Rocky Hill Schools To Close Due To Coronavirus Concerns

ROCKY HILL, CT — Rocky Hill schools will close from Monday March 16 to Friday, March 27 due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

The district released the following statement on Friday:

Dear Students, Families and Staff Members,

I want to thank each of you for your understanding and your ongoing support during this very challenging time. As you are aware, the situation with COVID-19 is changing on a daily, perhaps even hourly, basis. Last night during our Board of Education meeting, virtually every school district in the central Connecticut region closed for two weeks. Although Rocky Hill is known for sometimes standing alone on days with minimal winter weather impacts, the current situation is far different. Given all of the various factors and considerations involved with this situation, we made the decision to close for two weeks after the Board meeting last night. The current plan is to close school for students from Monday, March 16, 2020, through Friday, March 27, 2020. We will reassess the situation with COVID-19 prior to March 27 and provide additional information regarding next steps.

Earlier today, I met with building principals, the central office administrative team, and the co-presidents of the teachers' union. We met to discuss emergency planning for the next several weeks. I do not want to alarm anyone; however, the possibility of a longer term shut-down certainly exists. To that end, our teaching staff is prepared to provide instruction through a variety of modalities. Math packets, K-8, were distributed to students at the end of the school day today. In addition, elementary teachers asked their students to bring a selection of books home with them for reading during this extended school closure.

Yesterday, Governor Lamont, through executive order, waived the 180-day annual schooling requirement. With that being stated, we still have an obligation as a school district to attempt to reach 180 days of instruction. This means that the school year will likely be extended as far as June 30, 2020.

As this unprecedented situation continues to unfold, I have asked our teachers to make a best faith effort to ensure that some level of instructional consistency is maintained for our students. We have a short-term plan and a long-term plan. Over the next two weeks (the short-term), we will operate on a "supplementary learning" model. As I noted earlier, at the K-8 level, math packets were distributed to students. In addition, a “Home Connections” link will be posted on the district’s website. The link will provide access to a variety of supplementary learning resources. At the high school level, readings or course-specific learning tasks will be assigned. We will follow this supplementary approach for the next two weeks. It is important to note that students in grades two through twelve were sent home today with Chromebooks. Parents and guardians, we are requesting your support and your understanding with respect to the fact that this is not an ideal situation for learning. We are in uncharted territory. We need to remain calm, rational, and flexible.

In the event that the shut-down extends beyond two weeks, the district will likely transition to a "distance learning" approach. Under this "long-term" concept, the distance learning days would actually count as instructional days, i.e., actual school. As I noted earlier, I met with the teachers' union co-presidents this morning to address scheduling teacher work days in order to prepare for this possibility. To that end, we have scheduled official teacher work days for Monday, March 16, and Tuesday, March 17.

I will continue to keep everyone apprised of any new information as this situation continues to evolve. Please make every effort to stay healthy!