Valley Regional High School Guidelines For Remote Student Status

ESSEX, CHESTER, DEEP RIVER, CT — After calling for full remote learning on Friday, January 15 due to a positive Covid-19 case that impacted 56 students and 9 staff, then sending students home at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19 due to another positive Covid-19 that impacted another 49 students and 13 staff at the high school, as well as bus drivers and four John Winthrop Middle School students, VRHS families and students where notified early Wednesday, Janaury 20, that school would be remote for the day. Later that afternoon, Principal Mike Barile sent out this additional letter, via email, outlining details of remote status for students and attendance:

Dear Valley Families,
As we begin the second semester of the school year tomorrow, I wanted to take the time to reset the guidelines for requesting remote learning status for your student.

• Remote learning status is intended for students who either are choosing not to attend in-person learning due to COVID concerns for an extended period of time (two weeks or more), have been required to quarantine due to close contact, or are awaiting test results. In these instances, your child will be considered remote present so long as they log in and participate in at least half of the school day.
• The month of December was a logistical challenge due to students changing their attendance status frequently, and sometimes without parental communication to the school.
• Please understand that frequent movement in and out of school strains our staff to keep accurate attendance records, communicate each student’s status to teachers, and provide teachers ample time to arrange online assessments and other remote considerations (e.g., prepare materials to be picked up).
• Students wishing not to attend school for a few days at a time/are out sick, will be considered absent for attendance purposes. While they still may be able to live-stream into their classes, they are considered absent since their status is as an in-person learner. In-person learners may not take assessments remotely.
• Only parents who are declaring their children as remote learners (as defined above), need to contact me directly when status changes.
• Please refer to CDC for symptoms to monitor. If your child is experiencing any COVID symptoms, please err on the side of caution and keep your child home. All short-term absences can be communicated through our regular attendance system.

All remote students are expected to follow their daily schedule and attend their classes in real-time.

Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Mike Barile
Principal