CT Reopens Adapt, Advance, Achieve | Page 5

1 Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut’s Plan to Learn and Grow Together 3. Introduction Guiding Principles The following document is provided for local educational agencies (LEAs) as they begin planning for the fall. Because experts are continuing to learn more about COVID-19 and the conditions surrounding the pandemic are continually changing, this preliminary guidance will likely evolve and be amended or supplemented. Individualized considerations based upon unique circumstances in each school district may also be needed. Each LEA should use this document as a guide and consult with all relevant stakeholders to determine the best way to proceed consistent with the requirements. As Connecticut schools plan to reopen, the guidance and considerations outlined in this document are grounded in six guiding principles: 1. Safeguarding the health and safety of students and staff; 2. Allowing all students the opportunity to return to school full time starting in the fall; 3. Monitoring the school, students, and staff and, when necessary, potentially canceling classes in the future to appropriately contain COVID-19 spread; 4. Emphasizing equity, access, and support to the students and communities that are emerging from this historic disruption; 5. Fostering strong two-way communication with partners such as families, educators, and staff; and 6. Factoring into decisions about reopening the challenges to the physical safety, socialemotional well-being, and the mental health needs of our students when they are not in school. LEAs should enter into planning understanding that health developments may influence decisions to transition to a different instructional model. Specifically, LEAs must balance their planning with contingency plans to provide robust blended learning or remote blended learning for all grades in the event that a school, district, or region has to cancel or limit in-person classes due to health precautions. Guidance on standards for quality blended learning is being developed and will be available on the CSDE website. While the guiding principles of this document will require all LEAs to approach this with a certain level of consistency, LEAs retain discretion in implementing the approach to full time reopening. School boards are encouraged to develop local teams and secure input from all members of the community regarding the complex approach to resuming classes in the fall. The CSDE will stand ready to provide technical support and anticipates that this document will be followed by ongoing support documents, resources, and a variety of templates to assist local planning.