New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
School district communication criticized
NEW HAVEN — In the final hours of 2020, before the champagne corks popped and the clocks struck midnight, public school families received the message.
“In close consultation with the City of New Haven Department of Public Health, we are preparing for a limited return of students to a hybrid learning model beginning Tuesday, January 19, 2021,” read a letter from Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey.
It was a surprise to many, as it marked the potential for New Haven schools to reopen their doors to students for the first time since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the abrupt shuttering of schools. For members of the school community who have criticized the district for confusing communication around school initiatives, it reinforced some of their concerns.
About two in three families expressed a desire for their children to return to school in person for hybrid instruction — which would give students two days of face time with their teachers and about half of their peers each week — according to information the district’s data supervisor, Michele Sherban, shared in October. But some teachers and parents said the announcement of the Jan. 19 date was an unpleasant surprise.
“The timing felt disrespectful,” said Jessica Light, a third-grade teacher at Worthington Hooker School.
“Its timing on New Year’s Eve as I sat down to dinner made the closure of the year not a celebration and appreciation of all we have accomplished during this