Westport announces 3 children test positive for COVID-19 as in-person, hybrid schooling announced for some students

Last week three new COVID-19 positive cases in Westport were announced in children.

According to the Westport Board of Health in a release last week, three children under age 11 were among 5 positives added in a 24 hour period.

In a release sent out last week, Superintendent Gary Reese announced that the Westport Community Schools will follow a combination of remote, hybrid and in-person learning this fall for the start of the 2020-21 school year.

The Westport School Committee voted in favor of the plan at its Wednesday, August 26 meeting.

The plan calls for pre-K/pre-school, kindergarten and first grade students at the Alice A. Macomber Primary School to begin school fully in-person when school begins on Wednesday, Sept.16.

Due to smaller classroom sizes and larger enrollment numbers, second grade students at the school will follow a hybrid model where students are put into two groups (Cohort A and B) and will be in school two days a week and remote three days a week, on the following schedule:

Cohort A

In-person: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Remote: Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays

Cohort B

In-person: Thursdays and Fridays
Remote: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays

“It is critical for our younger students to receive direct, in-person instruction from their teachers, and we have worked out a plan that allows us to provide a learning environment that both emphasizes the safety of our students and staff while also maximizing the quality of learning each student will receive,” Superintendent Reese said.

The district sent surveys for any parent or guardian who wishes to keep their pre-K/pre-school, kindergarten or first grade student at home for full remote learning.

Students at the Westport Elementary School and Westport Jr./Sr. High School will engage in full remote learning when the school year begins, with teachers being in their respective buildings five days a week.