Hundreds of students in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District are opting to learn remotely amid a COVID-19 outbreak and the overall threat posed by the delta variant, forcing the district to frantically adjust its staffing.
Within the past 10 days, 47 students and four staff members in the district have tested positive for the virus, with at least one case in almost every elementary, middle, and high school, according to data released Thursday.
News of the surge arrived the same day the district superintendent, Dr. Adam Clark, sent a letter to the school community notifying them that nearly 500 students have transferred into the Independent Study program, the district's remote learning system, over the past month.
Clark said there were 150 students in the program prior to August 11, before the massive increase. As a result, the district became overstaffed for in-person learning while it's severely understaffed for online classes.
To combat the divide, Clark announced that the department is collapsing multiple elementary school classes and moving those teachers to independent study instruction while also merging existing other classes.
Clark said that the school is unable to hire more teachers because of budget constraints, forcing them to move around the personnel they already have on staff.
"I completely understand the frustration, concerns and disappointment that families and teachers are feeling as these shifts take place and I am truly sorry this is so upsetting,” Clark said. "We are moving teachers to follow the kids. I understand that this shift will cause a disruption, but this is a common occurrence in Districts throughout the state as they adjust to actual classroom enrollment after the school year begins."
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