Fairfield schools drop online learning option

FAIRFIELD — When students in the Fairfield Community School District return to class on Aug. 23, their school day will be much closer to a “normal” pre-pandemic day, though the district plans to keep some health measures in place from the last school year.

The district plans to begin the year in fully face-to-face instruction instead of the hybrid model the district began last year when at most half the student body could be in a school building on a particular day. One important change is that, while the district allowed students to take all their courses online if they chose last year, that will not be an option this coming school year.

Cloth face masks or face shields for students and staff will be “strongly recommended” but not required as they were last year. The district plans to continue minimizing foot traffic within a building, and maintain hand sanitizers at the main entrances and in the classrooms. Buses will be disinfected daily, and seats will be assigned, with family members assigned to sit together.

Drinking fountains will be turned off, but students can bring their own water bottle to use at the contactless water bottle refill stations. After the pandemic, the district halted the self-service salad bars at the middle school and high school, and that will remain true in the 2021-2022 academic year.

In an effort to encourage sick students to stay home, the attendance requirement will be lenient, and a student’s COVID-related absences will not count toward the attendance policy. Those who have been exposed to a person with COVID cannot attend school for 10 days.