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Friday, nov 15
Tag:
In-person Learning
Schools
Covid-
19: CT School To Close For Week After More Than Half Of Its Staff Members Test Positive
A school in Connecticut will be closed for the rest of the week after being hit with a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases that knocked out more than half of its staff members. 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. Related story - COVID-19: More Than 30 Staff Members Test Positive At School In Enfield “Although we have tried to cover the building with staff members from other schools, we have reached…
News
Covid-
19: Darien School District Announces Delayed Start For First Day Of Classes After Break
A school district in Fairfield County announced a change in the starting time for the first day of classes of the new calendar year amid a climb in cases as the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron strain becomes more prevalent. Darien Public Schools Superintendent Alan Addley announced a two-hour delayed opening schedule on Monday, Jan. 3 to provide teachers with the opportunity to prepare remote and in-person learning for their students "given the expected but undetermined number of students to be quarantined." On Friday, Dec. 31, Westport Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said the…
News
Covid-
19: Westport School District Extends Winter Break For Students As It Weighs Options
A school district in Connecticut is extending winter break for students as it assesses a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. The announcement by the Westport School District came on Friday afternoon, Dec. 31. The district said it will extend the winter break by one day for all students and that Monday, Jan. 3 will not be a school day for students. All faculty and staff will report on Monday. "This will enable the district to work collaboratively to develop a range of responses to the changing conditions over the coming weeks," Westport Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice said …
News
Covid-
19: Study Reveals How Long It Takes Omicron Symptoms To Surface
Click here for a new, updated story - COVID-19: 'Omicron's A Different Animal,' Says Expert, Sounding Alarm Over In-Person Learning Details are now emerging on how long it takes for symptoms of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron strain to show up. A survey following an outbreak of 111 confirmed or probable Omicron cases among mostly fully vaccinated guests at a Christmas party at a closed location in a restaurant in Oslo, Norway found symptoms surfaced at a relatively fast rate. The party was held on Friday, Nov. 26, two days after one of the attendees returned from South …
Schools
Covid-
19: Lamont Announces Update To CT Safety Protocols In Schools
Connecticut has introduced new COVID-19 guidance for schools in an effort to keep children learning in the classroom for as long as possible. Gov. Ned Lamont announced the rollout of the “Screen and Stay” initiative for Connecticut schools that choose to participate in the program. Under the new initiative, students and staff identified as close contacts to a known COVID-19 case but who are not yet fully vaccinated will be able to remain in school if they were wearing masks and don’t develop symptoms. Lamont said that “the initiative will bring immediate relief to the frequent and repeated…
Schools
Covid-
19: CT School Goes Remote Amid Surge Of New Infections
A surge in new COVID-19 cases is forcing a Connecticut elementary school to transition to its distance learning model to start the school year. The Hebron School District in Tolland County issued a notice to the community that due to the speed of the spread of the virus within the Gilead Hill School, it will have to go remote. According to district officials, the school will reopen for in-person learning on Tuesday, Sept. 14. Schools Superintendent Thomas Baird said that the number of COVID-19 cases in staff and students is at a similar level of infections during other periods of high tra…
News
Alert Issued For Online Scams While Shopping For Back-To-School Supplies
With the new school year fast approaching and children returning to the classroom following a lost year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are being cautioned to be aware of back-to-school shopping scams. As most classrooms prepare for in-person learning during the fall for the first time in more than a year, there have been reported shortages of some school merchandise, creating an opportunity for fraudsters to target parents through online scams. Sandra Guile of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) said that “what parents are challenged with at this point in time is juggling the transition…
News
Covid-
19: Vaccinated Students, Teachers Don't Need To Wear Masks In Classroom, CDC Now Says
Fully vaccinated teachers and students do not have to wear masks while in the classroom starting this fall under brand-new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 guidance released on Friday, July 9. The updated recommendation comes as more than 55 percent of the United States' population has received at least one vaccine dose, including more than 47 percent who are fully vaccinated. Children under the age of 12 are not currently eligible to receive any of the three COVID-19 vaccines in the nation. The CDC's updated guidance recommends that individuals who are not fully v…
Schools
Covid-
19: American Federation Of Teachers President Calls For Full School Reopenings In Fall
The head of the second-largest teachers union in the United States is calling on a full return to five-day-a-week in-person learning at all schools in the fall, declaring that her organization was “all-in.” In an address posted on social media, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers said that with more and more Americans becoming eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, it is imperative that schools fully reopen for students and staff during the next academic year. “Conditions have changed,” she said. "We can and we must reopen schools in the fall for in-person te…
Schools
Covid-
19: Yale To Require Students Get Vaccinated Before Fall Semester
Students returning to campus at Yale University next fall will be required to get vaccinated before heading back to the classroom. With its intention of fully reopening the college to full in-person learning in the fall, Yale, located in New Haven, announced that anyone returning to campus for the 2021-2022 school year must be vaccinated, barring specific religious or health concerns. Last week, Christine Chen, the Chief of Student Health at Yale announced that the university had procured enough doses to vaccinate all students before the current semester concludes. For students currently …
Politics
