Danbury Drafts Plan To Reopen Schools

DANBURY, CT — The state is expecting all schools to have all students return to schoolhouses for full-time instruction at the beginning of the school year, but the district has petitioned to allow Danbury to begin with a hybrid in-person/remote learning schedule.

As proposed in the draft of the Danbury plan, half of the students would attend school in-person on Mondays and Tuesdays, while the rest are educated via distance learning. These cohorts would trade places on Thursday and Fridays, and all students would attend remote learning on Wednesdays.

Parents would also have the option of having their children learn remotely one hundred percent of them time.

In-person education for bilingual and special education students would be offered up to four days a week.

If required by the state, the district says it is prepared to offer in-person education for all students.

"While distance learning has provided the best possible alternative during school closures, there is no substitute for in-person instruction when it comes to the quality of students' academic learning. In-person school plays an equally important role in our ability to support students' social-emotional needs, including their mental and physical health, and in mitigating the impacts of trauma," according to the draft. "We also recognize how disruptive the school closures have been to families trying to maintain regular work schedules and manage household needs, including childcare, while also facilitating remote learning."

Students who do attend the schoolhouses will be required to wear masks, and "mask breaks" will be scheduled. Parents will be responsible for providing students with face coverings or masks; the schools will have back-ups available, according to the draft of the plan

Wherever possible, social distancing will be enforced. Students will be expected to practice social distancing when entering and exiting the building, in classrooms, and moving throughout the school.

Frequent hand-washing will be encouraged, and upon arrival, before and after meals, after bathroom use, and after coughing or sneezing.

Parents are being strongly encouraged to drive their children to and from school. Those students who do take buses will be expected to ride the same bus to school in the morning and the same bus to home in the afternoon every day, with their faces covered.

A forum will be held for parents online Thursday at 5 p.m.

Meeting ID: 818 8380 4614
Password: 8es2JK
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