Montville — In-person classes began here Tuesday, marking the start of a school year in flux due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The town's public schools opened their doors to students after months of distance learning to finish up the previous school year, followed by summer vacation. Like most other districts in the region, Montville's has opted to return to school in hybrid mode, meaning one group of students will be at school on Mondays and Tuesdays and another group on Thursdays and Fridays. The buildings are closed Wednesdays for cleaning. Students go to school twice a week while distance learning three days a week. The idea is for students and teachers to see each other, at minimum, once a week and, for elementary students, twice a week. 

Superintendent Laurie Pallin said Tuesday that the district plans to reevaluate the hybrid model in October. Other options include fully distanced learning or fully in-person instruction.

“Our hope is that the hybrid is a transition into a full in-person program,” Pallin said. “When it was presented to the board and the community, we talked about reevaluating that to look for an October return to all in-person. Our fingers are tightly crossed.”

Schools are running half-day sessions this week in order to phase in different scenarios. For example, next week, when full days begin, students will have in-person lunch for the first time.

Pallin said the district is focused on ironing out details going forward. Schools will try and make it so students load on the bus faster when leaving school, for instance.

The district has restructured classrooms in order to maintain proper social distancing.

“Teachers have been provided with a large area at the front of the room so they can remove masks and provide instruction while maintaining a distance of more than 6 feet from students,” the reentry plan reads. "Safety protocols are clearly posted throughout the schools, and visitors will be strictly limited. All visitors will be required to complete a visitor’s questionnaire before allowed access to the buildings.”

A parent survey determined that, out of 1,389 students represented in responses, 75.5% planned on returning to school. Some parents are opting for full distance learning, and others are choosing home schooling.

Melissa Brothers, the parent of two children in Montville Public Schools — one in kindergarten and the other in third grade — said she’s always somewhat anxious at the beginning of a new school year, though this year is decidedly different.

“I am concerned that they are missing out on the social aspect of school,” Brothers said Tuesday. “My son Mason had kindergarten orientation today, and I was not allowed in the building. I watched through the window as he found where to hang his bag, his desk, etc. His teacher continuously reminded the children to keep their distance. As you can expect, this is not an easy concept for a 5-year-old to grasp.”

Brothers said her third-grade son, Wiley, was looking forward to going back to school, though he didn’t like some new rules limiting socializing during recess and lunch.

While Brothers is worried about her children possibly being exposed to COVID-19, she believes the district has taken the proper precautions to prevent an outbreak. Still, she sees flaws in the hybrid design.

“I feel that the hybrid model exposes our children to even more people,” Brothers said. “Some kids will have to go to day care on days they are learning virtually, which defeats the purpose of small cohorts. I hope that after a couple months, administrators are able to reevaluate and come up with a better plan.”

Kim Rix has a daughter in third grade. She said she is concerned about the uncertainty of the school year.

“The possibility of ever-changing schedules and settings makes it difficult to prepare a young child,” Rix said. “Not knowing if I will need to find at-home care for my child in two weeks is stressful. If I need to take days off from work, trying to arrange this a week in advance is far from optimal. I am a nurse. When health care workers stay home, it is extremely difficult to ensure that our community stays as healthy as possible. However, I do trust that the Board of Education, as well as the COVID task force have done research, and are following recommendations, while simultaneously creating a safe, happy learning environment for our kids.”

Another phenomenon caused by the pandemic has been greater staff turnover in Montville, as well as in neighboring districts. Pallin said her district typically sees some turnover in staff, especially part-time and hourly workers, over the summer but the transition this summer has been greater than normal.

The pandemic prompted the district to hire more permanent substitutes, additional custodial staff for more frequent cleaning and sanitizing of school buildings during the day, certified nursing assistants and health aides to monitor medical care rooms, a safety officer at the middle school, and more monitors for bathrooms and meals, she explained.

“We have had several retirements, resignations and leave requests, and we have worked to fill those positions over the summer,” she added.

Pallin said the district has been “very pleased with the pool of applicants and (feels) that we have staffed the buildings with qualified personnel.”

The district will continue to advertise for one vacant school psychologist position but has a plan in place to use other teachers in the short term to meet students’ needs.

Considering the many challenges of having school, particularly in-person classes, during a pandemic, Pallin was glad about how the first day ran.

“Having everyone back was wonderful, it was a reminder of our purpose,” she said. “The students were fantastic. I went to every school, the youngest elementary classes through the high school. They followed mask-wearing. They were attentive to all of our directions in terms of trying to use the hallways and the one-way direction patterns that we’ve set up. The teachers practiced social distancing at elementary grades. I saw classes in elementary school where the students brought beach towels for classes outside and separated out on the towels, they set up an outdoor classroom in the parking lot. Teachers were creative and innovative and our students could not have met our expectations any better.”

s.spinella@theday.com