HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—With the start of the school year approaching, Hartford Public Schools is offering its community free school supplies and COVID-19 vaccinations as the school district struggles to increase staff and vaccination rates.
As of Monday night, about 26% of eligible students were vaccinated against COVID-19, Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said.
Among staff, the vaccination rates are at about 80% for certified staff members, such as teachers and instructional support staff members, and about 70% of all staff members, she said.
Families tell Torres-Rodriguez they are still untrusting of the vaccine, she explained. The school district continues to speak with the community to educate families about the vaccine, she said, through town hall meetings and one-on-one conversations.
Torres-Rodriguez is optimistic about an increase in vaccination numbers before the school year starts, she said, since a few weeks ago, the school district only had about 10% of eligible students vaccinated.
As more families return from vacations and prepare for school, it's expected some will get the shot before the first day of school, Torres-Rodriguez said.
Meanwhile, the school district is facing challenges that many districts are dealing with nationwide: a staff shortage.
The shortage is being seen in specific areas, Torres-Rodriguez said, such as special education, math and science.
"Then we overlay the federal funding. So, we did get this infusion of funding which is great for our recovery efforts, but that means for us, we added 200 positions," Torres-Rodriguez said.
Filling in those new positions is especially tough, she said, when schools already have to fill positions left vacant by recent retirees.
If the situation does not improve come end of August, the superintendent said the school district will need to be flexible in order to accomodate.
"We do have our substitute teachers and we have additional staff that we can redeploy," she said, "Nonetheless, it is not the ideal situation for our students knowing that they are coming back to us with an added level, a deeper level, of need, not only academically but in terms of their social emotional wellness."
Hartford Public Schools did offer its families a helping hand Tuesday afternoon by giving away free backpacks and school supplies. About 3,000 backpacks and supplies were made available across five schools.
The next town hall meeting is being held Tuesday, August 24, at 5:30 p.m. for English-speakers and 6:30 p.m. for Spanish-speakers.