The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘To try and move forward’
Educators want parents to weigh in on pandemic learning models
“We’re asking people to commit to one mode of instruction in the survey.” Torrington Superintendent of Schools Susan Lubomski
TORRINGTON — The Board of Education wants to hear from parents. To accomplish that, the board will issue a survey within the next week, asking parents what type of learning program they will support for their children.
The board and members of the school administration discussed the survey this week, including how the choices — all-remote, hybrid and full distance learning — are being handled by the community. To date, the district is using hybrid model — a combination of distance and in-person learning — as well as full remote instruction. Elementary schools are in-person. But the district is looking for more guidance from the community.
“We’re asking people to commit to one mode of instruction in the survey,” Superintendent of Schools Susan Lubomski said.
“We can’t do a buffet menu,” she said.
However, while hybrid learning is ongoing in the city’s elementary, middle and high schools, many families are still keeping their children at home and using remote services daily, Lubomski said. She did not say how many families are using this model of learning.
But if a family decides they want to change from hybrid to
distance learning, or vice versa, the district is asking them to wait two weeks, she said. “We encourage parents to commit to one or the other, if they want to change, wait two weeks, so we can prepare for them. On the secondary grade level, we’re doing the same. It’s just as important for consistency.”
Based on her conversations with members of the Torrington Area Health District, Lubomski said she was feeling confident that the schools could move to a full in-person learning model.
“It’s a positive measure,” Lubomski said. “The Centers for Disease Control is saying that in the schools, there’s been minimal transmission (of COVID-19) throughout the nation. There has been no (recent) transmission with our students; we’ve been very fortunate. We’re in a good place, and we would like to try and move forward.”
School board Chairwoman Fiona Cappabianca asked about connecting with families who are not sending their children to
school and are either home schooling on their own or using the remote plan. “Have you gotten feedback from families who won’t come back?” she asked.
“Our last survey said that some parents didn’t want their child to go to school in person,” Lubomski said. “So the middle and high school has worked it so (a student’s teacher) doesn’t change, with in-person or distance learning. Sometimes they have to change physical classroom, but they have the same teacher.
“We’re trying to have as minimal changes as possible,” she said.
“I think we’re getting back to a sense of normalcy,” Lubomski said. “That’s good. That’s what we want.”
The school board also discussed learning gaps caused by the pandemic. “We’re looking at filling in the gaps caused by COVID-19,” Assistant Superintendent Susan Fergusson said. “Summer learning camps are a possibility.”
Parents can find information about the school’s latest decisions and surveys on the district’s website, http://www.torrington.org/