Middle School, High School Reopening Update In Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — In an update Tuesday, Wallingford Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said he is not recommending an early return for middle school or high school students to in-person learning.

The Board of Education recently approved closing the town's high schools and middle schools for full distance learning until Jan. 19. However, Menzo recently said he would consider bringing the schools back to in-person learning sooner than Jan. 19 if coronavirus cases at the middle school and high school level dropped.

Menzo said Tuesday that he will provide an update next week to the Board of Education, families, and staff based on any new information and data that may impact reopening.

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“I do feel the need to reiterate that all decisions regarding the closing and reopening of schools are made in consultation with the Wallingford Health Department, District Medical Advisor, and Nurse Coordinator,” Menzo said in an email to parents. “All school closures have been the result of a high number of students and staff needing to quarantine not because the virus was spread in the building.”

Menzo announced Monday that Rock Hill Elementary School is temporarily switching to full distance learning for all students due to the impact of recent quarantining of students and staff. Students are scheduled to return to in-person classes on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Menzo also reminded parents that the following factors are taken into consideration when closing a school:

• Recent school confirmed case data
• Recent school quarantine data
• Recent school pending testing data
• Review of personnel needs

“I also wanted to share that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is planning to issue new quarantine guidance over the next two days,” Menzo said. “The initial information indicates that a shorter quarantine period will be recommended which will have a significant positive impact on staffing of our schools in the future. The State of Connecticut will then provide guidance to districts early next week on our regularly scheduled Tuesday morning conference call.”

Change in contact tracing practices

Menzo also said the district is discussing modifying its contact tracing practices.

“We knew our initial protocol was very conservative,” he said. “We have heard from many students, parents, and staff suggesting that we revisit it. In consultation with all of our health team and in discussions with surrounding districts, we are contemplating a change once middle and high schools reopen.”

As of Tuesday, the district has quarantined all students and staff in a classroom regardless of distance from the confirmed positive case.

“However, for buses, we have quarantined only those students who sat 6 feet from the confirmed positive case,” Menzo said. “Based on two months of data of buses from which we had to quarantine students, these selective quarantining strategies have been extremely effective.

“With that said, there is the future potential for implementing the same strategy used on buses in middle and high school classrooms. If implemented, only those individuals within 6 feet from the confirmed positive case for more than 15 minutes would be asked to quarantine. Existing teacher seating charts would be used to establish who would be quarantined.”

Menzo said class sizes at the middle schools and high schools are extremely low and students are at least 6 feet apart in most instances; therefore, this “should reduce the disruption to students and staff with the potential for unnecessary quarantining.”

“Needless to say, COVID-19 continues to have its physical and emotional impact on our students, families, and staff,” Menzo said. “I know that all of our staff continue to work hard to do what is best for their students. Based on all of the state data and the many weekly telephone calls with epidemiologists and health officials, Connecticut schools continue to be one of the safest places in any community. Again, our schools have only closed due to the number of students and staff needing to quarantine, not because the virus is spreading within our classrooms.”