Hartford makes plans for remote learners to return
Officials say goal is to improve academic achievement, support students’ well-being
Thousands of students who have been learning remotely will return to school buildings full time at the end of this month, the district announced Thursday.
HARTFORD — Thousands of Hartford students whohave been learning remotely this school year will return to school buildings full time at the end of this month, the district announced Thursday.
A majority of students in Hartford have stayed home throughout the pandemic, their families opting in to the virtual learning model that is now slated to end on March 29.
City and district leaders say they hope to transition as many of those 9,600 students back to in-person learning as possible, a goal driven by slipping academic achievement and a desire to better support students’ social and emotional well-being. District data has shown students missed an average of one in five days of school in the first semester, and on average, about 1,300 students are considered disconnected each week because they do not attend even a single day of school.
By bringing students back, Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said, schools can better ensure “equitable access to academic and social-emotional support, and
deeper connections with their peers and caring adults to improve their well-being.”
Remote learning will remain an option for families, district spokesman John Fergus confirmed. The district is working with families that have health concerns about sending their kids back to school, or have other extenuating circumstances that would prevent them from returning on March 29.
Of about 3,500 families that responded to a district survey about the transition, 27% said they had health concerns about sending their kids back to school and 13% said they were unsure if they had barriers to returning.
The remaining respondents said they did not have any barrier to returning.
Thevast majority of families did not take the survey.
Fergus said the district would be able to manage those students continuing to learn remotely.
Families are told to call their child’s school directly if they have questions.
The move to call remote learners back to the classroom is possible now because of falling coronavirus positivity rates and the mass vaccination of teachers and staff, she said.
As of Thursday, 2,171 educators, staff and schoolbased partners — more than half of all district personnel — had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Hartford Public Schools.
That covers all the teachers and staff who have indiorders closely to determine which ones should be codified into law and which can be allowed to expire. The House speaker and others held a virtual meeting with Lamont Thursday in an attempt to start a collaborative process at a time when power is scheduled to be transferred back to the legislature in about 30 days.
For the past year, Lamont has largely ruled the state single-handedly. He has consulted the top legislative leaders, but they have not overturned any of his orders regarding closing nonessential businesses or deciding when restaurants can be open or closed.
Republican legislators were not invited to Thursday’s meeting, but they will be involved in another meeting of leaders next week. They had wanted Lamont’s powers to end on March 1, rather than April 20, and had wanted to start the transition process earlier.
“We’re going through every si ngle executive order,” Lamont said Wednesday. “Most of them are not as relevant today as they were when they were first impacted. We’re going to narrow it down. We’re going to have a discussion that these are the ones that are really important to continue after April 20. Hopefully, they vote cated they want the vaccine, the district said.
“The mass vaccinations of staff, along with our robust health and safety protocols, are key steps in returning staff and students back to the environment where we know our students learn best, the classroom,” Torres-Rodriguez said.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin lauded the district’s partnerships with local health care providers in getting educators and staff vaccinated quickly, making it safer for schools to return to full capacity.
“We’ve been able to maintain in-person learning for many of our students throughout this year but getting every Hartford Public Schools student back in the classroom five days a week is so important, and this is a huge step forward on them individually or vote on them as a package to keep them going for another month or so.”
Lamont noted that mayors and first selectmen will likely have a larger role in the future on the orders.
“Most of them are deregulatory — everything from making it easier to have outdoor dining on Main Street and things like that,” he said. “On some of those, the locals will be able to pick up the lead. Some of them could become guidance. I think it’s really important for kids to wear masks in school a little bit longer, but there may be a different point of view in the legislature. We’ll see.”
House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford said Republicans have studied all of the executive orders and are prepared to make suggestions as part of a measured approach.
“I’m not suggesting that we just open everything up, but we need to talk about a transition,” he said Thursday. “This isn’t a light switch. It’s not on or off. We’re suggesting a dimmer switch.”
The executive orders covered issues large and small. For the first time, Lamont allowed the delivery of alcohol to people’s homes as part of the delivery of a meal, such as a bottle of wine with an Italfor our kids, our families, and our community,” he said.
The shift away from remote learning follows the district’s transition from a hybrid model at the beginning of the month.
On March 1, about 6,000 in-person learners in grades pre-K to 9 went back to attending classes five days a week for the first time since November, when the district implemented the hybrid system — with different cohorts attending on different days — amid rising coronavirus cases.
Torres-Rodriguez plans to host a virtual town hall about the change on March 24, from 5:30-6:15 p.m. in English and 6:30-7:15 p.m. in Spanish. ian dinner. Some legislators have already started pushing to continue that practice by codifying it into law.
“It’s not just about opening up versus closing,” Lamont said. “It’s about telehealth. It’s about what health care individuals are allowed to administer vaccines. It’s about nursing home liability and protections for their workers. It’s about how notary publics take signatures. ... There are rules that apply for 6-foot social distancing and mask-wearing. That all expires on April 20.’’
Depending on the issue, he said that various provisions could be written into law for one month, six months or a year.
Sen. Doug McCrory, a Hartford Democrat, said recently that Lamont’s powers should “absolutely not” be extended beyond April 20 and power should be restored to the legislature.
“We wouldn’t be doing our jobs,” McCrory said of granting another extension. “We have to do our jobs. We cannot extend it any further. He knows that.”