Greenwich Coronavirus Updates: Schools Shorten Spring Break

GREENWICH, CT — As Greenwich continues to combat the spread of the new coronavirus, public school officials have decided to shorten this year's spring break and allow more time for distance leaning. The district calendar posted on the Greenwich Public Schools website currently indicates students will have Good Friday, April 10, as well as Monday, April 13, off from school, however they will continue with distance learning April 14-17.

According to the Greenwich Time, the town's Board of Education voted during a virtual meeting Thursday night to change the spring break schedule, a decision that was made unanimously.

Earlier this week, Superintendent Toni Jones asked families for input regarding the upcoming break, originally scheduled for April 10-19. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont said schools would not re-open until April 20 at the earliest. Schools were originally supposed to be closed just until the end of March to help mitigate the spread of the virus, also referred to as COVID-19.

"Given that the extended closure now spans through spring break, the district is considering utilizing some of those days for distance learning," Jones said in the update. "There are concerns that breaking routines for a week when students must stay inside would not be beneficial, and could cause social distancing to be more challenging for our families and students. This issue is especially concerning now that school fields, parks, and beaches are all closed."

Jones also provided a survey, asking if families would prefer that spring break commence as planned or be shortened.

According to the Greenwich Time, the survey garnered over 3,000 responses from parents. The results of the survey indicated over 80 percent of parents and 85 percent of teachers preferred shortening the break for students to include more distance learning days.

See also: Coronavirus Greenwich: Schools Consider Shortening Spring Break

• Latest Greenwich Coronavirus Updates

COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that's a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.

Patch has reached out to Greenwich Public Schools for further information.