July 29, 2020 Update

July 29, 2020 Update
Posted on 07/29/2020

Dear Parents, Guardians and EGPS Staff,

Good Afternoon! You may have watched the Governor's press conference Monday afternoon (7/27/2020) and heard about some changes to the school reopening guidelines. Yesterday, I spent approximately five hours in meetings making sense of the information that was shared; specifically, that districts have “flexibility” over the model they will open with for the ‘20-'21 school year. This is an absolute change from the directive that we have been working under for the past month: opening on a full schedule, five days a week in-person learning for all students. Each district is also required to have three learning plans for the fall: full in-person, hybrid (less percentage of students in the building), and full distance learning. It was clear that moving to any plan, other than full in-person, would occur should public health data require it. We were told through a letter from the Commissioner of Education that additional communication regarding the most appropriate model could be anticipated during the month of August.

What does all this mean for our reopening plans? That is a great question. In a meeting with Hartford area superintendents, it was agreed that there are concerns moving to local control for reopening decision making. There will be no alignment with neighboring districts regarding in-person, hybrid, or distance learning. It is hard to justify or explain why districts within the same region and experiencing the same health metrics are opening under different models, especially if the model is supposed to be driven by that very same health data. It has been stated that a hybrid model for high school would be “approved”, but K-8 should be full in-person. Splitting the model within one district carries its own set of challenges and questions. Every business and function across Connecticut continues to be guided using consistent expectations that are scaffolded by state leaders with guidance from experts for health and safety; this is the phasing in system we all know about. Yet, school leaders are somehow expected to decide without that same guidance and direction. Thankfully, we do have the Farmington Health District by our side. There are several meetings planned across the state in the coming days to discuss this recent change and how districts will respond to their communities.

EGPS staff continues to forge ahead every day working to align our practices and protocols with health and safety requirements. We will also be providing more detail to our three learning models. The fact remains that some specifics of the opt-in remote learning from home model will not be complete until we know who we are planning for. This is very consistent with other districts. EGPS remains committed to providing access to educational opportunities to all of its students, regardless of the model of instruction. There will be a combination of synchronous (occurring at the same time) and asynchronous learning. From the State's reopening document, “This voluntary family choice is not intended to be the same as the opportunities provided when classes are cancelled for a broader population, should public health data require it.” Our remote option has enhancements over the spring, but will present some limitations, as well as expectations.

  • The remote learning program will not result in matching instructional hours, 1:1 with an in-person learning model;
  • Some courses at the MS and HS level may not be available through remote learning;
  • There will be an expectation for parents to support student attendance and engagement during remote learning;
  • In accordance with CSDE guidance, the Board reserves the right to limit extracurricular activities to students attending school in-person who have not have opted into remote learning programming;
  • As stated by the CSDE, the remote learning programming is temporary, and it may not be available for the full year;
  • Should public health data support a changed approach and/or additional guidance is provided by the Connecticut State Department of Education, EGPS will adjust the learning model options accordingly.

At this point, it makes sense to wait and issue the next survey after we know which model (in-person, hybrid or distance learning) will be implemented.

The FAQ document will be posted on our website www.eastgranby.k12.ct.us (COVID-19 Informational and Resource link) by the end of today. We have responded to the questions and will continue to add to the document. Thank you for your thoughtful inquiries. Questions pertaining to school reopening can be sent to [email protected].

As always, THANK YOU for your continued patience and support.

Missy Bavaro-Grande

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