No Full-Time Remote Option In Fairfield Schools Next Year

FAIRFIELD, CT — There will be no full-time remote learning option for Fairfield students next school year, the superintendent confirmed Thursday.

The school district had already clarified that its Remote Learning Academy, created in mid-2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, would not return for the fall semester, but added this week that no other option for voluntary daily access to remote learning would be available.

In a message to parents, Superintendent Mike Cummings cited guidance from the state Department of Education, which said that the mandate for districts to provide remote learning opportunities for all students would not extend beyond the current school year.

“We will continue to follow all mitigation and quarantine requirements as required by CSDE and DPH,” Cummings said, adding information about strategic use of remote learning within the district was pending.

Seventeen Fairfield students had recently tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday, and 182 students and staff were in quarantine.

Remote Learning Academy enrollment was at 550 elementary and middle school students as of mid-March, not long after most district students pivoted from a hybrid model to full-time, in-person learning. The academy has provided a safe option for students who are immunocompromised or have a medically vulnerable person in their family. Remote high school students have been taking synchronous classes, logging in online to in-person classes happening live.

The coronavirus vaccine is widely available in Connecticut to residents ages 16 and older, but is not yet cleared for children. The lack of a child-approved vaccine could put immunocompromised students and their families in a difficult position come fall.