MADISON — Students in the Madison Local School District will not return for in-person classes next week as previously scheduled.

Superintendent Rob Peterson announced Wednesday the district’s period of remote learning will be extended through Jan. 8.

Peterson stated that the decision was made due to staffing issues, increased community spread and over concern for the safety of students, staff and the community.

“I’ve heard from some students and I know there’s a lot of them out there that really want to get back to face-to-face,” he said. “I feel for them. I want to do that, but we need to be able to do it in a safe environment that’s staffed appropriately.”

The district went remote immediately following Thanksgiving break and was set to return to in-person classes Monday. Peterson said he’d been “holding out hope” the district could remain in-person until Christmas break.

Teachers have been required to report during the period of remote learning and have been teaching from their classrooms whenever possible, but many cannot make it in due to quarantines or childcare needs. Peterson noted that even if Madison students returned, some teachers have children who attend other districts that are remote only for the duration of the calendar year.

On Wednesday, there were 44 teachers who could not report to their classroom. Since the district is operating remotely, some were still able to teach from home.

Peterson stated the district continues to get reports of new cases among staff and students nearly every day.

“We still have a lot of illness,” he said. “COVID cases countywide continue to be at a high volume, hospitalizations are up and I’m really concerned. Some people are having some very serious symptoms with COVID.

“I’m trying to keep our students and our staff, our community in general safe.”

Meal deliveries to bus stops will continue during the period of remote learning. Families are asked to register for meals on the district website no later than Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. Adult Education classes have moved to remote learning or have been paused; the Madison Early Childhood Learning Center will remain open unless communicated otherwise. Decisions regarding athletic practices and competitions will continue to be made on a week-to-week basis.

Many other area school districts have already transitioned to remote learning, with the intent to resume in-person classes in January.