By Sushant Kunwar and Grahm Reynolds
The projected start date for full in-person learning has been pushed ahead by BPS, calling for the return of students almost a month ahead of the previous plan announced last week. Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez and the Branford Board of Education announced this change in the Board of Education meeting last night.
The new accelerated return plan calls for a transitioned reopening by grade levels. Elementary schools will reopen the week of March 22, the Intermediate school will follow the week of March 29, and the High School will reopen the week of April 5 – the week before the start of April vacation.
Elementary schools have already started the preliminary reopening, with the blue cohort in the building Wednesday, March 10. The orange cohort will follow suit on Wednesday, March 17. The previous plan to gradually integrate full in-person Wednesdays for WIS and BHS has been scrapped.
A return to full in-person learning has new protocols, involving stricter cleaning routines. However, it also sees a complete disregard for the guidelines the CDC set, with social distancing of 6 feet completely out the window. The distancing guidelines at schools now call for three feet “or less,” according to school officials. It has been made evident by the members of the BPS community that it’s a step they’re willing to take to return students to schools.
This new plan does come with promising news: at the time of writing, 552 Branford education employees have been vaccinated with at least their first dose. The growing number of vaccinations ensures safety for the staff of the schools, school officials said.
Additionally, this new plan seems to be popular among parents and students in the community, according to school officials. The Branford Board of Education released a survey prior to the meeting about a return to in person learning, which received 1,591 responses. Of the 2,585 students in the district, 1,345 responded to the survey. Of those, 780 said they want a return to in person learning by the end of March, 309 said they would prefer to remain hybrid until indicators improve, and 256 said they would want to return on April 19, the original plan.
With this return to in person school, bus ridership will be dramatically increased. Of the response from the survey, 762 said they would ride a bus, and 455 will not. High numbers on buses provide an even greater need for safety in such an enclosed space.
On top of the student survey, staff of Branford schools were surveyed as well. The survey received 312 responses, and it is obvious that the return to in person is not a very popular choice as 43% of staff said they were not concerned with the classroom density of hybrid learning. This number is flipped on its head when it comes to in person learning, as 55% of staff is highly concerned, and 23% said they were concerned. With 78% of staff responses being negative about a return to in person learning, it is clear that the opinions of the students seem to outweigh the opinions of staff when it comes to the decision of the Board of Education.
This sudden shift in scheduling by implies that there is still more groundwork required to establish a solid plan. It’s likely that more information and changes regarding the reopening will be released by the Board of Education in the coming weeks. As of right now, the start full in-person learning in the Branford Public Schools is less than 2 weeks away.
What do you think of the plans to return to in-person learning at BHS? Leave a comment or on Twitter @BranfordBuzz
