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Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together
• Increase cleaning and disinfection of bathrooms consistent with CDC disinfecting
and cleaning guidelines. Set up policies and protocols for bathroom use to minimize
contact with surfaces.
Daily Operations
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Optimize ventilation and fresh air intake.
When consistent with fire code, privacy considerations, and health and safety
requirements, consider propping doors open.
Place a trashcan and paper towel roll by the bathroom door to allow students
and staff to use in order to prevent from touching the handle with their hands.
Install touch-free single-use paper towel dispensers, garbage bins, faucets,
urinals, and toilets if possible.
Discourage storage of any personal items within the bathroom (including staff
bathrooms).
Flexibility and Compartmentalization of Protective Measures
Requirements
• Develop the policies and protocols related to facilities and operations with the
understanding that schools may need to react quickly to changing conditions.
• Ensure options to increase, or relax restrictions are available throughout the
school year to respond effectively to changes in public health data. This requires
compartmentalized solutions that can be deployed or recalled in a timely and
organized way. See also Cancellation of Classes, Remote Learning, and Reopening
Plan, page 24.
Class Groups and Teams (Cohorts)
The purpose of cohorting is to limit the number of students who are exposed to or may be
diagnosed with COVID-19 if there is community transmission in a school. Maintaining stable
cohorts helps to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19.
A “cohort” is a group or team of students and educators with consistent members that stay
together throughout the school day.
Guidance
• Implement the key strategy of establishing stable cohorts within the school
population, when feasible. Placing students in cohorts is strongly encouraged for
grades K–8, and encouraged where feasible for grades 9–12.
• Develop a system for cohorting and logging for the purposes of contact tracing, if
necessary, if there are interactions between different cohorts.
• Ensure cohorts are not based upon any specific demographic or disability criteria.
• Educate students, families, and staff on the value of cohorts. Ensure they understand
that other health and safety guidelines remain important to minimize the risk of infection.
• Restrict the mixing of cohorts. Pay particular attention to eating times, open periods,
and study halls.
• Assign classroom groups with teams of teachers and support personnel, and as much
as possible restrict mixing between teams.
• Notify families of the cohorts so that they can use that information when scheduling
any activities, carpools, or other engagement outside the schoolhouse.
• When possible, have teachers of specific academic content areas rotate, instead of
student groups.