The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘Every day is a challenge’
Regions 6, 7, 10, Litchfield, Winchester return to class
LITCHFIELD — Region 6 and Litchfield Public Schools returned to class Monday on a half-day schedule, after a week of orientation and staggered schedules for all grades to reacquaint students with the buildings and new COVID-19-based protective rules.
“Today was just another another step in the process (of reopening),” said Superintendent of Schools Chris Leone. “Every day is a challenge, and we will continue to face those challenges and adjust to them.”
Region 6’s Goshen Center School, James Morris School and Warren School students began with a half-day of classes Aug. 26, starting with kindergarten and grades one and two. Third- and fourth-graders began Aug. 27, followed by fifth- and sixthgraders Aug. 28. Each group was in the buildings on their own that day.
Litchfield Center School followed the same format: kindergarten, Aug. 26; first- and second-graders, Aug. 27; and third-graders, Aug. 28.
Litchfield Intermediate School sixth-graders returned Aug. 26, followed by only fifth-graders Aug. 27, and only fourth-graders Aug. 28.
Wamogo Regional High School and middle school
students began the year in the newly reconfigured building, with seventh- and eighth-graders starting Aug. 26, ninth- and tenthgraders Aug. 27, and eleventh-and twelfth-graders Aug. 28. Each group was in the building on their own for the first day. The same schedule applied to Litchfield High School.
All students in both school districts returned for three half-days starting Aug. 31; full days start Sept. 3.
The students are following their schedule and the rules well, Leone said Monday. “The kids have been amazing, they’ve been great,” he said. “The staff’s been amazing.
“These are unprecedented times and uncharted waters, and we’re doing our very best to get through them together,” Leone said.
Leone said he was planning to hold his weekly parent forum Monday night and expected to get questions about the first day.
“The parent forum is not new,” he said. “I’ve been doing the parent sessions every week since June. They give me concerns and feedback, and we do our best to address those concerns.”
The link for the district’s parent forum is https://rb.gy/rta2hr.
Litchfield’s and Region 6’s full reopening plan is available online and can be accessed at https://bit.ly/2QetmeN.
Winchester Public Schools also reopened Monday, welcoming kindergarten through sixthgrade students. Pre-kindergarten classes begin Tuesday.
Students are also following a hybrid plan with students split into two groups that each will be in school two days a week.
The WPS Reopening Plan and Parent Presentation is located at www.winchesterschool.org. Information will be sent out via School Messenger phone calls, emails, and posted on the district’s Facebook Page.
Winchester Superintendent Melony BradyShanley is the state’s COVID-19 health and safety compliance liaison; questions can be emailed to her at melony.brady-shanley@winchesterschools.org.
“We had a great day,” Brady-Shanley said. “It just seemed like the kids were really happy to be back in school; they were following the rules. It was a great day.
“We were happy to see them, and they were happy to see us,” she said. “Now it’s just taking this one day at a time. I’m crossing my fingers. Things are going really well.”
During several parent forums Brady-Shanley held earlier this month online, parents voice concerns about their children’s safety while riding their buses. “No problems,” BradyShanley said. “Again, I”m keeping my fingers crossed.”
Region 10 also started school Monday with orientation for kindergardeners and grades five and nine.
The district, which includes Har-Bur Elementary School in Harwinton and Lake Garda Elementary School and Lewis S. Mills School in Burlington, is using a hybrid learning plan, grouping students into Cohorts A and B, with alternating days of inperson classes and distance learning. The hybrid days are Tuesday through Friday; Mondays are full distance learning days for both groups. The school district is using a phasing plan that will have all students back in the buildings full time by the week of Sept. 28, according to Superintendent of Schools Howard Thiery.
Regional 7 students also returned to school Monday under a hybrid model, with students attending in person some days and remotely on others. Students in Cohort A will attend classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, with Cohort B attending school Thursdays and Fridays. As in other districts, one day a week is reserved as a full distance learning day for all students while the buildings are cleaned.
All schools are requiring students, faculty and staff to wear masks and practice social distancing by reducing the number of students in a classroom at one time. Region 7 added outdoor eating areas with tents to keep students separated; groups of students are staying with their classes throughout the day.
“We had a great day. It just seemed like the kids were really happy to be back in school; they were following the rules. It was a great day.”
Winchester Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley