasons made it impossible to return for in-person instruction this week.
However, students at the school in the fall learned to use the online program, to prepare them in case lessons needed to move online temporarily, as they did this week.
Impact on city students
Myers-Small announced Wednesday that remote learning would begin Thursday and continue at least through Monday.Officials would decide next week whetherthe district is able to return to in-person learning on Tuesday, as planned.
"This is a temporary measure, as the limited number of staff and shortage of substitutes directly impacts our ability to educate and transport your children in a safe, efficient, and orderly manner," Myers-Small said in a letter to parents.
Students are instructedto log into Google Classroom or Seesaw beginning Thursday.
"We anticipate a return to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 11 and will provide an update by noon on Monday," Myers-Small said.“The new variant has really been a game-changer as far as our ability to make sure that staff are here, and then you further compound that with the fact that there are staffing shortages.”
Grab-and-go meals for studentswill be served at 15 school sites from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.For more details on the remote learning plan, visit the RCSD website.
In her letter to parents, Myers-Small urged students to get vaccinated
"Vaccine clinics are being held at select schools beginning next week," she wrote. "The District is working with local pediatricians to maximize opportunities to get vaccinated."
Staffing shortages affecting many districts
Other districts also have plans in place should they need to switch to remote learning and have starteddistributing COVID-19 home test kitsfor students to use to keep infected children from unknowingly attending school.
"The point of the kits is to have you test your children...so that any potential spread at school can be mitigated before it becomes widespread," Brighton Superintendent Kevin McGowan said in a letter to families.
He's also asking for students and their parents to be patient.
"Due to staffing shortages, you could see longer lines in cafeterias, delayed bus service, and the cancellation of some classes/services in order to shift staffing to adequately supervise students," he said, adding that he expects to continue in-person instruction without interruption.
District officials, he said, "will monitor and adjust" as needed. According to district data 13% and 12% of students were absent Monday and Tuesday, respectively,while 9% and 12% of staff were absent those same days.
In Rush-Henrietta Central School District, student attendance has not dropped significantly after the holiday break.
"The biggest challenge right now is ensuring appropriate staffing," said district spokesman Travis Anderson. "An increasing number of employees are being diagnosed with COVID, or being quarantined because of potential exposure to the virus. We are monitoring this carefully. We have been able to fill in the gaps where necessary so far, but the question becomes what happens when the gaps can't be filled? District leaders are meeting today to refine our plans should we find ourselves in a position where we can't fully open."
While district officials believe that children should be learning in school, "given the increasingly challenging conditions we face, we need to be prepared for that possibility," he said.
In Penfield Central School District,Superintendent Thomas Putnam in a letter this week told families thatthe district has prepared plansin case staffing shortages due to the virus force a shift from in-person to remote instruction.
"We are committed to doing everything we can to keep our schools open and do not anticipate that the county or state will mandate a shutdown," he said. If a staffing shortage occurs, he said, the district would first shift middle and high school students to online classes.
"Since virtual classes are more difficult for our K-5 students, the goal would be to keep K-5 classes in person, with subs being pulled from secondary buildings, if possible," he said. If all schools must close, he said, remote learning plans for elementary students have been prepared.
Impact of surge anticipated
At a school board meeting Tuesday, officials said they were considering temporarily switching to remote learning due to the ongoing pandemic — including the district's high rate ofabsenteeism due to the current surge, a lack of available substitutesand ongoing transportation shortages.
"We are very concerned about staff, we are very concerned about students and we want to make the really good, healthy decisions as we move forward," Myers-Small said.
Nearly 40% of Rochester students were absent from district schools Monday as students returned from the holiday break, according to district data. The figure, she said,is around twice as many students as were absent ona typical day earlier this winter. Nearly 10%of staff members were also absent.
District staff, she said, continueto reference Centers for Disease Control and state Department of Healthrecommendations, COVID-19 infections and staff and student absences, she said.
The district late Tuesday alsowarned of bus delays due to staffing shortages. According to a message, the shortages have forced the district's transportation department to combine some routes, which may cause delays up to two hours on Wednesday, as haveoccurred earlier this week.
At Tuesday's board meeting,Michael Schmidt, the district's Chief Operating Officer, saidthat more than 100 of the district's 880 drivers (about 12% of the drivers) on Monday called in sick, impacting 340 bus routes and causing delays at the start and end of the school day.
Many drivers are driving multiple runs as the routes are re-configured on short notice. Drivers are driving extra routes, anyone with the appropriate license is assisting, he said.
"Every single school district in Monroe County and across the state (are) grappling with this," she said. "It's very difficult" to figure out the best course of action to continue to educate students while also ensuring their safety.
Parents, teachers speak out
A group of parents,teachers and concerned community membersare demanding that the Rochester City School District shift to remote learning for at least two weeks to stop the spreadof the virusand to keep children andtheir familiessafe.
"We care deeply not only about the health and safety of our students and children but their continued access to quality, safe educational settings," the petition read. "The disruptions caused by teacher outages and class quarantining will negate any perceived benefits of having to go to school in person. The numbers coming in are staggering and are likely undercounted."
In addition, the group noted that moving to remote learning would also allow for consistencyand stability, rather than the massive disruption that's caused bycombining classes when substitute teachers are unavailable to fill in for ill teachers,"while we ride out this massive surge in cases."
Contact Victoria Freileat vfreile@gannett.com. Follow her onTwitter @vfreileand Instagram @vfreile.This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
