Parents help kids cope with schools' closure
LeeAnn Clark, 4, asked her mother Monday morning why she didn’t have to get dressed for preschool at the Bishop School in Norwich.
“She’s lost,” Kelly Clark said after picking up to-go breakfast and lunch packages at the Wequonnoc School food distribution site Monday morning. “She’s only 4, and she doesn’t know what’s going on.”
Clark and the child’s grandmother, Cynthia Emback, are trying to keep LeeAnn busy with her computer tablet and workbooks to try to keep her learning.
“Hopefully, it ends soon,” Emback said of the school closure.
With schools closed for at least two weeks, parents on Monday were helping their children with the transition and looking ahead to keeping them busy and engaged in learning over the next weeks. Families said they were taking steps to ensure they have enough food, while also teaching their children the importance of hand washing and avoiding large gatherings.
Kids expressed mixed emotions, with some feeling confusion, and others feeling happy to spend more time with family at home, while also being sad to miss their school activities and friends.
Katrina Godfrey, stopped by West Side STEM Magnet Middle School in Groton on Monday morning with her husband and children, ages 14, 11, 8 and 4, to pick up breakfast and lunch for the kids, as well as items from her middle school student's locker.
She said her family spent the weekend making sure the surfaces in their home were wiped down, while also having some fun. This week, the family planned to stay close to home, do some reading and look at what's available online to keep the focus on learning for the kids.
"I understand the precautions, but I'm not panicking or anything," said Godfrey, a homemaker. "I understand that there's a lot of people that are rushing to the stores and such, but that's not the best thing to do. You've got to stay in small numbers."
She was trying to educate her kids about what was going on in a safe manner, she said, emphasizing the importance of keeping their hands clean and being in small groups to minimize people getting sick.
"It helps having older kids be good examples to the younger kids," she added.
Jennifer Chirico and her son, John, 13, an eighth-grader at West Side picked up items from his locker Monday morning, while John also grabbed some lunch and breakfast.
To prepare for having her son home for two weeks, Jennifer did a grocery run, like she does in the summer, to make sure she has food in the house for him. She said she works from home so she's fortunate that the school closure won't have an impact on her work schedule.
John said that while it's fun to stay home from school for two weeks, he also misses school. He said it's going to be sad for him and other eighth-graders to miss a lot of school during their last year at West Side.
He said he planned to spend his time at home reading, doing learning activities on Google Classroom and some chores — and hopefully playing some video games as well.
"What we're going to do is stay at the house most of the time," he said.
West Side sixth-grader Evan Romanelli, 11, said he felt happy to stay home with his family, but also kind of mad, because he likes to be in school with his friends.
"The good thing is that my friends come to this school as well so I can talk to them (about) what’s going on and how they feel about this," he said.
His father, Stephen Romanelli, said the family was doing well and had planned ahead. The family went out to get the true essentials of what they will need — food — but did not clear the shelves of toilet paper in a panic.
"As a retired fireman I knew to plan for food more than anything else, and we have plenty of that right now," he said, adding that they will go out to see what other provisions they can get, such as vegetables that they will eat first and then save canned food for later if they need it.
He said he's scoping out the information coming from the school each day and said it's a great help that his son will be able to do learning activities online.
West Side Principal Jeff Kotecki and Assistant Principal Jemal Davis said teachers have created online learning activities and also developed paper packets, which kids can pick up during the meal distribution period weekdays from 9 to 9:30 a.m.
At West Side, about 65 percent of students are "high needs," meaning they are English Language Learners, have an Individualized Education Program or qualify for free and reduced lunch, Kotecki said. About 50 to 75 students at West Side do not have access to a computer at home.
Groton Superintendent Michael Graner said that in addition to posting online supplemental learning, staff has also printed out materials to create packets for students who don't have internet access. The district has also identified middle school students that needed computers and will be distributing them in the next couple of days.
"We want to make sure all our students are healthy and safe, but we also want to make sure that all our students have equal opportunity to engage in active learning," Davis said. He added that the school is exploring options on how to best provide digital equity, including — depending on how long the closure is — reaching out to the community about options for temporarily providing low-cost Internet to families.
Kawana Stokes of New London, a mother of four, arrived Monday morning at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School in New London to retrieve study packets for her 12-year-old son, Savion. Savion displayed a large math book and folder with science-related work.
Asked how will she handle the kids being at home for the foreseeable future, Stokes said “you adapt.”
“We do what we can,” Stokes said. “We’re taking it day-by-day. It’s different for parents who have to work. At least (the school district) is providing the tools to keep them busy in addition to what we do as parents.”
New London schools were open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday to allow parents and guardians to pick up learning packets in the main office of each school. Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie said while the material is not a requirement, she is counting on families keeping their children “engaged in learning” during the closure.
Norwich school Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow said all southeastern Connecticut public school superintendents have agreed they are not in a position to run distance learning to all students equitably during the shutdown. Instead, Stringfellow is working on an enrichment and extension activities database for all students in grades kindergarten through eight that will be added to the public schools website by Friday.
Tim Meredith of Norwich, a father of five children ages 2 to 12, said he is starting to try to figure out how to keep the kids busy during the unexpected school closure. He will consult with his ex-wife, a teacher, on how to keep up with school work, and start tapping the usual pool of baby sitters — “mom, dad, friends,” he said.
Meredith joked about one idea: “Time for PT!” he said, using the military term for physical training. “Run them until they’re tired.”
Melisa Bell of Norwich, mother of three boys, two age 10 and one 13, said she is trying to keep them on a routine of schoolwork, spring cleaning at home and some fun activities. She planned to go to the store later Monday to pick up supplies to make tie-dyed shirts.
Her 10-year-old son, Cameron, misses his friends at the John B. Stanton School in Norwich. “It’s kind of sad,” he said.
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