MEALS ON THE MOVE
...and it’s kind of like Meals on Wheels
New London Public Schools Child Nutrition Program Director Samantha Wilson helps her staff load school buses Tuesday with food to be distributed to children around the city. The district is moving away from the previous centralized “grab-and-go” model in favor of a “meals-on-wheels” model, which will visit 36 different locations to avoid drawing large crowds to distribution sites.
New London — The school district continues to feed its students but heeded advice about social distancing and has transitioned from a “grab-and-go” to “meals-on-wheels” method of food distribution.
The district used buses and vans Tuesday to deliver 2,400 meals in 800 packages at three dozen “bus stops” across the city. Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie, school board member Bryan Doughty and district Child Nutrition Program Director Samantha Wilson were among the members of one delivery crew, donning surgical masks and offloading the food packages from a school bus.
It was the first day for the new distribution method and one of numerous changes being made in New London and other school districts at a breakneck pace to meet an evolving situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and cancellation of school through at least April 20.
As one example of evolving needs, the Lyme/Old Lyme school district anticipated distributing 96 meals on Monday based on a survey sent home to families. In a letter to parents, District 18 Superintendent Ian
Neviaser said 400 meals were served on Monday before the district ran out of food. Officials are better preparing for today’s distribution.
The New London school district previously had set up four food distribution sites across the city but last week announced meals would instead be distributed twice a week — Tuesdays and Fridays — to designated stops in an attempt to limit the amount of people showing up at one spot. Some families were walking and showing up in groups.
“It’s ultimately so fewer people have to leave their homes or travel to get their food,” Wilson said of the change.
Tuesday’s care packages included three days’ worth of food. Friday’s will have four days’ worth of food. Two of the meals in each packet are frozen with instructions on how to reheat.
Behind the scenes, Wilson said a rotating crew of food service workers, including a regional chef from Brigaid, continue to prepare food from scratch, all under challenging conditions since they are attempting to stay 6 feet apart in the kitchen at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and in the cafeteria where food is being packed. Wilson said she expects the amount of food being distributed to go up as word gets out and the ability to access the food becomes easier.
A dozen people were in front of a Federal Street apartment complex Tuesday in anticipation of the bus arriving. One mother of two school-aged boys with autism — she asked not to be identified by name — said she has her hands full just trying to keep the peace at home, never mind trying to home-school her kids. The food comes “by the grace of God” during hectic times at home, she said.
Distance learning
Ritchie said the district is doing all it can to address the needs, some of them specialized, of all students. The latest initiative is the implementation of a “Distance Learning Academic Programming,” a combination of academic lessons delivered online and through traditional paper. The district has been collecting data on at-home access to technology and Wi-Fi and will be distributing devices to all students: iPads for children in kindergarten through second grade and Chromebooks for students in third through 12th grade.
A schedule of distribution and further details were being worked out Tuesday but Ritchie said she expected the devices to be in the hands of students by the end of the week. She said she planned more detailed communication with families on Friday. She also is working with the city to find out the feasibility of setting up hot spots to allow WiFi access to families that might not have it.
“There may be bumps along the road,” Ritchie said, but the district is working to address all the needs of students and their families during challenging times.
“This unprecedented national situation is one that we will get through as we continue to support each other and stand united to serve our students, families and school community,” Ritchie wrote in her latest communication with families. “Our words, our actions and our undivided commitment to doing what is best for our children is how we will meet success.”
The district has posted information on meal distribution routes and other COVID-19-related updates on its website, newlondon.org.
New London’s isn’t the only district working to implement distance learning plans.
Groton Public Schools staff quickly worked this weekend and Monday to distribute computers for students to use while they are at home, Superintendent Michael Graner said. The district distributed about 1,400 Chromebooks, including about 250 at West Side STEM Magnet Middle School, about 240 at Claude Chester Elementary School, and about 175 at Northeast Academy Arts Magnet Elementary School, he said.
The district had been planning to do the distribution this week, but sped up its plans after Gov. Ned Lamont issued an order for nonessential workers to remain at home after 8 p.m. Monday, Graner said. The district put out an automated phone call this past weekend to families about the computers, and parents were extremely responsive, he said.
Administrators, secretaries, tech staff members and head custodians arrived at the schools on Sunday morning to disassemble carts with the computers that students typically use during the school day and then package computers and power cords into envelopes and assign them to children, Graner said.
Parents then came to the schools to pick up a package and sign for the computer, he said. Parents who didn’t yet pick up a computer but need one for their child have been informed that Central Office will serve as a distribution site.
High school students already have computers they take home.
The district will finalize today the list of students who need internet access and then plans to order hotspot devices, Graner said. “The goal, of course, is to ensure each child has a computer and internet connection so he or she can access the distance learning,” he wrote in an email to district staff.
“Needless to say, I am inspired by the dedication, resourcefulness and sheer hard work of our school teams,” he added. “The effort over the weekend took a great deal of coordination and clear thinking; our children will be the beneficiaries of this effort.”
Graner said the next step is setting up the distance learning system. The district initially had distributed 10 days’ worth of learning materials to students and will switch over on March 30 to distance learning. He said curriculum teachers are meeting by grade level and subject under the guidance of Assistant Superintendent Susan Austin. Special education teachers and supervisors are putting together specific plans for individual students.