Teachers' Return To Classrooms Slightly Delayed In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Teachers in Greenwich were originally scheduled to return to school buildings Thursday for professional development, however those plans have now been slightly delayed following "questions and concerns" raised by the Greenwich Education Association this week.

In an email sent to teachers Wednesday, Superintendent Toni Jones said the professional development sessions scheduled for Thursday and Friday will now be conducted virtually, and teachers will instead return to classrooms in-person Monday.

"As a result of many questions and concerns shared by GEA," Jones said in the email, "I decided to start with our first two days virtual for teachers to provide additional time for our facilities and administrative staff to do another sweep of our buildings as we prepare to return for 2020-2021."

In an email to Patch, district spokesperson Sasha Houlihan said the adjustment was made after specific requests were made this week by some staff members, such as a clear divider for their desk. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

According to Houlihan, the district is "working Thursday through Sunday to fulfill as much as possible to keep our teachers feeling supported and to ensure that, when they arrived to their classrooms, their requested supplies were already in place."

In her note to teachers, Jones emphasized the "tireless" work the district's summer team has put in to prepare for a safe return to school buildings.

See also: Nearly 20 Percent Of Greenwich Students Choose Distance Learning

"Our facilities staff have moved furniture all across the district, security staff striped floors and a host of other work which is beyond our norm," Jones said. "Administrators and key support staff have re-worked class lists and schedules in multiple different iterations for the alphabet and remote learners. The curriculum team has worked on everything from unique ordering to producing on demand professional learning for staff. Many people have been involved in helping the administration run numerous town halls."

She also noted each unique building in the district has needed attention in different ways.

Air Quality

Jones said many teachers have also expressed concerns regarding air quality in school buildings, however she pointed out the district's newest buildings with automated HVAC systems have fresh air return built into them.

Though she acknowledged that "each building is different," Jones said a "full flush" will be conducted at each building approximately two hours before school starts and one hour after school ends.

"We have set our buildings to bring in more air flow," Jones said. "[Greenwich High School], our largest building, had a new $1,052,000 project installation of the cooling tower project completed this past month. For those buildings with window units, the fresh air is pulled through the window unit and hits the chiller in the unit and passes through a filter."

She also noted the state Department of Health advises that free-standing fans should not be used in classrooms, as they blow particles around and can decrease the air quality in those rooms. The district had looked into using box fans, filtered light and an array of other products, however they were not recommended for the same reason, Jones said.

"Many of these products move the air around your room," Jones said. "If there are any particles in the room, we want those particles to fall and hit the ground, not stay active in your classrooms. Each district has taken a different approach, and some districts (not GPS) have classrooms without any air conditioning at all. We care about your safety."

While staff members engage in professional learning Thursday and Friday, Jones and other administrators will use those two days to check all the buildings again. Jones also asked that teachers seek help from administrators, facilities staff or colleagues if "something isn't quite the way you thought it would be" upon returning to classrooms Monday.

"We will be so much stronger together if we treat each other with respect and model the very behavior we want our young people to see," Jones said. "I believe that we have the best staff in the country, and we can do this together."

Students Returning Soon

During a special meeting of the Board of Education on Aug. 20, 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.

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.

Schools in Greenwich shut down in March and moved to remote learning due to the spread of the coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19. Jones said the district has put in a lot of work to prepare their facilities for the return of students.

"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."

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.