Brookfield, CT
Schools
COVID-19: New Fairfield County HS Closes Due To Increase In Staff, Student Quarantines COVID-19: New Fairfield County HS Closes Due To Increase In Staff, Student Quarantines
Covid-19: New Fairfield County HS Closes Due To Increase In Staff, Student Quarantines A Fairfield County high school has transitioned to distance learning due to the recent increase of COVID-19 cases locally and across the state. School officials in Stratford issued a notice to families announcing that beginning on Monday, Nov. 9, through Wednesday, Nov. 25, the high school would be switching to remote learning to help curtail the spread of the virus. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, students will return to its hybrid learning model on Monday, Nov. 30. According to the Stratford School District, three students have tested positive for COVID-19 at the high school, along wit…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Mount Pleasant, NY
Schools
COVID-19: Northern Westchester School Goes Remote Due To Number Of Student, Staff Quarantines COVID-19: Northern Westchester School Goes Remote Due To Number Of Student, Staff Quarantines
Covid-19: Northern Westchester School Goes Remote Due To Number Of Student, Staff Quarantines A staffing shortage at a Northern Westchester school due to COVID-19 has forced a transition to distance learning for the rest of the week. Bedford Schools Superintendent Joel Adelberg issued a notice to the community this week after learning that multiple students and staff members at Fox Lane Middle School will be forced to temporarily quarantine after potentially being exposed to the virus. In response, Fox Lane Middle School will switch to remote learning from Tuesday, Nov. 10 through Friday, Nov. 13, with students returning to the classroom on Monday, Nov. 16. During the quarantine, Ad…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Springfield, MA
News
COVID-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System COVID-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System
Covid-19: Only 3 'Red' Communities In Western/Central MA Under New System Massachusetts has changed the system for local COVID-19 rates and infections in a move Gov. Charlie Baker will provide cities and towns with a more accurate picture of the risk. Last week (Oct. 30) there were around 30 red cities and towns in central and western Massachusetts.  In this reporting period (Nov. 6), there are 3: Fitchburg, Ludlow, and Springfield. Baker cited the influence the state’s reporting has on whether a community’s schools offer in-person, a hybrid, or distance learning. The governor has said that too many schools have been making the switch to distance learning e…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
White Plains, NY
Schools
COVID-19: New Staff Member At Westchester School Tests Positive, Five Classes Exposed COVID-19: New Staff Member At Westchester School Tests Positive, Five Classes Exposed
Covid-19: New Staff Member At Westchester School Tests Positive, Five Classes Exposed A Westchester middle school was forced to transition to remove learning after as many as five classes may have been exposed to the virus last week. Interim New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero announced that a staff member at Albert Leonard Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19 and was last in the building on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Marrero said that through contact tracing, at least seven teachers and five “Cohort A” classes were potentially exposed, and have been instructed to quarantine. He noted that students in “Cohort B” will not require quarantine. Since the pandemic …

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Long Island HS Closes For 10 Days Due To Exposure COVID-19: Long Island HS Closes For 10 Days Due To Exposure
Covid-19: Long Island HS Closes For 10 Days Due To Exposure A Long Island high school will be closed for the next 10 days due to COVID-19 exposure. Due to the high number of instructional staff that were quarantined by the department of health last week, Shoreham-Wading River High School will be closed for in-person learning through Wednesday, Nov. 11, the district announced. Distance learning will be in effect for all high school students. The high school will re-open for in-person learning on Thursday, Nov. 12, the district said. 

