Fairfield Hopes To Fully Reopen Schools In October

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield students will return to the classroom part-time in September, as the school district introduces a hybrid model in an effort to keep students healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But the part-time approach may not last for long. Officials plan to re-evaluate Sept. 25 whether it’s safe to switch to full-time classroom learning.

“If the health data remains strong, we will bring students back full-time in early October,” superintendent Mike Cummings said at the beginning of a five-hour special school board meeting held Tuesday to discuss the upcoming academic year. “… We’ll do everything we can to get all students back.”

Until then, elementary schoolers will spend half the day at school and half the day learning remotely, with student cohorts switching learning environments during the lunch hour. Middle and high schoolers will be in the classroom two days a week and learn from home during the other three days, with one cohort attending in-person Monday and Thursday, the other at school Tuesday and Friday, and all students learning remotely Wednesday. The district is also offering a separate full-time remote option for students who choose not to return to the classroom.

School board members expressed apprehension about the hybrid model, which involves middle and high school students working independently at home for two of the three remote days.

“I’m most concerned about those kids who, in a normal year, come home and are frustrated with homework,” board member Bonnie Rotelli said. “… If this is going to go on longer than four weeks, I personally want to see a live interaction every single day.”

The likelihood that the hybrid model would be temporary was another major topic of discussion. One of the most significant barriers to reopening school buildings full-time could be the difficulty of maintaining a 6-foot distance between students, officials said.

“It’s that 6-foot distance that seems to be the greatest impediment,” said Henry Yoon, chair of the Fairfield Board of Health. “… The buildings don’t plan on getting any bigger any time in the near future.”

Health Department Director Sands Cleary said it was possible the state would relax the 6-foot metric. Other reopening considerations include whether schools see consistent face mask use from students and staff, if people are coming to school with coronavirus symptoms, and how case numbers change across Fairfield County after the academic year begins.

Fairfield’s case rate has been low in recent weeks. In the past month, the town increased from a total of 657 confirmed or probable cases July 10 to 724 on Aug. 10, according to state data.

“A big part of this is going to be, are we seeing an increase in cases?” Cleary said.

Fairfield students return to school Sept. 8. For more information about the reopening plans, visit bit.ly/2XR7Z7t or bit.ly/33S87Hm.