Waterbury Public Schools will shift some of its schools to half days as they continue to struggle with staffing issues.
The school district closed all of its schools Monday because of a staffing shortage.
Now, some schools will operate on specific half-day schedules from Jan. 11 to 14, according to the school district.
School officials said this shift will "relieve the district of the current staff shortage and transportation concerns affected by COVID-19."
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Below is a list of the new schedule times per school:
- High School
- Waterbury Career Academy and Waterbury Arts Magnet School: 7:20 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
- Crosby, Kennedy, Wilby, Enlightenment and State Street Program: 9:50 a.m. – 1:50 p.m.
- Middle School
- Wallace, West Side and North End: 7:50 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
- Pre-K
- Bucks Hill Annex: Full Day: 9 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
- Bucks Hill Annex: Morning Session: 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
- Bucks Hill Annex: Afternoon Session: 11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Schools not listed above will continue to follow the current full-day schedule. This includes all Waterbury elementary schools.
Local
The new half-day model will eliminate lunch periods and will instead allow students to have 'grab-and-go' breakfast and lunch.
“We know that COVID-19 has been a challenging time for both our community and school district,” Superintendent Dr. Verna Ruffin said in a statement.
“Administration and staff are working relentlessly to provide solutions to new and ongoing issues that arise due to COVID-19. The schedule modifications will assist in relieving our current staff and transportation issues while still keeping academics at the forefront for our students," she continued.
The school district said after-school programs will continue to be virtual for the remainder of the week.
