School Superintendent Dr. Thomas McMorran sent the following message to the Easton and Redding communities today, updating them on Gov. Ned Lamont’s plans for Connecticut about reopening state schools in the fall.
Dear Friends and Families of ER9:
Governor Lamont announced yesterday the state’s plans for a reopening of school in the buildings. Under the leadership of our Asst. Superintendent, Dr. Stephanie Pierson Ugol, our administrators have already been working on the many details and decisions that must be made in order for our five schools to be ready in the fall for a return to “brick and mortar” education.
The state will release more comprehensive directions to the local school districts next week, and we will be working to comply with and align our practice with this guidance.
I know you will have many questions about safety, transportation, instructional practices, food service and all the many elements of operating a school. We will continue to update you regularly.
Here are the six guiding principles from the attached Executive Summary statement:
1. Safeguarding the health & safety of students and staff;
2. Allowing all students the opportunity to return into the classrooms full time starting in the fall;
3. Monitoring the school populations and, when necessary, potentially cancelling classes in the future to appropriately contain COVID-19 spread;
4. Emphasizing equity, access, and support to the students and communities who are emerging from this historic disruption;
5. Fostering strong two-way communication with partners such as families, educators and staff; and
6. Factoring into decisions about reopening the challenges to the physical safety and social-emotional well-being of our students when they are not in school.
Press Conference Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h5PMkF8cj4&feature=youtu.be
Slides: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/COVID-19/Reopening_Slides.pdf
Executive Summary: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/SDE/COVID-19/Reopening_Executive_Summary.pdf
Thank you, and I wish you sunshine, rest and good health.
Tom McMorran,
Superintendent of Schools
Easton, Redding and Region 9 School Districts
