Masks, distancing and more: Bethel schools prepare for return
BETHEL — With health and safety top priority and a commitment to in-person learning, Bethel plans to follow state guidance going into a third school year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students and staff will once again be required to mask up indoors when schools reopen Aug. 30, although there will be a slight difference in the district’s mask-wearing policy compared to last year.
In accordance with the state Department of Education’s latest COVID-19 mitigation guidance, Superintendent Christine Carver said vaccinated teachers will be allowed to remove their masks if they’re teaching from the front of a classroom and are at least six feet away from students.
Like other aspects of the district’s plan, the facecovering policy is based on guidance and mandates from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among the mandates is a new vaccine-related requirement that, according to school officials, will affect less than 10 percent of Bethel’s public school staff.
Under Gov. Ned Lamont’s recently announced Executive Order No. 13D, school employees who are not fully
vaccinated by Sept. 27 will be required to undergo weekly COVID testing and “provide adequate proof of the test results ... to the school board” until fully vaccinated.
As of Aug. 19, about 93 percent of Bethel school employees were fully vaccinated.
Carver said she anticipates periodic changes in guidance throughout the school year, but the district will “always keep the health and safety of our students and staff a priority when (making) decisions.”
As part of its fall reopening plan, Bethel’s school district will continue following CDC guidance on facility cleaning and maintenance, as well as quarantine and isolation.
Vaccinated individuals who contract COVID-19 and are asymptomatic will not be required to quarantine or isolate, but direct contacts will be notified, according to the district’s plan.
Social-distancing and cohorting will be “provided when feasible” and in accordance with CDC and state guidelines, according to the plan, and building ventilation systems will be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure proper operation.
The district’s plan also includes encouraging families to conduct daily health screenings before sending students to school each day and posting signs throughout school buildings to remind students and staff about hand-washing, maskwearing and other COVID protocols.
In addition to COVID-19 mitigation, the reopening plan also prioritizes education equity, social-emotional learning needs and academic recovery to ensure accessible learning for all.
Not only does the district plan to implement support protocols to assist quarantined/isolated students with remote learning, but “a remote blended learning experience” may be available to students on snow days.
Information on Bethel’s plan for the start of the 202122 school year is available at https://bit.ly/BethelReopening2021-22.