Back to masks: Students to return to school
Aug. 21—Students wearing masks sat in small groups around tables at Norwich Free Academy this past week while building sculptures out of colorful pipe cleaners, straws and beads.
They had just met that week and were participating in team-building activities during a freshmen orientation program. They were not only new to the school, but also getting ready to return to a year of five days a week learning with all students in class.
Freshman Kylie Ballestrini said she is looking forward to being in school in person this year, making new friends and participating in dance. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, last year she learned remotely and in a hybrid format, in which cohorts of students went to school two days a week at a time, before returning fully in person toward the end of the year.
"It's interesting getting to meet new people and getting to see everyone's faces again from being online," she said.
Catherine Grube, a junior and volunteer, said that while five days of school a week with all her classmates felt a little overwhelming because they're not used to it, she's glad she will be back with all her friends and have normal classes, especially for junior year.
She said her advice is "just to not be so nervous because everyone is kind of in the same boat right now." She noted the class sizes are a little smaller than normal, there is still social distancing and people are still wearing masks, wiping down desks and using hand sanitizer.
Both students and staff will wear masks indoors until at least Sept. 30, under an executive order issued by Gov. Ned Lamont, but schools can allow vaccinated educators to remove their mask when at the front of a classroom teaching, according to guidance released Thursday by the state Departments of Education and Public Health.
State guidance notes that vaccination, available to people age 12 and older, "is the most effective strategy available to school communities to protect continuous in-person learning and other school-based activities." The state will offer vaccination clinics at middle and high schools this summer and early fall, and will make available programs for weekly testing.
Teachers and staff are required to be vaccinated under a mandate that goes into effect Sept. 27, Lamont announced Thursday.
If there is a positive coronavirus case, there will continue to be "contact tracing, isolation of infected individuals, and quarantine of close contacts," as in the past year, according to the guidance.
People who are within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of someone who tests positive will need to quarantine, but "fully vaccinated students and staff no longer need to quarantine from school or other activities following contact with a COVID-19 case if they remain symptom free," according to the guidance. They should, however, get tested within three to five days of the exposure and wear a mask until they get a negative result.
A student exposed to a positive coronavirus case in the classroom does not need to quarantine if the student was at least 3 feet from the person and both were wearing masks, the guidance states.
Interscholastic athletics can move forward, it says.
The guidance notes that the social distancing maintained in schools last year may not be feasible "with students returning to full-time in-person learning." Schools should maximize social distancing, but those that cannot provide at least 3 feet of distance "should consider leaning heavily on other risk mitigation strategies," such as mask use, cohorts, testing and ventilation.
Continuing mitigation strategies
Ledge Light Health District Director Stephen Mansfield said social distancing in schools will be a challenge this year, compared to last year, since 50% more kids will be in school, with some facilities more challenging than others. While he said there's "no magic bullet" to make up for less social distancing, strategies like appropriate mask-wearing and policies for lunchtime, such as having half the students indoors and half outdoors when the weather allows, will be important.
Uncas Health District Director Patrick McCormack said fewer coronavirus cases will mean fewer people need to quarantine and isolate, so there will be less disruption to the school year. He said mitigation strategies, such as opening windows on school buses, wearing masks and not coming to school if sick, are important. Getting vaccinated, if eligible, can keep people at work or at school.
Some mitigation strategies found to be less helpful will be relaxed. For example, students will have much more access to supplies and equipment in school.
He said following safety protocols outside of the school environment continues to be important, and there is a community piece to keeping kids in schools.
"Knowing that there's something you can do, like getting vaccinated, that will help keep those kids in school may be enticing to people to consider getting vaccinated," he added.
'As normal as possible'
School officials, including Lyme-Old Lyme Superintendent Ian Neviaser, said they will follow the governor's mask mandate and other safety protocols while focusing on making the school year as normal as possible for students and staff this year.
"I think we did a great job of that last year," Neviaser said. "This year, our hope was to get completely back to normal, but unfortunately the delta variant has not made that as viable as we would have hoped."
Lyme-Old Lyme was one of the rare districts in the state that remained fully open for in-person learning last year. While there was a virtual option for students, that will no longer be the case.
A state Department of Education spokesperson said schools are returning to five-day-a-week instruction in person, but in extreme circumstances, parents can work with their local school boards to set up remote learning, but that is ultimately up to the local school district.
Some mitigation strategies that Neviaser said have been proven to be mostly "feel good" measures, such as one-way hallways, plastic dividers and additional cleaning measures, will not be utilized this year. Increased ventilation will continue, with the HVAC system programmed to flush the air in the buildings more often than before the pandemic.
The district will reassess the mask requirement when the governor's executive order expires.
"Obviously, we want to get back to completely normal as soon as possible, but we're going to do that in the safest manner we can," Neviaser said.
North Stonington students will adhere to 3 feet of distancing in classrooms, and 6 feet of distancing in assemblies and larger gatherings. The former education building, which was used for some band and music classes to maintain 6 feet of social distancing, no longer will be used for classes.
