Some middle school and high school students in West Hartford returned to in-person learning on Wednesday.
The schools moved out of hybrid and the middle school and high school students now have in-person instruction daily, West Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Tom Moore said in a letter to families.
Mike Kirkutis, of West Hartford, said he os excited to see everyone again.
"Learning wise it’s kind of difficult to learn online because when you’re in school you can ask questions," he said.
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Mike's mom, Lynne Kirkutis, said she thinks there are some nerves, but it’s time and the kids need to get back. Her children are in elementary school, middle school and high school and said online learning "was a bit much."
"It’s difficult. You have to adapt. You know, I’m trying to work from home to so it’s hard. Lucky my kids were pretty independent, so I think it’s time," she said.
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The change does not impact anyone who has elected remote learning for the full school year, Moore added.
"This has obviously been a long time coming, and I am happy that we will welcome our students back to our schools, not just to meet their academic needs, but so that they can be with their friends, and close out the last three months of this school year with some degree of normalcy," Moore said in the letter.
District officials said many factors were taken into account in the decision including the significant decline in cases in town and schools and the upcoming warmer weather, which will allow some classes to move outdoors in some instances and increase the ventilation opportunities. Mask wearing will still be required, they added.
" Much like the elementary schools since October, with everyone in school there cannot uniformly be six feet between student desks, and clearly, hallways will be more crowded. But we continue to learn about the virus, and with the decrease in cases, the most important metric, it makes our return to school possible," Moore added.
The new schedule will have the school day end with a grab-and-go lunch period instead of having it in the middle of the day since district officials said it would be a struggle to have lunches with so many students in the cafeteria.
Classes will also continue to be streamed so if a student needs to sign in from home, that is still possible, officials added.
For more details on West Hartford's return to school plan, click here.
