SOUTHBURY— Tuesday was a busy day for Region 15 Superintendent Joshua Smith as the region’s four elementary schools, two middle schools and Pomperaug High all reopened for the first day of in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted schools in March.
Smith visited all seven schools throughout the day with an upbeat attitude, the exception being kindergartners, whose first day of school is scheduled for Wednesday.
“It’s been fantastic, it’s been great,” Smith said. “Arrivals at all the schools went well. Some arrivals were slow due to a couple of buses that were delayed a bit. But it wasn’t anything COVID-19 related, just the normal delays you see on any first day of school.
“The big difference this morning compared to other opening days was more parents were dropping off their kids than we are used to. But people were gracious and patient and the transition has gone well.”
Another difference was the number of students in attendance. Smith said about 15 percent of Region 15 students opted for a totally remote learning option.
The elementary schools and middle schools are all using the full in-person format with all students in the classroom. Pomperaug High is using the hybrid format with two days in school and three days remote.
One half of Pomperaug students will attend school in-person Mondays and Tuesdays and remote learn the remaining three days. The other half of students will be in-person on Wednesday and Thursday with the other days remote learning.
Pomperaug Principal Dr. Paul Jones expressed happiness with his school’s first day of classes, noting less than 10 percent of the students at Pomperaug decided to opt for the total remote learning option.
“It’s been an absolutely good first day,” Jones said. “Arrival this morning was a little longer than usual due to social distancing, but overall it went smoothly. It was great to see the students and talk to them about what has been going on in their lives. Students were all excited to be back. At the end of the day, some of them came up to me and said the day went a lot better than what they expected.”
All Region 15 schools will have half days this week to help students and staff adapt to the new safety protocols, Smith said.
“Our students, administrators and staff have made a solid commitment to follow our school safety guidelines,” he said. “If they are compliant with our safety protocols, we’ll be OK. But it’s also important for the students to be diligent in following these strategies in the community.”
Smith said a few teachers in Region 15 have opted to work in a modified fashion due to COVID-19. He will continue to work with teachers individually to make sure they are comfortable with their work environment.
According to Smith, there are currently no cases of COVID-19 with students or staff, although some staff went into quarantine due to recent travel.
“Some of our students have decided to do strictly remote learning and that is always an option for our students,” Smith said. “Some have opted for that due to health or other reasons. As things change and evolve we expect to have students flex in and out of that, especially if students need to be in quarantine.
“This will also be part of the adjustments, especially for teachers who will have classes where students are in front of them while some will be remote learning.”
Smith and Jones agreed all the hard work and planning of teachers, staff and administrtors for the Region 15 reopening paid off — at least for opening day.
“It was a good first day and that’s because a lot of people spent a lot of hours working toward today,” Smith said. “Our goal was to make school work in this new environment with a focus on safety.”
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September 02, 2020 at 01:00AM
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'It's been fantastic': Smooth, upbeat reopening for Region 15 schools - CT Insider
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