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Interim Shelton Schools Superintendent Beth Smith announced on Tuesday, Nov. 10 that following Veterans Day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, students will be learning remotely through at least January 2021.
Next month, Smith said that the district will confer with health officials to determine the best course of action moving forward.
According to Smith, last week, Shelton saw a spike in cases, with a 15.5 percent positivity rate, prompting the state to list it as one of its “red zone” municipality.
In the past week, Smith said that there have been eight new cases in the school community, with more cases reported on Tuesday, making it more difficult to keep schools open or adequately staffed.
Smith said that the district is working to secure the necessary technology to keep students learning from a distance, and staff members have been given cameras and tripods with which to teach.
The Superintendent noted that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Holiday recess would be crucial to keeping the district open.
The district reported 33 COVID cases as of Monday, Nov. 9, since the start of the school year, but that number was expected to rise with more positive results reported later Tuesday. There have been a total of 1,195 COVID-19 cases in Stratford since the pandemic began, with 104 probable cases.
“The district is in a much better place than we were in September,” she said. “The focus of our work needs to shift from daily operations to teaching and learning and the delivery of instruction.
“The decision on how to proceed after Jan. 1 will be discussed and communicated in December,” Smith said. “We believe this is the best decision for the Shelton Public Schools community at this time.”
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