Nearly 200 Fairfield School Staff Seek Pandemic Accommodation

FAIRFIELD, CT — Classes don’t start for another couple weeks, but it’s already clear that the coming school year will be unlike any other for Fairfield students, teachers and families.

School district officials discussed at a meeting Tuesday how a new remote learning program has essentially created an additional elementary school, why nearly 200 district staff members are requesting special accommodations, and the more than $1 million projected shortage created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the many changes and uncertainties, Board of Education Chairwoman Christine Vitale urged officials to remember the joy of the new school year after the pandemic forced the district to end the previous academic year remotely.

“That moment when a teacher and a student is back together, there will be joy,” Vitale said at the board meeting, held via teleconference. “… We just need to keep a focus on all the good work that’s being done and all the good people that are doing the work.”

Back to school … at home

About 10 percent of Fairfield students will start the year in the district’s new remote learning academy, after opting out of the part in-class and part at-home hybrid model most students will be enrolled in. The remote academy will add more than 20 elementary school sections alone.

“It’s one of our larger elementary schools at this point,” superintendent Mike Cummings said, noting the district intends to hire an administrator to run the academy.

Fully remote elementary students will likely be grouped in cohorts with peers from various district schools, but class sizes will be similar to those for hybrid students, according to Executive Director of Operations and Processes Zakia Parrish. Students will have the option to switch from the remote academy to the hybrid model, Parrish said, but must give the district 10 days notice.

Families who opted for full-time remote learning can expect more information next week, Cummings said. School officials plan to consider a complete return to classroom learning Sept. 25.

Short-staffed

With so many students choosing full-time distance learning, many district educators will be teaching remotely. But of the 196 employees who requested meetings to discuss special accommodations, not everyone will be fully accommodated, according to Executive Director of Personnel and Legal Services Colleen Deasy, who said the district is concerned about being able to staff schools.

Many of the employees seeking accommodations have an underlying disability or a household member with a disability, she said. Others can’t find adequate childcare. The district is working to determine who qualifies for assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The driver for this is going to be the operational needs of the district,” Deasy said. “... There will be some staff members who have requested a remote assignment and will not be able to receive that change.”

Long-term substitute teachers will be needed to take over the classrooms of instructors who are assigned to full-time remote students, according to Deasy.

Fairfield teachers return to work Friday, Cummings said, and will take part in professional development focused on safety and well-being.

Cost of coronavirus

Reopening schools in the midst of a pandemic has not come cheap for Fairfield. The district is looking at $3.9 million in potential coronavirus expenses and a resulting $1.18 million potential shortage, although it has only spent about $615,000 so far, according to a district document.

Among the most potentially costly categories are $2.19 million for maintenance and nearly $700,000 for technology, the document said.

Board member Jennifer Jacobsen noted some line item projections were applied to the entire school year and others only accounted for a few months. Cummings responded that he couldn’t predict how the year would progress.

A full school year in the hybrid model would be the most expensive outcome, he said.

For more information, visit bit.ly/3jdubAP and scroll to page 125.