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Hartford, CT
News
What's The COVID-19 Rate In My Community? Town Rates And Trends What's The COVID-19 Rate In My Community? Town Rates And Trends
What's The Covid-19 Rate In My Community? Town Rates And Trends COVID-19 infections are congregating in the eastern part of the state where there is a cluster of 13 “red” communities with high daily infection rates, according to Connecticut data that came out Thursday, Oct. 29. Meanwhile, 13 new communities have been added to the state’s list of places with red or high COVID-19 rates: Ansonia, Bridgeport, Cromwell, Ellington, Franklin, Killingly, Middlebury, Middlefield, New Britain, North Canaan, Old Saybrook, Stamford, and Wolcott. On Thursday, there were 30 Connecticut cities and towns “in the red,” a reference to the state’s color-coded map of avera…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Teachers At Long Island HS Conduct Call Out Over Virus Concerns COVID-19: Teachers At Long Island HS Conduct Call Out Over Virus Concerns
Covid-19: Teachers At Long Island HS Conduct Call Out Over Virus Concerns Dozens of teachers have called out of working at a Long Island high school following new cases of COVID-19. Last week, on consecutive days, 38 and then 45 Connetquot teachers called in sick, citing concerns about the district’s handling of the outbreak following a rash of new cases. According to New York State’s COVID-19 “Report Card,” there have been a total of six students and one teacher who tested positive for the virus in the past two weeks, including a newly reported positive case on Monday, Oct. 26. The absences came after the district opted to keep the school open and not transiti…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Brookfield, CT
News
COVID-19: More Schools In Fairfield County Go Remote After Positive Cases COVID-19: More Schools In Fairfield County Go Remote After Positive Cases
Covid-19: More Schools In Fairfield County Go Remote After Positive Cases More schools in Fairfield County are transitioning to their distance learning models due to newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. Related story - COVID-19: 11 New Cases Lead To Quarantines For 60 At Norwalk Public Schools Kendall Elementary School in Norwalk canceled in-person classes on Monday, Oct. 19 to allow the district and Fairfield County Department of Health time to contact trace to determine if anyone else may have been exposed to the virus. New cases were also confirmed in Cranbury Elementary and West Rocks Middle School, officials said, forcing some students and staff members to ente…

SHARE

by Zak Failla
Hartford, CT
News
Here? Town-By-Town Data On Absent Distance-Learning Students Here? Town-By-Town Data On Absent Distance-Learning Students
Here? Town-By-Town Data On Absent Distance-Learning Students While distance learning appears to be going well in Connecticut, almost 10 percent of Hartford remote-learning students didn’t attend school the week of Sept. 21-25, the most recent information available. Of the 9,839 distance-learning students in the Hartford School District, 978 of them didn’t log in for school the week of Sept. 21, according to the CT Mirror, which has developed a weekly town-by-town look at distance-learning attendance records. The data is pulled from the State Department of Education. Overall, there are about 17,250 students in the Hartford School District. On Tuesday…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Springfield, MA
News
With 15,000-Plus Homes Without Power, Some Schools To Excuse Online Absences With 15,000-Plus Homes Without Power, Some Schools To Excuse Online Absences
With 15,000-Plus Homes Without Power, Some Schools To Excuse Online Absences Some 15,000 households are without power this morning following a high-wind storm Wednesday, Oct. 7, and it’s affecting students in distance learning. In light of the power outages, some school districts have said they will excuse distance learning absences, “Absences for students unable to log in will be excused today,” the Westfield School District sent in a message to parents around 6:30 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 8. This morning there are more than 2,000 Springfield homes without power. Other communities with hundreds of outages include Deerfield, Greenfield. In Worcester, there are only 110…

SHARE

by Kristin Palpini
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
COVID-19: School In Westchester Extends Closure After Positive Case COVID-19: School In Westchester Extends Closure After Positive Case
Covid-19: School In Westchester Extends Closure After Positive Case A school in the Hudson Valley has extended its closure after a positive case of COVID-19. Dows Lane Lane Elementary School, located in Westchester County in Irvington-on-Hudson, was closed for in-person learning Friday, Oct. 2.  All Dows Lane students participated in remote learning with all other Irvington schools open. Late Friday afternoon, Irvington Union Free School District Superintendent Dr. Kris Harrison announced Dows Lane will remain closed through Monday, Oct. 5. "The past 24 hours have certainly been stressful for some members of the Irvington UFSD family,"…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
COVID-19: School District In Westchester Announces Reopening Plans After Large Parties COVID-19: School District In Westchester Announces Reopening Plans After Large Parties
Covid-19: School District In Westchester Announces Reopening Plans After Large Parties A school district in Westchester County has announced reopening plans after a large number of students attended parties. Pelham Public School District Superintendent Dr. Cheryl H. Champ said in a letter to families and communities that she was made aware on Wednesday, Sept. 9 of the "parties in the woods for the last two evenings." She said "the number of students reported to have been at these gatherings potentially totals over 100 teens and video from these parties shows students engaging in risky behavior, failing to practice physical distancing, and not wearing masks or face c…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi