Car Parades Raise Spirits Of Fairfield Students Amid Coronavirus

FAIRFIELD, CT — Although school buildings have been shuttered for weeks as a precaution against the new coronavirus, some Fairfield teachers recently reconnected with their students in person — from a safe distance, of course.

Both Roger Sherman and Jennings elementary schools have held car parades, during which school staff drove through their students’ neighborhood, waving to the familiar faces with streamers, signs and logos to add to the festivities.

School buildings were closed last month in Fairfield amid the spread of the virus, which has infected thousands and killed hundreds in Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday extended public school closures to May 20, a month past when they were set to end. Unable to teach in their classrooms, Fairfield educators and their students have switched to remote learning.

“The staff wanted to raise the spirits of our Sherman children and families and remind them that we miss them, love each and every one of them, and are proud of the work they’re conducting online,” Principal Ian Banner said in an email.

About 40 cars drove the pre-determined parade route April 2 through the Sherman neighborhood. School staff hoped the parade would help to address students’ social-emotional needs, according to Banner.

“We received such wonderful feedback that expressed how much the students’ and families’ spirits were raised by this event,” Banner said in the email.

The week before the Sherman parade, Jennings elementary held a similar event, during which Principal Tony Vuolo and staff rolled through the school neighborhood, “ringing cow bells and tooting car horns,” according to Fairfield resident Jim Honeycutt, who attended the March 27 parade with his granddaughter.

“It was heartwarming for the kids to see their principal and teachers waving at them with signs in their car windows saying, ‘We Miss You,’” Honeycutt said in an email.