WATERBURY, Conn. — Senator Chris Murphy will be joined by Representative Jahana Hayes, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and Superintendent Dr. Verna Ruffin as he holds a community discussion on school reopening this coming fall. That discussion starts at 9 a.m.
According to health officials Thursday, this fall could bring a resurgence of COVID-19 activity and if it does, Governor Ned Lamont said Connecticut school districts will be ready to protect students, teachers, and staff.
“We’ve shared that [back to school plan] with public health professionals trying to get that point of view on how we’re doing and how I can convince parents and how I can convince teachers, everything we're doing, we’re putting their public health first,” Lamont said.
Patrice McCarthy said the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education has received concerns from teachers, many are ready to go back to the classroom due to the importance of in-person learning, but also don’t want to put themselves or children in harm's way.
“Teachers like everyone else have a range of feelings about their comfort level, [butt with] we also know some teachers have significant medical conditions and their doctors may advise them it's not safe to enter the classroom,” McCarthy said.'
“For the teachers, you gotta know I got your back -everything I've done to date we’ve aired on the side of caution,” Lamont said.
The current back to school plan consists of three options for reopening---a normal five day a week in-person schedule, online-distance learning or a mix of in-person and online instruction.
“There are some early surveys coming out of Stonington and Fairfield where it looks like probably 15%- 20% of the parents may like to take advantage of the home school option starting off,” Lamont said.
According to the Governor, we can expect a final decision on how schools will reopen whether it be in-person, online or a mix of both, in August.
