'In Their Best Interests': Stratford Supt. Defends Reopening

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford students returned to school Monday as teachers prepared for a protest and the district reported 15 new coronavirus cases. But the superintendent maintained reopening was the right decision.

Superintendent Janet Robinson defended the move to bring students back in an email Monday.

“Our purpose as educators is to not only educate our children but to always keep front and center, 'What is in the best interests of our students?' Being in school with all the same safety mitigations we have had all along is in their best interests,” she said.

Monday marked the district’s first day with students in the classroom after nearly two weeks of remote learning amid the Thanksgiving holiday and increasing virus numbers. As was the situation prior to the distance learning period, most students are following a hybrid schedule, except for kindergartners, first-graders and English language learners, who are in school four days per week.

“There has not been a single student to teacher transmission to date,” Robinson said. “Most exposure has occurred outside of school.”

Teachers have expressed health and safety concerns about reopening classrooms, and the Stratford Education Association is pushing for remote instruction. Under the union’s planned work to rule protest, set to start Tuesday, teachers will do no more than the minimum requirements of their contract.

The district reported new cases Monday at the following schools:

• Bunnell High School, 3
• Second Hill Lane Elementary School, 3
• Eli Whitney Elementary School, 2
• Johnson House Elementary School, 1 (presumptive positive)
• Wooster Middle School, 2
• Flood Middle School, 2
• Victoria Soto Elementary School, 2

As of early Tuesday, 53 students and staff were in isolation with the virus and 259 were quarantined, according to the district dashboard, which reflects the most current available numbers.