Dear Parents, Staff, and Students of the Enfield Public Schools,

As most of you may have heard, last Thursday Governor Lamont announced at a press conference his intention to permit Connecticut schools to reopen with in-person classes in the fall. He also mentioned that for this to take place, there would be several requirements districts would need to adhere to in order to be eligible to open. During this press conference, the Governor touched upon a few of these requirements, such as face coverings for all students and staff and maximizing social distancing efforts. Governor Lamont also announced that a more detailed version of these guidelines would be shared with superintendents on Monday, June 29th. I realize that many districts sent out communications to all families shortly after the initial press conference, but I would like all of you to know that I intentionally did not, as I was not comfortable sending out communication on such a major decision like this until I was able to see and share facts. I received the detailed guidance for reopening schools yesterday, and although the document is 50 pages long, there are several links within the document that lead to additional requirements for a fall reopen, making this guidance much larger than advertised.

Although there is a lot of information to digest, I wanted to share as much as I could now that I’ve had the opportunity to read the requirements. These guidelines will make school look and operate much differently than we have ever experienced before, and the district is going to need to exhaust every resource possible to make this reopening happen by September. There are some requirements, however, that simply are not feasible, and we currently have questions into state leaders and legal counsel to clarify the district’s responsibility.

In the meantime, administrators, teachers, and support staff will begin working next week to develop Enfield’s plan for reopening, and we will continue to keep you updated and let you know of any obstacles we encounter along the way. Additionally, the guidelines from the state have been posted on our website, and we will continue to post any further documents we receive.

I realize we are living through the most challenging period of our lifetimes, and our kids deserve as much normalcy as we can deliver. We are committed to doing everything possible to get our students back in school, but the health and safety of our students and staff still remain our highest priority.

Thank you - and stay well, 

Christopher J. Drezek

Superintendent of Schools

CT SDE Reopening Plan