COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Tuesday, the Comstock Public Schools Board of Education announced that it will move classes back to a fully online virtual format.
Tuesday will be the last official day of in-person learning at Comstock High School, Comstock Middle School, Comstock STEM Academy and Compass High School.
Wednesday, November 11 will be the last official day of in-person instruction for Comstock Elementary School and the Comstock Early Learning Academy. The school district notes that these programs host classes on Wednesdays.
Thursday will be the first official day of district-wide virtual programming. The entirety of Comstock Public Schools will remain virtual from Thursday, November 12 until Friday, December 4.
In a letter of explanation released by Superintendent Jeffrey J. Thoenes, the decision was partly made due to increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases.
“Regretfully, the coronavirus pandemic has continued to spread throughout all of Kalamazoo county, and the region,” Thoenes said in the letter. “While the number of student and staff cases within our district is relatively low, we have experienced a recent and substantial increase in absences due to exposure to the virus.”
However, the decision is also being made due to a shortage of teaching staff.
“Unfortunately, and similar to all of the county’s districts, this situation is compounded by the fact that the pandemic has made it very difficult to attract any substitute teachers,” Thoenes said. “To compensate, principals have been using other teachers and qualified staff to fill in for absent colleagues, but we are at a point as a district where the demand has exceeded the supply. We simply cannot sustain our in-person educational options due to an insufficient number of teachers and staff able to report to work.”
Classes are currently scheduled to return to in-person on Monday, December 7. The Board of Education will reassess the decision during their November 23 meeting.
Thoenes adds that any questions can be directed to him at 269-250-8907 or by email at thoenesj@comstockps.org.
In a related matter, Gull Lake Public Schools has also announced it will be moving fully online. More information can be found here.
Comments