The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Hoping less students will be quarantined’
What you need to know as area pupils return to school
Cromwell, Portland, Durham and Middlefield students returned to school last week with plenty of new policies in place, including a variety of options for students forced to quarantine at home due to COVID-19.
All of these school districts, as well as Middletown Public Schools, where classes start Thursday, will be following advice from the state departments of health and education, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it comes to masking and vaccine policy.
At least through Sept. 30, all students and staff are required to wear a mask when inside. There is no COVID-19 vaccination requirement for children. Employees of school districts, including contractors or anyone else who regularly operates in school buildings, will either need to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 27 or submit a weekly negative test.
Vaccination rates
Middletown schools reported that 94 percent of employees had been vaccinated as of Friday. Portland reported a nearly 96 percent vaccination rate for their employees.
Cromwell schools and District 13, which includes Durham and Middlefield, are still in the process of gathering this data, but both indicated the majority of employees are fully vaccinated.
Quarantine policies
The quarantine policy is also universal for all these school districts. Students exposed to COVID-19 in classrooms who remain asymptomatic — regardless of vaccination status — do not have to quarantine if they are spaced at least three feet apart and wearing masks.
If they are not adhering to the mask and distancing guidelines, unvaccinated students will have to quarantine for 10 days, with a negative test between days seven and 10, or 14 days without a test. Any students who experience symptoms will follow the same protocol.
Opportunities for quarantined students
With no hybrid learning model this year, it is up to each individual district to decide how students will continue to learn while in quarantine.
Superintendent of Portland Schools Charles D. Britton said while he hopes it doesn’t happen, he expects there to be instances when students have to quarantine.
In Portland schools, all students are given a Chromebook, which gives them access to their teachers and assignments. No lessons will be taught over Zoom, but students can use the computers to interact with their teachers.
“This way, our students have full access to their teachers, their work, and their classmates if needed,” Britton said.
In Cromwell, a handful of students already had to quarantine beginning Thursday after coming in close contact with the virus at an event outside of school. Superintendent Enza Macri said the students were “really bummed” they could not stay in school.
“They had just gotten to come back,” Macri said, “but we know there are going to be these challenges.”
Cromwell schools will use tutoring staff to help guide students in quarantine through their lessons. For those at the elementary level, tutors will be available throughout the day to ensure no one falls behind.
For secondary-level students, these tutors are available after school hours, and students will have to check in at least three times a week to track their progress.
“We have a pretty good plan,” Macri said. “We’re hoping that less students will be quarantined because more are getting vaccinated.”
In Middletown, an asynchronous learning platform like Google Classroom will give students access to assignments.
This is also the case in District 13 schools. Superintendent Doug Schuch said teachers will have the freedom to provide additional assistance on a
case-by-case basis.
Schuch said the pandemic has provided extensive insight into how to support learners when they are not in class.
“We feel like we have a lot more tools to support that when it’s needed,” Schuch said. “We’d be remiss not to take some of the lessons we learned last year.”
Returning to in-person learning
Students and faculty in all districts said they are just glad to be in the buildings. “It’s absolutely delightful to see everybody back,” Britton said. “I’m really proud that we got off to a great start.”
“The most important thing is that the kids are here in school, and they are so happy to be back,” Macri said.
Middletown Public Schools Director of Communications Jessica B. Lavorgna said educators are optimistic about the year ahead.
“We are ready, we’re excited,” she said. “The energy around here is palpable.”