In an email to CMS families Greenwich Schools superintendent Dr. Toni Jones and CMS principal said the district’s facilities department was in constant touch with engineers, and they remain optimistic that solutions and safety precautions will allow the Greenwich’s Division of Building Inspection to provide a safety clearance for students and staff to return to the building following winter recess (Feb 14-18) on Tuesday, February 22.
“We have received so much good feedback over the past two days from staff, students, and families regarding our temporary relocation,” they wrote. “Our host schools were so welcoming to everyone and the CMS staff were amazing, ready to pivot throughout the day.”
Jones and Healy said that while there had been some bus delays, Tuesday went better than Monday and it had helped that families were not creating extra congestion around the schools
Further, they said the expect the situation to continue to improve as staff get acclimated to the three schools the CMS students are relocated to.
“There will be even more breakout spaces at each location, and some of our physical education classes will go on as scheduled,” Jones and Healy continued adding that they were able to create create a schedule of classes for each site and increase the movement and interaction between students and staff on Tuesday.
“This is of course not an ideal situation, but I do always try to find the silver lining and impart that attitude with my children,” said Board of Education chair Kathleen Stowe. “To my CMS student, this week I’ve encouraged her to see it as an adventure.”
“The 6th graders get to feel like big kids again in an elementary school, the 7th graders perhaps meet some new friends they will connect with in high school, and the 8th graders have a jump start on the transition to high school,” she said, adding that hopefully all the students will be back together again at CMS after vacation to share their stories.
Stowe thanked to the administration and the Town for mobilizing a solution so quickly.
Recently a few parents posted comments on Facebook about concerns that adding children to three schools would result in crowded conditions, not ideal during a pandemic.
The good news is that per the district’s Covid tracker the number of cases is plummeting from 392 a little over a month ago to just 23 on Tuesday.