First Lady Jill Biden Tours CT Elementary School With New Education Secretary
First Lady Jill Biden and newly confirmed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona were in his Connecticut hometown to take a tour of an area elementary school. Biden and lifelong Meriden resident Miguel Cardona, the former Connecticut Education Commissioner, were back in his hometown on Wednesday, March 3 to take a tour of Benjamin Franklin School. According to the White House, the visit was to inspect and evaluate what safety and COVID-19 mitigation measures have been put in place in Connecticut schools as the Biden administration seeks to return all students to in-person learning in the presid…
Politics
Newly Confirmed Education Secretary Cardona Will Join First Lady Jill Biden In CT Visit
A familiar face will be joining Dr. Jill Biden on her first trip to Connecticut since becoming the first lady. Lifelong Meriden resident Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s former Education Commissioner and President Joe Biden’s newly confirmed Education Secretary, announced he will be joining the First Lady on her planned trip that was announced last week. Original story - First Lady Jill Biden To Visit Connecticut During the visit, Cardona and Biden are expected to visit Benjamin Franklin Elementary school in Meriden, and the Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Waterford. Cardona was confirmed by …
Schools
Covid-
19: CDC Releases New Guidance, Strategies For Reopening Schools
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging schools and school districts to reopen safely and has just released new guidance for doing just that. On Friday, Feb. 12, the CDC unveiled the new science-based plan. “It is critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible, and remain open, to achieve the benefits of in-person learning and key support services,” health officials said. “To enable schools to open safely and remain open, it is important to adopt and consistently implement actions to slow the spread of COVID in schools and in the community.” The…
Schools
Covid-
19: New CDC Director Gives Guidance On Schools Reopening
With President Joe Biden seeking to open all elementary and middle schools for in-person learning within his first 100 days in office, the CDC has provided new guidance on getting students back into the classroom. The CDC is now saying that it is possible to return to the classroom without fully vaccinating all educators beforehand. “There is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday, Feb. 3. "Vaccination of teachers is not…
Police & Fire
Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For CT Commissioner Named By Biden To Be Education Secretary
Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona appeared before the Senate’s education committee on Wednesday, Feb. 3 for a confirmation hearing after being nominated to serve as the United States' Education Secretary by President Joe Biden. Cardona, a lifelong Meriden resident, was announced as a choice to join Biden’s Cabinet as Education Secretary in late December. If nominated, the 45-year-old Cardona will be tasked with overseeing one of Biden’s key goals for his first 100 days by re-opening the majority of the nation’s elementary and middle schools for in-person learning. Before d…
Schools
Covid-
19: New CT Executive Order On Substitute Teachers Takes Effect
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a new Executive Order that will grant school districts additional hiring power to help avoid staffing shortages during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lamont’s 83rd Executive Order since the pandemic began, signed this week, will allow the short-term hiring of substitute teachers who have not yet received their bachelor’s degree. Specifically, the new edict allows Miguel Cardona, the state’s Commissioner of Education to suspend the requirement that local school districts request and receive a waiver from the commissioner to hire short-term su…
Schools
Covid-
19: Lamont Sticking To Call For Schools To Stay Open For In-Person Learning -- For Now
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is doubling down on his stance that schools should stay open as long as possible, calling them a safe space, despite the new spike in COVID-19 cases statewide. On the same day that Connecticut saw 2,042 new COVID-19 cases and a spike in positive infection rate near 6 percent, Lamont reiterated his stance that school buildings are among the safest places to be during the pandemic, vowing to continue in-person learning until it is unsafe to do so. The governor said that other COVID-19 restrictions put in place have been in part to help keep students and teachers in…
Schools
Covid-
19: Norwalk Public Schools Sticking To In-Person Learning Despite City's Red Zone Status
Despite Norwalk entering the “red zone” due to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the city, students in the school district will continue in-person learning, officials announced. Earlier story - COVID-19: Norwalk, Bridgeport Latest Cities In Fairfield County To Roll Back To Phase 2 Schools Superintendent Alexandra Estrella said that after evaluating the data, the hybrid learning model will remain in place for middle and high school students, with full in-person learning an option for elementary school students, English learners, and students with disabilities. Fully remote learning is also …
News
Covid-
19: New Positive Case Leads To Revised Reopening Plan At District In Fairfield County
A new confirmed case of COVID-19 has prompted a school district in Fairfield County to revise plans for the return to full in-person instruction. The new update affects students in grades seven through 12 in the New Canaan School District. The positive case occurred at Saxe Middle School. "The student who tested positive was previously quarantined due to close contact with a known positive case outside of school, and has taken the appropriate steps as advised by the New Canaan Health Department and New Canaan Public Schools," New Canaan Public Schools Superintendent Bryan D…
Schools
Covid-
19: Some CT Teachers Refusing To Return To In-Person Classes
Some school teachers in Connecticut won’t be returning to the classroom in the fall, even if in-person learning is cleared to resume amid the COVID-19 crisis. Currently, Connecticut is considering three levels for reopening: a full reopening with all students in school five days a week, a hybrid plan where some students attend in-person and some do distance learning, and full distance learning, with guidance expected from the state in the coming weeks. Earlier story - COVID-19: CT Public Schools Will Be Allowed To Cut Days From Academic Calendar However, some teachers are showing relucta…
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