Employee Absences Prompt TCSS Scheduling Shift To End Semester

Tuscaloosa AL

09 December, 2020

6:00 AM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — The Tuscaloosa County School System (TCSS) announced on Tuesday plans to shift its scheduling for in-person instruction to an A/B schedule for the last week of the semester as the district faces teacher and substitute shortages due to the ongoing pandemic. TCSS Superintendent Keri Johnson said in the announcement that COVID-19 absences have been a challenge for its schools throughout the semester, but the severity of the situation has recently increased, with greater numbers of abcenses, spread across more schools at one time. Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app. "While we have worked to develop the largest substitute pool our system has ever had, the same quarantine and isolation issues that are impacting our employees are impacting substitute availability," she said. According to the latest update from TCSS on Dec. 4, the county school system reported a combined total of 163 students or employees who tested positive for the coronavirus from Nov. 19 - Dec. 4, representing 1% of the TCSS population. As the semester comes to a close, TCSS also says approximately 84% of its students are receiving on-campus instruction. While the number of cases may seem low in relation to the system's 19,000 students and 2,275 employees, a total of 878 students or employees have had to quarantine due to possible COVID-19 exposure, representing 5.5% of the system's current on-campus population. The A/B Schedule will go into effect the week of Dec. 14 and TCSS hopes it will allow on-campus students to still receive some form of in-person instruction. However, the district said the approach will only be done so long as the situation is manageable under its current staffing situation. Under the temporary schedule, one cohort of students will attend in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday, while the other will be in the classroom on Wednesdays and Thursdays. "While we need to reduce our student numbers due to staffing issues, we still believe the safety precautions we take in our schools are effective in fighting the spread of COVID-19," the superintendent's statement reads. "The reduced student numbers next week will also allow increased social distancing." Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter.