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In Hartford County, the Henry Barnard Elementary School in Enfield will be closed on both Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6 after 40 of its 75 staff members tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Christopher Drezek announced.
“Although we have tried to cover the building with staff members from other schools, we have reached a point where we simply cannot provide adequate adult supervision to safely open for in-person learning,” he said. "After consultation with the North Central District Health Department, we have decided to cancel in-person classes at Henry Barnard School (for the rest of the week).”
Drezek said that the missed days will be treated “(as) a traditional snow day,” and he is hopeful of reopening for in-person learning as soon as Monday, May 9, though he noted that the district won’t know until the weekend which staff members will be cleared to return.
The closure affects all school programming, including before and after-school activities, all athletic and extracurricular practices and competitions, and all weekend events.
“Please understand this is the last message I wanted to send to you because I realize the impact this has on families, as well as students,” Drezek added. “I want to again commend the Henry Barnard staff, as well as the dozens of district staff members who came together to keep Henry Barnard open the past three days.
“It was a Herculean effort to make it as far as we did, but the lack of available staff has left me with no other option but to close,” he continued. “We are closely monitoring this situation and working with the North Central District Health Department.”
More updates are expected to be released during the week. Check Daily Voice for updates.
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