Stratford Schools To Offer Only ‘In-Person’ Learning Next Year

STRATFORD, CT — There will be no remote learning option offered to Stratford students next year, Superintendent Janet Robinson announced Tuesday.

In a letter to the school community, Robinson updated families on developments for the planning of the 2021-22 school year. Robinson cited guidance from the Connecticut Department of Education that said the mandate for districts to provide remote learning opportunities for all students would not extend beyond the current school year.

Recognizing the “tremendous importance of being in school,” the guidance from the state Department of Education states:

"There is no current requirement under Connecticut or federal law that after the period of emergency this school year, school districts are mandated to provide all students voluntary daily access to remote learning at the unilateral request of the student/family. The requirement that school districts provide temporary remote learning opportunities for all parents and students provided in the Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut's Plan to Learn and Grow Together, and Addendum 1, Temporarily Opting into Voluntary Remote Learning Due to COVID-19 will no longer be in place after this school year. At this time, the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) do not anticipate the need to mandate, due to public health necessity that all school districts provide an option for students and their families to opt-in to a voluntary remote option after this school year."

“With this in mind, the Stratford Public Schools will only be offering ‘in-person’ learning next year,” Robinson wrote. “There will be no remote learning as an option. We will continue to follow all guidelines from the DPH for necessary mitigation strategies.

“We know everyone will be relieved to be back to some level of normalcy.”

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