Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/11/2020
SOUTHWICK – After COVID-19 cases in Hampden County hit a three percent positivity rate, the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District went fully remote beginning on Nov. 9.
Since starting the plan for the 2020-2021 school year, Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Willard said the district had been preparing to go remote if necessary.
“We have been preparing for this since we opened our school doors in September, not knowing the projected COVID rate in Hampden County,” she said.
As part of a Memorandum of Agreement with the teachers union, one of the clauses was the 3 percent positivity rate in the county.
“We started our negotiations in early summer, so the Union, the school district, and the school committee were in communication all summer regarding the reopening plan. At the time there was anywhere between a three and five percent positivity rate, and that was what most school districts were using as their baseline for going remote,” she said.
While negotiations have reopened with the teachers union, Willard said she could not comment on them at this time.
In order to make sure students can continue to learn, Willard said the district asked families if they need technology before distributing it on Nov. 9.
“This will be our third request to keep our data as accurate as possible for the people who need technology. We do have a significant number of families that do need technology and our director of curriculum and instruction and our technology coach are putting together a timeline for distribution on Monday,” she said.
While the district is remote, families may pick up lunch and breakfast for the next day by pre-ordering food through the SchoolCafe ordering system and picking it up at any of the schools or the Granville Town Hall.
District families should expect a different model than the remote model from the spring and Willard said the school day will be more like the remote days students have in the hybrid model.
“This remote model will not look similar to what they experienced last school year; this is a full day of instruction with their teachers. Our schools will be open for teachers if they want to come in and teach remotely from their classroom,” she said.
As a result of going remote, students in grades K-4 will have their first remote learning experience this year after starting the year fully in person.
Willard added that the district will try its best to return to in person learning as quickly as possible.
“We truly believe the best form of instruction is in person with our teachers and there is nothing that can replicate that. We are going to work as hard as we can to get our students back in school,” she said.