Wilcox Elementary School extends remote learning

LIHU’E — Wilcox Elementary School has extended its distance learning by one additional day. In-person classes are currently scheduled to resume next Monday.

Principal Corey Nakamura first announced the transition on Jan. 24, citing shortages of teachers and other essential staff members.

Substitute-teacher shortages are affecting schools statewide, and are escalated by a large number of teachers sick or in quarantine as the omicron variant sets record highs for community transmission in every county.

At last week’s state Board of Education meeting, the state Department of Education reported that from Jan. 3 to 11, some 24% of substitute requests on Kaua‘i went unfilled.

Continued vacancies in other essential roles are also putting a strain on school staffing demands districtwide. Last week, the HIDOE reported that 33% of cafeteria-helper and 15% of bus-driver positions remain vacant.

From Jan. 18 to 25, the HIDOE reported 36 COVID-19 cases at Wilcox among its 873 total students and staff.

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Laurel Smith, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0424 or lsmith@thegardenisland.com.