The Botelle Beat

by Virgina Coleman-Prisco

A year ago, the Botelle community was preparing to return to in-person learning for the first time since Covid-19 forced the school into remote instruction in March 2020. Two primary factors, the smaller population and the amount of available space for instruction and mask breaks, allowed Botelle to have in-person instruction for the entire 2020-2021 school year, albeit with some strategic cohort-based quarantines that aided in curbing the spread of Covid -19. Like Botelle, 83 percent of Connecticut schools offered predominately in-person learning during the year.  

One year later, with the Delta variant spreading throughout the state, the Botelle community is preparing for another school year with guidance from the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE). The CSDE required that all schools complete a “Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan” (aka “the plan”), submit it to the CSDE and post it publicly online by June 23, 2021. The Botelle Reopening Committee (consisting of administrators, teachers, custodians, secretaries, board members, parents and town officials) developed the plan for Botelle and it is available at botelleschool.org. Botelle will reopen on September 1st with an all “veteran” crew of teachers and staff that are familiar with the procedures. Some aspects of the plan will stay the same:

Governor Lamont is requiring all school community members to wear masks until at least the end of September.  

Buses will run as usual; students will follow the boarding procedures and be required to wear face masks. 

Mask breaks will be built into the day, including periods of time outside in socially distant spaces.

In the event of a positive Covid case, it may be necessary to transition to remote learning to allow for an investigation and contact tracing. Any critical news or need to cancel classes will be communicated to families via email and website postings.

At the same time, however, there are some important changes:

Governor Lamont announced in Executive Order No. 13D on August 19, 2021, that all Connecticut school employees (full and part-time teachers, staff, agencies, etc.) are required to be fully vaccinated from Covid-19 on or before September 27th or be subject to weekly tests.

Students will not have to stay in cohorts and will be able to travel to different classrooms throughout the day. 

Remote learning options are not required for school districts, so Botelle is not offering the option for families. If a class or the school needs to quarantine at home, remote learning will then be used during the required period. According to Principal Lauren Valentino, if families do not want to send their children to school in-person, they have the choice to homeschool, which requires registering with the state.  

Cleaning and sanitizing of the school grounds continues, but the deep cleaning each evening is not mandatory.

Parents are still advised to keep sick students at home. Staff and parents of students are required to inform the school nurse if they are sick with Covid-19 related symptoms; such information will be confidential. However, symptoms that relate to seasonal allergies and the like can be addressed with a doctor’s note so that the student needn’t miss school.

To ensure a safe and healthy experience for students and staff, all of these measures will be followed at Botelle. Of course, no one knows what may have to change in a few weeks or months, but the school community will continue to be diligent. Covid-19 is only one part of our lives. Children at Botelle will continue to learn, laugh, grow and play. One student, Fiona Padua, is especially looking forward to seeing her friends again every day and to having Mrs. Tallon, who taught her two older cousins…and her dad!