Superintendent Pleads For Help In Keeping West Haven Schools Open

WEST HAVEN, CT — Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro is pleading with the community to work together to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus to keep West Haven schools open.

Cavallaro wrote a letter Friday to the school community to “make a plea for your help.”

“I am proud of the commitment our district has made to opening schools and educating our students,” Cavallaro wrote. “I believe that our staff at all levels have been working hard and doing an excellent job at mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in our buildings. Despite the success we have had in schools, transmission is increasing though community contacts and positive cases have been on the rise in our city.”

West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced Thursday that the city is reverting to Phase 2 of Connecticut’s Reopening Plan for at least two weeks before reassessing the decision.

West Haven is currently listed as "level orange," which means residents should avoid larger events and gatherings, the size of public events must be scaled back, and indoor events where social distancing and mask wearing cannot be maintained must be canceled.

“It is for this reason we desperately need the support of our community in order to keep our schools open,” Cavallaro said. “With the holidays approaching and opportunities for social gatherings increasing, it is imperative that we adjust, as a community, and reduce our risk. We are asking that you limit unnecessary travel and participation in social gatherings. Understandably, this is an imposition on the traditional celebrations many of us have looked forward to in the past; however, the spread in our community directly impact the resources (educators, staff and substitutes) available and that, could ultimately result in the closure of our buildings despite our successful and concerted efforts to keep them safely open.”

Cavallaro also shared information from the Connecticut State Health Department that since the reopening of schools began, the experience in Connecticut “indicates that transmission has been a rare event inside of school buildings even in communities with elevated transmission rates. This is likely due to the high-level of planning and compliance with mitigation strategies designed to prevent transmission between individuals.”