The Norwalk School District has taken steps to ensure students are safe to learn in classrooms this school year.

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COVID-19 RESOURCES: Stop the Spread

Superintendent Dr. Alexandra Estrella says weekly COVID-19 testing started last week for all Norwalk elementary students with parental permission.

The Pfizer vaccine could get emergency use authorization for children under 12 as soon as sometime in the next few weeks. School officials say until then, weekly testing is the best way to get out ahead of outbreaks before they start.

"Testing allows us to better gauge any positive cases that we might have and not have to wait for somebody to be symptomatic,” Estrella says.

As for older students, Estrella says the best thing the district can do is to help them get vaccinated.

"At the high school level, our focus has been on providing clinics for them to be vaccinated,” she says.

The district already plans to offer vaccine clinics for students under 12 once that approval comes down.

"We have been already in conversations with the Department of Health, so we are already prepared for that possibility,” Estrella says.

The district board also voted to move the start time for high school students back to 7:30 a.m. after it was changed to 8:30 a.m. for the 2020 academic year. The board says the later start caused bus delays throughout the district.