Full Reopening Of Stratford Elementary Schools To Start Monday

STRATFORD, CT — Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Stratford and throughout the state, but elementary students in town will still return to school full-time starting Monday, as planned.

Superintendent Janet Robinson confirmed in a letter Tuesday that the full reopening would move forward, after school officials last month presented the reopening plan to the Board of Education, detailing how they would get students back in the classroom four days a week.

Robinson’s letter began by acknowledging the recent spike in coronavirus cases. She then went on to defend her decision to stick to the reopening schedule.

“I have heard from several of you that you believe we should stay in a Hybrid Model longer, and I certainly can see the rationale for that,” she said. “What I also know, however, (is) that schools are the one place that all mitigation strategies are in place all day, and many students are not as successful at online learning as others might be and really need to be in school with other students and direct attention from the teacher.”

The reopening schedule, which remains tentative based on virus numbers and the advice of the town health department, dictates that students in kindergarten and first grade will be in the classroom full-time starting Monday, along with English language learners. Grades two through four would follow Nov. 23, and grades five and six would return full-time Nov. 30.

Stratford is in the state’s red alert coronavirus zone, with a rate of 28.6 daily cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period. Communities fall within the red zone when they have at least 15 daily cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. The state has previously encouraged towns with an average daily rate above 25 to consider switching to distance learning.

“What you should know about our school community’s status is that we are identifying each case and taking prescribed actions,” Robinson said. “Currently, we have no identified cases of in-school transmission. All of our cases appear to come from community or family gatherings.”

District-wide as of Thursday, 27 students and 19 staff members were in isolation with the virus, and 547 students and staffers were in quarantine, according to the district’s data dashboard, which reflects the most current available numbers.

Both Stratford and Bunnell high schools had reverted to full-time distance learning amid staffing challenges related to the requirement that close contacts of people who test positive for the virus must quarantine for two weeks.

Robinson recognized a similar situation could occur at the elementary level.

“This plan, of course, is dependent on having enough staff to cover all classes,” she said. “… So, our schedule will depend greatly on the health of staff and students and the (data) from our local Department of Public Health.”