Press Release

Good morning Westport Families and Staff,

Just before the holidays I spoke of the breakthroughs that were just over the horizon, reasons to be optimistic as we endure this season and the pandemic.  Today, I could not be more enthusiastic to share that Governor Lamont will make an announcement that will continue to support our work as we aim to provide as much in-person schooling for our students as possible.

At his 4:00 p.m. press conference today, Governor Lamont will announce that effective March 1st, 2021, COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be opening up for school staff, which includes any staff that work in school buildings and /or interact with students.  The month of March will be focused on the task of vaccinating these school personnel and childcare providers throughout Connecticut.

A great deal of work has been done by a number of people in our school community to advocate for the vaccination of school personnel.  We are most appreciative of these voices as they have finally been heard. Today, we are on the doorstep as we endeavor to have all school personnel vaccinated in the month of March.  

While the news of vaccinating school personnel is wonderful, we will continue with our efforts of keeping the community updated with new cases of COVID-19. The community and regional rates have dropped dramatically over the past month, coinciding perfectly with our efforts to provide full in-person schooling K-8 and increased access at Staples High School beginning on March 1.  

That said, since my last communication on Thursday, February 18, 2021, the District received 4 new positive reports of COVID-19 associated with our schools.The reports came from the following schools:

• Long Lots Elementary School - 1

• Saugatuck Elementary School - 1

• Bedford Middle School - 1

• Staples High School - 1

As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.

Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.

Respectfully,

Thomas Scarice

Superintendent of Schools