High school students to return full time
With COVID-19 cases low, GHS pupils to be ‘all together’ again
GREENWICH — The encouraging trend of low COVID-19 numbers in the Greenwich Public Schools continues as the district is transitioning back to full-time, inperson learning at Greenwich High, officials said Tuesday.
The school district is reporting just three new cases of the coronavirus since Friday, bringing the total since the start of the school year to 690. The total number of COVID-19 cases since the start of the month of May, however, is just 11 after a busy April, which saw 133 cases of the coronavirus.
Only three schools are currently affected by the coronavirus, the district said. Greenwich High, the site of a major cluster of cases in April, now has just two active cases.
“It is encouraging to see the COVID-19 tracking numbers trending downward for our school community,” Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said.
The report of the low number of cases come as Greenwich High is in the process of welcoming all its students back into the building for full-time instruction. For many students and parents, the return to in-person learning just over a year since the onset of the pandemic is a major positive step.
“I am so thankful to see my senior return to school full time for the last month of school,” said Greenwich High parent Leila Horn. “The Class of 2021 has had very little time together ... and being all together in the GHS building will hopefully make them feel excited about their high school experience and beyond.”
Greenwich High School Parent Teacher Association co-President Stephanie Cowie also applauded the administration’s work to bring students back to class full time.
“The GHS administration made Herculean efforts in preparation for their return,” Cowie said. “For many, this will be their first time in school with their classmates and friends.”
The high school had been on a hybrid schedule since the start of the school year, in which students were divided into two learning cohorts, each of which attended school in-person two days a week. Wednesdays were originally all remote for the high school, but students began attending alternate Wednesdays earlier this spring.
At the elementary and middle school levels, all students — except those who opted for remote learning — have been in-person in their classrooms since the start of the school year.
On May 3, the senior class returned to full-time learning at Greenwich High, and on May 17, the junior class will return fulltime to classrooms. Sophomores and freshman will return for five days per week in classrooms on May 30.
Jones said the district will continue to offer a full-time remote option for students and families reluctant to return in person to Greenwich High and the other schools in the district.