Danbury Plans Phased Return To In-School Learning

DANBURY, CT — School will be back in session — at least on the hybrid model, at least in the elementary school grades — on Jan. 19.

The middle school will return on Jan. 25, and the high school on Feb. 1, if everything goes according to the new plan described by Superintendent Sal Pascarella in a community forum web conference Wednesday evening.

Danbury remains among the reddest of the coronavirus red zone municipalities in the state, but Kathy O'Dowd, health and nursing services coordinator, said there has been positive data as far as education facilities are concerned.

"What the state has said to us, is that even though we are in the red zone, and have a community spread much more than 25 per 100,00, they have been able to tell us that the schools that have been open have not seen spread."

Gov. Ned Lamont has long expressed the belief that schools, with their closely enforced regimen of deep cleaning and mitigation protocols like mask-wearing and social distancing, are the safest places to be. Pascarella said his plan was to keep focused on those protocols.

"With that, we believe that we’re going to be on the right path when we come back to bring folks back safely."

Nearly 700 new coronavirus cases were reported in Danbury over the past week, according to the state Department of Public Health.

O'Dowd said the situation was "fluid," and Pascarella made it clear that the reopening schedule was subject to change based upon the forecasts and recommendations of health experts.