Second Wave Of Coronavirus May Impact CT Schools In Fall

CONNECTICUT — State officials continue to grapple with the challenges of reopening child care, K-12 and higher education amid uncertainty about the future of the new coronavirus in Connecticut. Members of the Reopen Connecticut advisory group held a roundtable discussion Monday to talk about plans and challenges going forward.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Carrter said the general health consensus is that a second wave of coronavirus is likely in the fall. He urged education officials to have plans in case the second wave hits, along with the plans for reopening.

"One of the things that will be a challenge for us is something I call risk tolerance," Carrter said. "We are going to continue to see transmission of this virus through the summer and it is quite likely that we will see a second wave of this pandemic in the fall ... Our plans need to be flexible to turn rapidly and adjust to that."

Summer camps and child care

Summer camps can open June 29 and will be limited to class sizes of 10, with no more than 30 children per program, said Beth Bye, head of the state Office Of Early Education. Very large programs that have adequate space can apply for a waiver in order to allow more children.

A little under 30 percent of child care programs have remained open during the pandemic, Bye said. Gov. Ned Lamont asked child care facilities to stay open for healthcare workers.

The state has received many 211 calls from hospital staff and nursing home workers who have had difficulty obtaining child care. More than half of the 211 calls requesting child care have been from hospital workers.

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K-12 schools

State Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona said he is exploring the possibility of smaller class sizes and hybrid in-person and distance learning to help limit the spread of coronavirus in schools. Much of the plan will depend on Connecticut’s public health situation around the time of school reopening in the fall, he said.

Connecticut Education Association Executive Director Donald Williams said teachers are eager to get back to teaching in the classroom in the fall, but there is still concern about what in-person education will look like. Everything from school busing, to time in hallways will likely have to change, he said.

The last thing teachers want is for schools to become mass spreaders of the virus in the fall, he said. There is also some concern about an inflammation illness linked to the coronavirus that has killed three young children in New York and sickened 73 others.

American Federation of Teachers Connecticut President Jan Hochadel said that 75 percent of teachers surveyed said that distance learning isn’t as effective as in-person learning in the long-term.

Educators are also worried about state and municipal budgets, which have been impacted the pandemic.

“They are concerned whether elected officials will fund our future,” she said.

Teachers and social workers have gone to great lengths to reach every child during distance learning, but not everyone has been reached said Fran Rabinowitz, head of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents.

“We’ve had a very difficult time doing that with some of our children… That is a major concern,” she said.

There is even greater difficulty with reaching students with disabilities, she said.

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Higher education challenges

Many higher education institutions are thinking about ending the in-person semester at Thanksgiving break and having remote lessons and exams between the Thanksgiving break and winter recess, said former Yale University president Rick Levin.

One challenge will be students coming back for the spring 2021 semester because there could be a high incidence of infections over the break, he said.

University of Connecticut President Thomas Katsouleas said that residential colleges will be particularly challenged because students from different backgrounds and areas come to one location. Robust testing would be necessary to reopen them properly, he said.

“It needs to be a state and national priority if we are going to get the state running again,” he said. “Reopen Connecticut it starts with those residential campuses.”

Connecticut’s college reopening plan calls for testing all residential college students upon return to campus.

Connecticut State Colleges has refunded about $25 million in room and board fees to students, said President Mark Ojakian. Finances for the system will be difficult.

Private colleges will also be financially strained in an effort to support equity for students, said Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney. Several institutions are tapping into their endowment, but that alone won’t be enough unless additional resources are provided from federal state and local governments.