Nearly 20 Percent Of Greenwich Students Choose Distance Learning

GREENWICH, CT — Nearly 20 percent of students enrolled in Greenwich Public Schools for the 2020-21 school year have chosen remote learning over face-to-face instruction when school begins next month.

During a special virtual meeting of the Board of Education held recently, Superintendent Toni Jones revealed a total of 1,549 students chose a remote learning option for the upcoming school year, representing about 17.5 percent of the total number of enrolled students.

Breaking down the numbers, Jones said a total of 8,730 students were enrolled in the district, which is just shy of their projection of 8,787 students. She also noted this figure could still go up or down slightly by the time school starts. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

The percentage of elementary students who opted for remote learning was 17.4 percent, while 15.7 percent of high school students also chose this option. Middle school students represented the highest percentage of remote learners at 20 percent.

Additionally, only 27 teachers across the district have requested to exclusively teach remotely this year due to health concerns, Jones said.

During the meeting, Jones walked board members through safety measures and other factors in reopening schools, which were closed in March due to the spread of the coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19.

"There's signage all across our buildings reminding everybody to keep a safe distance," Jones said during the meeting. "We're constantly going to remind our students and our staff that we want to follow all of our safety protocols."

Jones said the district has put in a lot of work to prepare their facilities for the return of students, including "striping" floors with a yellow line to divide students and guide them on how to walk through the halls.

As an example of spacing in classrooms, Jones said tables in middle school classes that typically seat two students will only seat one child to ensure proper social distancing.

The superintendent also showed a picture of a lower grade desk surrounded by a clear plexiglass divider and noted every elementary student in the district will have one.

"This is just an added layer above and beyond the social distancing that we are doing, simply because we know, with our little ones, that it's going to be hard for them," Jones said. "They're probably going to fiddle with their masks a little bit, and again it's an added layer of safety."

She also said teachers will work to "get color back in the rooms" by decorating classrooms, and possibly even the dividers.

"We're going to make our spaces bright and happy places for children," Jones said.

According to the district calendar, the first day of school for all students will be Wednesday, Sept. 9, with orientation held a day prior on Sept. 8.

Under the district's current plan, elementary and middle school students were given the choice between face-to-face instruction or remote learning, both held five days a week. Meanwhile, high school students will operate under a hybrid model that will mix in-person and remote learning each week.

Remote students can also choose to move to in-person learning at any time, however they will need to provide some advance notice to ensure the correct amount of furniture is placed in classrooms and everyone remains properly spaced.

According to Marc D'Amico, the district's director of curriculum for K-8 and head of K-5 leadership, middle school and high school students who choose remote learning will have the same schedule as they would in a school building and will have the same access to their teacher they would have in person at the exact same time.

Similarly, remote students will be able to raise their hand in class virtually and will be seen by their teacher the same as if they attended class in person, D'Amico said.

Meanwhile, elementary students who choose remote learning will have a teacher from one of the schools assigned to them.

"We're going to have a high-quality program for our children," Jones said.

A lengthy discussion followed the presentation, during which board members asked Jones for clarification on a wide range of topics.

Some board members expressed disappointment regarding plans for school music programs, particularly choral and instrument instruction, which Jones noted would be a challenge this year due to health and safety risks.

"To lose a whole year of instrumental instruction and choral instruction really harms our programs on a going forward basis," board member Christina Downey said during the meeting, "so I think we do need to focus on finding a way to make those happen at some point."

While the district will still offer music courses, Jones said the district is also looking into virtual after-school options for students.

"We understand that the arts are critical," Jones said. "We're making sure students have that general music opportunity, and we have full faith in our teachers that they are going to be amazing."

Jones also noted the district has been advised they need to be flexible and be able to switch to full remote learning at a moment's notice.

"It literally is going to be day by day and week by week determining what the status is, according to what [the virus] does," Jones said.

According to the superintendent, each individual school must be ready to go full-remote if it becomes necessary.

"It could be one building," Jones said. "We could have one elementary [school] where we have some positive cases, and they feel like the whole building needs to remote [learn] for two full weeks, and the teacher literally moves to remote with all of their children and they continue learning."

The district may also need to move to an all-remote learning environment for a few weeks if there is a large flu outbreak during flu season, due to the similarity of symptoms between the influenza virus and COVID-19.

"It's hard just going back," Jones said. "People are very, very nervous right now. For us to start moving forward, we've got to be able to step foot back in a building again."

Board chair Peter Bernstein said he was glad to hear there was flexibility in the district's plan.

"I understand the apprehension that's still out there with parents, students and teachers," Bernstein said. "This is a process that's never going to be done. I think people need to understand that."

He also said there have been a lot of "critical" and "important" questions asked over the past few weeks, which is positive.

"Not everybody is always going to agree on all this stuff, but I do applaud Dr. Jones for doing this," Bernstein said, "and I applaud the administration for their continued work, and our teachers for their continued work and for thinking forward and raising questions and issues, and the community as well."

A video of the meeting can be viewed in full here.