Despite the surge in cases, Superintendent Peter Nero remains hopeful that COVID-19 will not disrupt student learning.
"Like everyone else, we thought when we entered last year, we'd be in a different situation this year," he said. "We're just hoping everybody gets vaccinated and we can get back to being as normal as we can."
Norwich Public Schools Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow said students returning on Aug. 30 will find their schools have new items purchased with some federal COVID-19 grants and based on responses from student polls.
"We purchased a lot of wonderful things for kids and teachers with grants," she said. "Musical instruments, books, arts and (physical education) equipment. Furniture is being delivered, and is in line with what kids wanted. The kids said 'we need new desks, and we want sports, and we want activities.' That feels good. We're doing right by them."
Vaccination efforts
Stringfellow estimated at least 85% of Norwich schools' staff members are vaccinated. The two middle schools offered free vaccine clinics in spring when students age 12 and up became eligible. More than 100 students at each of the two middle schools participated, she said.
LEARN Executive Director Kate Ericson said her biggest concern is how to provide safety for students who do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated due to their age.
Groton held multiple vaccination clinics at Fitch High School in the spring, and will hold clinics in September for students, families, and staff members to get two doses of a vaccine, Superintendent Susan Austin said.
She said elementary students, who are not eligible for the shots, are mostly kept in cohorts. Lunch and recess times will be expanded, so there will be fewer kids in the cafeteria and on the playground at a time. They will have assigned seating in case contact tracing is needed.
Austin said educators will continue to help students reengage in learning in the classroom, as they did during summer programs and activities, from robotics engineering to learning in a finance class about how to buy a house and pay taxes.
Ella T. Grasso Technical High School in Groton and Norwich Technical High School will focus on mask-wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, and ventilation, Connecticut Technical Education and Career System Director of Communications Kerry Markey said.
"We strongly recommend vaccinations for all of our students for their safety as well as for the safety of their classmates," Markey said. "However, vaccinations are not mandatory to attend school or participate in extracurriculars. If students have not yet been vaccinated, families may consider doing so to reduce the need to quarantine if exposed, and allow students to continue their in-person classes and activities uninterrupted."
Social distancing as much as possible
In an Aug. 9 letter to families, Stonington Superintendent Van Riley said the district continues to follow local health department recommendations of a minimum of 3 feet social distancing and cohorting as much as possible for when students return to school fully in person on Sept. 8.
Riley said there will be no field trips for elementary and middle school students, a practice that will be reviewed monthly, and a limited number of academic and local sports trips will be approved at the high school level. He said there will be no K-5 activities until at least October.
Volunteers and nonemployees won't be allowed in school buildings during school hours except for emergencies.
Riley said Stonington will apply to offer free coronavirus testing to students in grades K-6, but that probably won't start until the middle or end of September.
The state Department of Education is not allowing remote learning this school year, though Riley said there are exceptions for special education students and those who are medically compromised.
He said vaccines for eligible people "are the best way to ensure in-person learning and extracurricular activities continue uninterrupted..."
New London Public Schools will open on Sept. 7 for full, in-person learning, and Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie said the governor's mandate for masks is not a change for the district, which continued to mandate masks over the summer.
"We will continue to work closely with our medical partners to share information about opportunities for vaccines and COVID testing regularly," she added.
NFA Head of School Brian Kelly told the board of trustees that the school does have parents that are "vehemently against" mask-wearing.
"There's a lot of people that don't believe this is necessary," he said. "There are opportunities for parents to get exemptions, but that is going to be up to our department of health. ... We're still unsure. We're still hoping to get some guidance how to deal with this, because a parent may not be inclined to share the reason why they need a medical exemption."
State guidance released on Thursday said: "Individual school districts should develop and continuously review, in consultation with their legal counsel and district medical advisors, specific policies regarding what limited exemptions to the wearing of face coverings by students or staff will be considered allowable while inside the school building." The state says the need for medical exemptions is rare and schools should consider "on an individualized basis, appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities who are unable to wear a mask."
Montville and Ledyard, as well as other schools, will exempt students from wearing a mask with a physician's approval and signature on an exemption form. There will be no remote learning, but Montville will offer asynchronous remote learning to students who are isolated or in quarantine due to COVID-19.
Montville's next vaccination clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday in the high school cafeteria.
Masks are not required in outdoor settings at Ledyard schools, but social distancing of at least 6 feet will be required, when possible. Access to school buildings is limited to staff, students and essential personnel.
Anyone identified with COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated and sent home. Unvaccinated individuals who have been confirmed to have the illness are advised to quarantine for 10 days from symptom onset, or from their test date if asymptomatic. They may return to school if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours and any symptoms they have are improving.
Day Staff Writers Claire Bessette, Erica Moser, Elizabeth Regan, Greg Smith and Johana Vazquez, and Melina Khan and Kevin Gorden, both special to The Day, contributed to this report.
