HARTFORD, Conn — The Hartford Board of Education met here at Weaver High School Tuesday to discuss the city’s back to school plan. Many teachers showed up in protest saying schools are not ready to reopen at full capacity.
Educators from the Hartford Federation of Teachers pushed the board of education to reconsider a full reopening of the city’s schools.
Carol Gale, President of AFT, said teachers have questions about how the city’s current back to school plan is actually safe for staff and students.
Grades k-9 are in person five days a week, where’s the deep cleaning? The superintendent in her plan has not guaranteed that students we will be six feet apart,” Gale said. “Before we’ve even gone to phase 3 of opening the state, schools are reopening and they’re reopening at full capacity,”
Teachers also asked the board to provide temperature checks for staff and students every day and brought up the issue of allowing more than 25 children to use the cafeterias, gyms, and auditoriums.
The district's current back to school plan allows Pre-K through 9th-grade students to learn inside the classroom five days a week and students in grades 10th through 12th are set to operate on a hybrid schedule coming to school twice a week. Although the plan doesn’t have the support of all teachers.
On Tuesday at a press conference, Mayor Luke Bronin emphasized the plan is feasible due to the state’s low COVID-19 positivity rate.
“We’re in the position to where we can safely offer the option of in-person school to our kids “
The school year begins Tuesday, September 8th. The mayor reminded families that full in-person learning is solely an option and parents can choose to keep their children at home for distance learning.