Hundreds Of Fairfield Students Petition For Half-Day Wednesdays

FAIRFIELD, CT — Hundreds of students have signed a petition requesting that Fairfield Public Schools change Wednesdays to a half-day now that the school district has returned to full-time, in-person learning.

Fairfield schools fully reopened Monday and Tuesday after about a year of remote and hybrid education amid the coronavirus pandemic. With the learning model change, high school and middle school students expressed anxiety and requested that time be built into the academic week that would allow them to decompress.

The Board of Education discussed the petition Tuesday, and board member Jeff Peterson provided Fairfield Patch with an edited version of a letter from three high school students, which was sent March 2 to the board and Superintendent Mike Cummings. As of Tuesday night, about 800 students had signed the petition, according to Peterson.

“We are all struggling — students, staff, and families,” the letter said. “Expecting us to return full-time and excel in academics is too much for students to handle at this time. Many students are struggling with mental health.”

Students from Fairfield Warde and Fairfield Ludlowe high schools as well as Roger Ludlowe and Tomlinson middle schools signed the petition, according to the letter.

Students could use the half-day to strengthen connections with friends, teachers and counselors; do school assignments; or work, should their family be struggling financially, the letter suggested. A half-day would also mean one less lunch to contact trace, said the letter, which also expressed concern for the mental health of Fairfield teachers.

Peterson said during Tuesday’s board meeting that a school staff member had contacted him and made a case for half-day Wednesdays. Board member Jennifer Maxon-Kennelly pointed out that with the upcoming SAT and PSAT, as well as Good Friday and the April break, time off was already included in the academic calendar over the coming weeks, although she said she’d be open to discussing a weekly half-day in the future.

Cummings acknowledged the stress brought on by the return to full in-person learning and agreed the petition could warrant further discussion, although, in an email Thursday, Director of Communications Andrea Clark indicated such a conversation would not happen immediately.

“Having just brought students back this week for full-time, in-person instruction, it is too soon to be making more changes to the schedule,” she said, adding the district was aware of anxiety among students and staff. “It is important to let things settle before we consider cutting more instructional time. At that point, we will look at how things are working and what, if any, changes we might need to make.”

As of Thursday, 19 district students and one staff member had recently tested positive for the coronavirus, while another 116 students and 17 staffers were in quarantine, according to the district.