No Need To Delay First Day Of Elementary School In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Despite concerns raised late last week regarding staffing, district officials said during an emergency Board of Education meeting Monday night there was no need to delay the start of elementary schools in the Greenwich Public Schools system after all.

The issue was raised Friday after Superintendent Toni Jones sent a letter to families stating the district was "experiencing challenges with adequate staffing," most notably at the elementary school level. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

She also noted an emergency Board of Education meeting would take place Monday to address these concerns. In the meeting notice, action items set to be discussed included "COVID-19 staffing update and challenges" and "2020-21 school calendar revision - adjust K-5 start date."

While board members noted they received a surge of emails from concerned parents, community members and teachers, Jones alleviated fears at the start of the meeting and said the district was "in a better spot" regarding staffing than it was on Friday.

As a result, elementary schools would still be able to start on time and the calendar did not need to be amended. The first day of school for all students will still take place Sept. 9, with orientation scheduled for Sept. 8, according to the district calendar.

"We're in a much better place," Jones said during the virtual meeting. "We're doing everything we can to get our doors open for [Sept.] 9."

According to Jones, 88 more people had applied for long-term substitute teacher positions after the notice was sent out Friday. Additionally, 112 "high-quality candidates" had applied for classroom monitor positions in the past few days.

"The applications are coming in," Jones said, "and it's really going to make a difference for us in feeling more secure."

See also: Teachers' Return To Classrooms Slightly Delayed In Greenwich

The superintendent said having a sufficient number of substitute teachers available is critical this year, as some teachers are unable to take part in classroom teaching due to health concerns. Others may need to suddenly quarantine for 14 days if they, or someone they have been in contact with, tests positive for the coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19.

Jones extended a special thanks to Chief of Police James Heavey, who has worked with his staff to fingerprint applicants during evening hours to ensure the filling of those positions moves along quickly.

"Normally we have to schedule [fingerprinting], but he's really partnering with us, as well and his staff at the police department," Jones said, "so we're in a much better place. I'm glad to be able to say that."

The emergency meeting drew in a high number of viewers, with one board member noting over 800 people were viewing the meeting at one point.

Board Vice-Chair Kathleen Stowe noted she received "a huge amount of feedback" from community members over the weekend following the notice.

"I know that we had to get that information out there," Stowe said during the meeting, "but the last minute uncertainty of course is not what anyone needed right now, because I know that there were a lot of people that were very stressed out over the weekend."

As a silver lining, she noted the parents, students and teachers she heard from over the weekend really wanted to get back to school as planned next week.

"People are ready, kids are excited," Stowe said, "and I have to say that I've heard from so many teachers that are also really excited, and it sounds like we've cleared the hurdle...it seems like this was just another hiccup now in an otherwise long summer."

Board secretary Karen Hirsh thanked Jones for the "intense amount of work" she and her staff had put in over the past couple of days to address the staffing concerns.

"I know that, from all the public comment, everyone was very disappointed to think about the possibility that their students won't be able to start school on the first day," Hirsh said during the meeting, "so I'm glad that we're in a position now to say that will not be the case and that we've increased the number of robust subs and monitors that we have."

She also noted she hoped the new hires would be "properly vetted" as usual before entering classrooms next week.

Board member Joe Kelly also made a point to thank Jones and her staff for their hard work during these "unprecedented times." He also emphasized district officials and board members needed to make sure families understand they know what they are doing regarding the upcoming reopening.

"Some people are, justifiably, a little bit nervous," Kelly said during the meeting. "[During] these times right now, we need to project stability, we need to eliminate uncertainty and we need to promote confidence; it's really important that we dot our I's, cross our t's and make sure we don't alarm anybody."

Board member Peter Sherr noted the district's notice Friday "sent shock waves through the entire community" and "ruined a lot of people's weekends."

"It feels like we pulled the fire alarm a little prematurely," Sherr said.

Stowe later noted she was happy the district was being so transparent with the community, even though it may have caused some stress over the weekend.

Board Chair Peter Bernstein said the notice was necessary as the issue needed to be addressed quickly.

"This was shared with the community because it needed to be discussed tonight in the event we did need to take action. Thankfully, we did not need to take action," Bernstein said during the meeting. "Thanks to the community stepping up, thanks to the hard work of the administrators, thanks to those people willing to step up and teach and work in the schools, we will not be delaying the start of the [school] year."

A video of the meeting can be viewed in full here.