When School Starts Again in Ct

Press Releases

06/25/2020

Governor Lamont Announces Plans for the 2020-21 School Year Amid the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Educational activity Commissioner Miguel Cardona today announced details of the framework to allow all students – in all schoolhouse districts statewide – the opportunity to have access to in-school, full-time educational activity at the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year, every bit long as public wellness data continues to support this model. While Connecticut has determined reopening schools for in-person instruction can be achieved based upon the state's successful COVID-nineteen containment efforts, this model will be supported with more intensive mitigation strategies and specific monitoring, containment, and grade cancellation plans.

"While we've fabricated good strides to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in Connecticut, the virus hasn't gone away and we demand to do what we tin to keep students and staff prophylactic while as well doing our best to provide our young people with admission to an pedagogy that prepares them for the time to come," Governor Lamont said. "Working with public health and medical experts, and with the support of our educators, we are preparing a number of steps that protect the health and safe of everyone who makes contact with our school arrangement."

In assessing the approach to a required operating model, the Connecticut Land Department of Education (SDE) considered input from school representatives, educators, families, students, educational stakeholders, advancement organizations, and spousal relationship representatives. The department conducted a review of nationally and globally published school reopening plans. The importance of access to in-person schooling rose as a priority related to educational opportunities, safety, wellbeing, and social-emotional learning.

"This pandemic represents more than a virus, it represents an celebrated disruption to our school communities and created barriers to how we best deliver academic and non-academic supports in a way that is attainable, equitable, and meaningful," Commissioner Cardona said. "Addressing the educational setbacks and the social-emotional toll acquired past COVID-xix is best addressed past maximizing in-person instructional time. In developing this program, we worked in close consultation with public wellness officials to prioritize the safety of our school communities and, but every bit intensively, engaged students, parents, and educators for their critical input. We stand with our districts, educators and families equally we commit to making 2020-21 a twelvemonth devoted to creativity, innovation, courage, and reimagining education together."

In addition to the framework released today, SDE plans to release a more than detailed guidance document next week that will provide more than comprehensive information for school districts.

**Download: Executive summary of Connecticut's 2020-21 school planning
**Download: Presentation on Connecticut'southward 2020-21 schoolhouse planning

Framework for Connecticut Schools During the 2020-21 Academic Twelvemonth

Guiding Principles

As Connecticut schools plan to reopen, the guidance and considerations outlined in this framework are grounded in six guiding principles:

1. Safeguarding the wellness and safety of students and staff;
2. Allowing all students the opportunity to render into the classrooms full time starting in the autumn;
3. Monitoring the schoolhouse populations and, when necessary, potentially cancelling classes in the time to come to appropriately incorporate COVID-19 spread;
4. Emphasizing equity, access, and support to the students and communities who are emerging from this historic disruption;
5. Fostering strong two-way advice with partners such as families, educators and staff; and
6. Factoring into decisions nearly reopening the challenges to the physical safe and social-emotional well-being of our students when they are not in school.

These guiding principles require all districts to develop their plans with a certain level of consistency, however they retain wide discretion in implementing approaches to reopening given unique local considerations. School districts must residuum their planning with contingency plans to provide robust, blended learning or remote learning for all grades in the consequence that a school, district, or region has to cancel or limit in-person classes due to health precautions.

Main Operational Considerations

Cohorting

• Districts should emphasize grouping students by the same form/group of students and teacher (into a accomplice) so each squad functions independently as much as possible. Consider this methodology past grade levels.
• Placing students in cohorts is strongly encouraged for grades M-eight, and encouraged where viable for grades nine-12.

Social Distancing and Facilities

• Review building infinite and reconfigure available classroom space, such every bit gymnasiums and auditoriums, to maximize social distancing, consistent with public wellness guidelines in place at that time.

Transportation

• Districts should plan for buses to operate close to chapters with heightened health and rubber protocols, including requiring all students and operators vesture face coverings.
• Plans must be developed to activate increased social distancing protocols based upon community spread.

Confront Coverings

• All staff and students will exist expected to habiliment a protective confront roofing or confront mask that completely covers the olfactory organ and mouth when within the school edifice, except for certain exceptions including when teachers are providing didactics.

Ensuring Equity and Admission

• Equitable admission to educational activity is a top priority that supports a full-fourth dimension in-school model by mitigating any barriers to education or opportunity gaps that increased during the pandemic. Efforts to back up equity, close the opportunity gap, and provide a broad range of support for students in the state is best achieved with in-person schooling opportunities for all ages.
• Districts should identify gaps and develop activity plans for reopening that specifically address inclusion, disinterestedness, and access for all learners with strategies and clearly defined activeness steps.

Twitter: @GovNedLamont

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Source: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2020/06-2020/Governor-Lamont-Announces-Plans-for-the-2020-21-School-Year-Amid-the-Ongoing-COVID19-Pandemic

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