‘CLOSE TO NORMAL’
City’s high schools welcome back students full time
STAMFORD — Students returned to a five-day-a-week in-person schedule on Monday at the city’s three public high schools.
It was the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that classrooms at each school — Westhill High School, Stamford High School, and the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering — were close to full capacity.
Principals at each reported successful first days back.
Tina Rivera, principal at AITE, said Monday was the closest she’s felt to witnessing a normal school day since school buildings shuttered in March of last year due to the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’ve all been waiting and looking forward to this moment when we can bring back so many students,” she said.
The option to return to school buildings five days a week was only available to those in the hybrid model — in which students previously went to class in-person every other day. Students in the fully remote distance learning academy — roughly 25 percent of the district — will remain at home.
Further, families were given two choices: either opt-in to the 100 percent in-person option or decide to go to a fully remote schedule. Those who choose to go remote would not join the distance learning academy but would instead be able to follow along with their classes through live-streaming, according to a letter sent to parents from the district.
Of the roughly 500 students at AITE who had previously been in the every-other-day hybrid model, about 50 chose to switch to an at-home virtual model instead of returning to more congested hallways and classrooms.
In the lead-up to Monday, many teachers and students in the district expressed opposition to the plan.
Late last month, almost all teachers at Westhill signed a letter against returning to a full-time inperson schedule, citing health and safety, limited space and student sentiment as main concerns.
Student support was mixed, but two dueling online petitions seemingly indicated more support for remaining in the hybrid model.
At Westhill, Principal Michael Rinaldi said Monday went well, even with all the challenges.
“Today really felt like our second first day of school,” Rinaldi said. “It was really touching to see some of our students reconnecting after not being in school together for over a year.”
Rinaldi said a virtual assembly was held with students this morning to go over new schedules, as well as safety protocols.
“I have never been prouder of our students and teachers,” Rinaldi said.
The district allowed students to return to five-daysa-week in-person learning at the elementary and middle school levels last month, but Superintendent Tamu Lucero has repeatedly stated that there were many more challenges with reopening high schools than middle and elementary schools. Accommodating students during lunch time, when they need to be 6 feet apart from one another since they do not wear masks, was one of the biggest hurdles.
At AITE, lunch time was spaced out into a number of different locations, including the cafeteria, the gym, the atrium, and the media center. Additionally, an outdoor tent allowed for about 50 students to eat lunch. The additional spaces allowed the school to maintain it’s typical two-lunch-waves schedule.
That wasn’t the case at Westhill and Stamford High, where each had to add an additional lunch period to be able to accommodate students 6 feet apart in numerous locations.
Stamford High also offered an outdoor seating area, which can accommodate about 60 students, Principal Ray Manka said.
“The kids are awesome,” he said. “They wore their masks.”
Besides the patio and the cafeteria, the school also designated three rooms for students to have lunch, which have actually been in place since the beginning of the school year.
“We’ve been able to make it work,” Manka said.
All three principals thanked the work of custodians, teachers, administrators and students in making Monday possible.
“If felt as close to a normal school day as I felt in a while,” Manka said.
Michael Fernandes, associate superintendent of intervention and student support, was at AITE on Monday.
“It was good to see students back in school and knowing they are going to be back in school five days a week is good to know,” he said.
Fernandes said, “It’s been a priority of the superintendent to get kids back in school five days a week, but to do it safely obviously.”
He said Monday’s reopening was a reason to celebrate, but a lot of work needs to be done.
“I think it really helps prepare of us for next year, not really knowing what next year is going to be like,” he said.