Waterford —Schools here are preparing to move toward more in-person learning, beginning with five grades on Monday.  

The Board of Education, school administrators and Ledge Light Health District agreed on a plan in February to gradually bring students back to school for in-person learning.

“A phased-in approach allows time for adjustment and continued monitoring of COVID-19 trends,” Superintendent Tom Giard wrote in a letter to parents and guardians. “Our phased-in plan to return to full in-person learning is based on the most recent guidance from public health and medical experts. We also know that students learn best in a classroom and the best form of learning is in-person learning.”

Since the beginning of the school year, students, except for prekindergarten, have been attending school two days a week and learning virtually three days. 

This week, pre-kindergarten will transition from four days to five. Kindergarten, first, second and sixth grades will move to four days of in-person learning. On March 22, grades 3-5 and 7-8 will also move to four days of in-person learning. On March 29 all students K-8 will be able to learn in person five days a week. 

Waterford High School will not return to full in-person learning until the week of April 19. Students will remain in hybrid learning through the end of spring vacation on April 16.

In a letter notifying parents and guardians, Giard said schools will maintain the safety measures that were in place throughout the pandemic. These include “strategic use of Plexiglass dividers in classrooms and offices; cleaning thoroughly; social distancing as much as possible in classrooms; a no visitor policy; no school assemblies or field trips; directional signage throughout the buildings to limit face-to-face contact; staggered passing times; and continued contact tracing and quarantining in response to identified positive cases.” 

Giard said there have been “no major changes” in planning since the decision in February. 

“Obviously our school principals are working through the logistics of double the number of cars for drop-off and pick-up; more kids in buildings; lunches being distributed, etc.,” Giard wrote in an email. “They are doing a great job.” 

He said the possibility of reverting to hybrid or fully distanced learning depends on whether schools can be adequately staffed and on public health data. 

“This means if we have a good number of staff in quarantine combined with the multitude of other reasons people are out on any given day, we may have to strategically close grade levels, departments, or entire schools,” Giard wrote. “On the public health data, we will be monitoring data using the CDC February 12 guidance combined with continuing conversations with Ledge Light Health District.” 

The state is allowing families to remain in remote learning, but Giard noted, there’s no option for hybrid learning; it’s either all in-person or all remote.

Waterford schools are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for levels of community transmission. The CDC defined low transmission, moderate transmission, substantial transmission and high transmission by the number of new cases per 100,000 people in the past week and the percentage of positive tests in the past week.

Waterford is currently considered “moderate transmission.” According to the latest LLHD data, Waterford had 45 reported new cases of COVID-19 between Feb. 21 and March 6, a 2.4% test positivity rate and an average daily case rate of 17. The town’s positive test rate when the decision was made to phase in in-person learning in February was 5%. 

Several parents wrote to the Board of Education to express their dismay about students possibly returning to full in-person learning, saying it’s inviting spread of the coronavirus. Some asked that all staff get vaccinated before schools reopen. Multiple parents wrote to say that they did support schools reopening, arguing that it’s better for children’s education and socialization. 

Jennifer and David Bednarz, parents of a member of the Class of 2020, are teachers in another district. They asked not to put students and teachers at risk by reopening schools. 

“The CDC says that vaccinations for teachers are not needed for reopening schools ONLY if other precautions can be guaranteed such as social distancing (6 feet) and mask wearing at all times,” The Bednarzes wrote in their public comment. “In our experience as teachers, and as parents, neither of these can be guaranteed to faculty and school staff if a majority of students are in attendance.”

“Students and their parents will still be afforded the choice to stay at home, a teacher or other school staff does not have this choice,” they added. 

On March 13, 2020, Giard wrote to families and community members informing them Waterford schools would be closed indefinitely with a minimum two-week closure due to the burgeoning spread of COVID-19.

“On the advice of our local health departments, the school superintendents in southeastern Connecticut and along the shoreline have come together to make a decision to put the health of our community (both our school community and the community at large) at the center of our decision to close schools,” he wrote at the time.

Now, almost a year to the day later, Waterford’s schools are taking concrete steps toward fully coming back to school.

s.spinella@theday.com