The recent  increase in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant led to concerns about how quarantined students would cope with their academic workload from home.

“We will be implementing a temporary learning model for students for the month of January,” Thomas Sacrice, the superintendent of Westport Public Schools, stated in an email to parents. 

The administration has made this decision in hopes of lessening stress and supporting the students who cannot be in class. 

“This model will enable students who are home due to isolation for a positive Covid test, in quarantine, or demonstrating symptoms, to observe classroom lessons remotely at BMS, CMS and SHS,” The email stated. 

This accommodation is currently the district’s main strategy in coping with the rising number of students at home, and is expected to go live on Jan. 10 and continue until Jan. 28.

“I think that it is a good opportunity for people who can’t be in school to try not to fall too behind in their classes, if they are feeling well enough during quarantine,” Abby Kelly ’23  said.

Since some students stayed home last year for reasons other than safety, such as taking tests online and sleeping in, there is a fear about the accommodation being misused, prompting the administration to temporarily reinstate it.

“Our goal is to provide this accommodation in this emergency time period,” Scarice stated. “[We will] return to normal in-person instruction as soon as the number of student absences […] decline.”