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02/23/2021 02:00 PMWith local virus cases and positivity rates falling sharply, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman said the district intends to return more students to classes in the coming weeks as all of Guilford High School (GHS) and many middle school students have remained in remote learning.
Freeman said that so far this month, the town has seen the lowest overall virus numbers since reopening in September, and that community members would hear about a plan in the coming days, likely starting with GHS students in a four-day a week model for all students but with a hope to have full classes across five days for the first time this school year.
Communications Coordinator Lorri Hahn said remote learning would continue at Adams and GHS through Monday, March 1, at which time students would return to the hybrid two-day per week in-person that began in the fall.
The plan to return to four days of in-person school, with Wednesday likely still being a day off, would be released “in a matter of days,” according to Freeman.
“It remains my hope that we will be finishing this school year with all students attending classes five days a week,” he said.
This includes eventually bringing back elementary school and Baldwin students to full five-day a week school, according to Freeman, though how that will be handled—whether it will occur alongside the older grades or independently—has yet to be determined.
Teacher quarantines have been the primary cause of decreased in-person learning, Freeman said, though he also cited the spike of local virus cases through the winter with 342 cases through December and January.
That compares to only 145 cases in September and October, when the district started in a hybrid model with students separated by cohorts in the upper grades. Currently, the town is in the moderate “yellow” range according to new CDC guidance, with 24 cases per 100,000 residents.
As of this week, Freeman said there were 16 teachers at GHS in quarantine due to potential exposure or contacts with the virus.
Freeman emphasized that “we do not believe” that the virus has ever been transferred within a school building, despite many school community members coming into contact or contracting the virus in other settings.
The new plan will have other modifications, Freeman said, based on what the district has learned over the last six months. New, larger plexiglas barriers will be deployed during lunch periods, and students will be spread out more during those times.
Additionally, the district is looking at a 10-day quarantine period for those who have a close contact with the virus versus the two-week quarantine that they previously followed, according to Freeman.
The availability of the vaccine will also possibly alter those plans, with teachers and school employees eligible beginning March 1, though Freeman cautioned the district is not assured of when they will have enough doses available to immediately inoculate staff locally.
Anyone who voluntarily wants to keep their student in remote learning will continue to have that option, Freeman said.
Other issues to consider is an increase in traffic, which Freeman said the Guilford Police Department would provide support for once all students begin returning, and sports, where spectators will likely be allowed “in limited numbers” in outdoor sports.
Spectators likely won’t be allowed at indoor winter sporting events, but all of those plans are still dependent on CIAC guidance and local health numbers, Freeman said.
A “modified” spring musical is being planned, according to Freeman, but he said after-school activities will likely remain impossible through the end of the year.
Graduation and other end of year events will not look like they did pre-pandemic, though Freeman emphasized the district was going to prioritize an in-person event for senior graduates that “will probably look more like it did last year than it did two years ago.”
“I do want to reiterate that we’re making these decisions really thoughtfully, really cautiously, and one step at a time,” he added.
The district is tracking and aware of the more communicable strains of the virus, Freeman said, and what their dangers are, and said the district would be ready to go back if numbers get worse or if there is evidence of in-school transmission.
Freeman also promised that the plan would be communicated in detail well in advance of any shift in learning model.
“We will not be calling your homes at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. to announce that we’re shifting to four days a week. It won’t be an announcement that is made over the weekend,” he said.
Board of Education (BOE) Chair Dr. Katie Ballestraci noted that in recent weeks more parents have inquired about when students will begin returning to classes. While Freeman said that while the district is cognizant of trends in virus cases and the need to return students to school, he added there is no “bright line” defined by the CDC or any other health organization to say exactly when students must be in any particular setting.
“We’re intended to consult with our local authorities,” he said. “We’ve learned that our protocols work. In fact we’re more confident in our protocols now that we were in October.”
In response to other parent questions, Freeman said there was no intention of extending the school year through the summer to make up for lost days. He said he was aware that one district in the state with less in-person time had made plans for an extended summer school year with funding from the state, but that Guilford did not have that state support or the intention of pursuing that avenue.
Freeman thanked Hahn and the district communication staff as well as the Guilford Health Department in particular for their work in trying to keep the community updated on all the changes and adaptations the schools have been through.
“I really appreciate the parents reaching out and the concerns they are sharing,” Freeman said. “I understand the frustration that this has always felt like a moving target, because it’s always been a moving target.”