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03/10/2020 12:00 AMThe Guilford School District has been taking significant precautions to stave off the potential of a coronavirus infection in the district, as well as putting together preliminary plans for what Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman described as the “eventuality of any prolonged school closing that may occur.”
The highly contagious virus, which originated in China, has infected more than 500 people in the United States, causing more than 20 deaths.
Freeman said the district has not had any indication at the state level that there will be any large-scale mandated closing of schools in Connecticut, but said he has asked teachers to come up with “tele-schooling” strategies while having other conversations about what a long-term closing might look like.
In the meantime, the district is significantly ramping up efforts to keep schools clean, including suspending all overnight maintenance work to deep-clean, as well as putting out regular updates and information for parents and community members.
Students, parents, and staff are being reminded to wash their hands and cough and sneeze into their elbows, and any student with a fever should be staying home, Freeman said.
The district has also been keeping parents up to date on developments nationwide and in the state related to the disease.
Governor Ned Lamont announced the first presumptive case of the virus in Connecticut on March 8, affecting a man from Wilton who had recently traveled to California.
Currently, the front page of the Guilford Schools website www.guilfordschools.org has a link to a coronavirus hub, that includes links to letters Freeman has sent out to parents as well as further links to resources from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and an infosheet providing guidance on how to talk to children about infectious disease outbreaks.
In one letter written by Freeman dated March 2, he said that “while the threat level is still low,” families should “plan for the possibility of a 14-day school closure” related to the coronavirus.
What exactly a closing might look like, how long it might last, and whether students would need to make up the days missed in the summer are all questions for which Freeman said he does not currently have answers as both local and national experts continue to monitor the spread of the disease.
“Families need to start thinking about what their plans would be for childcare during that time,” Freeman told the Courier. “We don’t have the expectation that kindergartners and 1st graders could simply and independently shift over to remote, digital tele-schooling and do it without some kind of adult support. There’s a lot of unanswered questions right now, and I don’t think we will have answers to those until the educational officials and the health officials at the state level make a determination.”
Freeman said the district remains in close contact with these state agencies, as well as members of Guilford’s Department of Public Health.
Guilford Public Health Director Dennis Johnson told the Courier via email that he has responded to daily concerns about the coronavirus, and the town continues to provide guidance to both employees and residents about the proper precautions to take.
While teachers and community members are being asked to prepare for all the eventuality of a closing, the district has implemented several new policies and deployed new equipment to uphold levels of cleanliness.
Freeman said classrooms are being equipped with extra hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, along with deploying sanitizer dispensers in hallways and other common areas.
The district has also ordered a new piece of equipment—one for every school, in fact: a machine that Freeman described as a sort of industrial-sized aerosol cleaner that’s used when students are not in the building and can more efficiently clean on a large scale.
Freeman said the district is very sensitive to any parents who have concerns about allergies or the contents of these sprays, and encouraged anyone with questions to reach out to their school nurse.
There have been no movements as far as custodial staff to the night shift for cleaning purposes, Freeman said.
The district is also continuing to follow “green cleaning” guidelines implemented by the state approximately a decade ago, though he said that could change depending on decisions at the state level.
For more information and up-to-date communications from the Guilford School District on the coronavirus, visit www.guilfordschools.org.