RPS temporarily shifting to distance learning due to staffing concerns

Rochester Public Schools will temporarily shift to distance learning beginning Jan. 18, the district announced Tuesday.

Interim Superintendent Kent Pekel cited rising Covid-19 cases among staff as the primary driver of the decision to make the transition.

Pekel said while efforts to mitigate transmission of the virus among students have been largely successful, staff shortages have made it “impossible to run our schools and programs safely and effectively.”

About 50 percent of school buildings are now experiencing “significant staff shortages, including teachers, transportation drivers, school nurses, maintenance staff, and paraprofessionals,” according to RPS.

Pekel said while he had hoped not to extend the shutdown to the entire district, discussions with schools principals made it clear many other buildings were close to reaching the threshold for staff shortages. He also noted that many families have children in multiple schools.

“If we were going distance learning in one school, and not in another school, our principals today were very concerned about the impacts on those families,” said Pekel.

The most recent data from RPS shows there were 564 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the district last week, including 93 staff members.

Even with the recent surge in cases of the Covid omicron variant, Pekel, citing forecasts from public health experts, said he is optimistic the transition to distance learning will only last for the two-week period. Students are due back for in-person instruction on Jan. 29.

“This is not the beginning of a school year in distance learning,” Pekel said in a virtual news conference. “We think this is a temporary and prudent pause. It’s one we hoped — and I had hoped — we did not need to do, but we, like a growing number of other school districts across the state, are deciding this is in the interest of our students and our staff.”

Schools will remain open through Friday of this week to give students and staff opportunity for “dialogue and planning,” Pekel said. (Monday, Jan. 17 was already a scheduled day off for the MLK, Jr. holiday.)

During the two weeks of remote learning, RPS will provide weekly meals kits to families. Pick-ups will be available Wednesdays, January 19 and 26, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Graham Park Fairgrounds, Building #35.

Pekel said the district is also looking at ways to expand its School Age Child Care (SACC) for families unable to care for children during school hours.

Extracurricular activities will remain as scheduled, as long as the programs are able to run safely with appropriate staff, the district said.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.