Smyrna School District administrators are telling students to stay home with virtual lessons on Tuesday, Jan. 18 because of COVID-related staffing problems, with the possibility of more virtual days to come.
“While we are steadfast in our plan to resume full in-person instruction on Wednesday, January 19th, there exists the real possibility that we may be forced to maintain our virtual model until we are able to safely and effectively operate our buses, our schools, our cafeterias, and our classrooms,” said Superintendent Patrik Williams in a letter posted on the district’s website today, Friday.
Smyrna joined the ranks of several districts throughout the state that have canceled classes or turned to virtual lessons due to COVID problems.
MORE:Some Delaware schools go virtual or close temporarily due to COVID-related staff shortages
Capital School District in the Dover area switched to virtual learning last week, according to Superintendent Vilicia Cade, “due to lack of staff.”
The Delmar School District had a half-day Monday “due to operational limitations with quarantining and isolation of staff members,” according to an email sent to families Sunday. For the same reason, multiple Christina School District schools and William Penn High School in the Colonial School District went virtual for at least one day this week.
Lake Forest High School switched to virtual learning Wednesday and will continue in that format through Jan. 21.
New Castle County Vo-Tech School District students have been learning virtually since last week.
Gov. John Carney mandated masks in indoor public settings Tuesday, but he’s made it clear the decision to learn virtually or in person will remain with the local school districts.
“We continue to hope to be able to keep our schools open for in-person instruction,” Carney said Tuesday. “We know that some schools will have to close mostly because of employees … that are not able to come to work because they have tested positive or their close contact or family member tested positive.”
In Smyrna, the superintendent said the district’s COVID-19 cases “have risen dramatically over the past week, mirroring what is happening throughout our state, our country and our world.”
Virtual learning will be held Jan. 18 in all Smyrna district schools except for the kindergarten and early childhood programs whose teachers will coordinate instruction with students’ families.
Teachers in grades 1 to 12 will conduct live virtual instruction from either their classrooms or their homes and will give their plans to students before Jan. 18.
Smyrna athletic programs not affected
Extracurricular programs including athletics will continue as scheduled, Williams said, “because our decision is not based on health concerns associated with in-person instruction.”
The district is holding virtual instruction Jan. 18 “strictly because of insurmountable operational challenges at this time,” he said.
Reporter Shannon Marvel McNaught contributed to this story.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
