Editor’s note (8/31/2020): Since this article was originally published, the start date of school was changed from September 3, 2020 to September 8th.
While starting in unusual times, the 2020-2021 New Britain school school year is set to begin on September 8th and run through June 11th.
The Consolidated School District of New Britain has been making plans for reopening the city’s schools, “Following the requirements and guidelines set forth by the Connecticut State Department of Education.” The school district has been providing families with updates on what to expect in the upcoming school year.
On August 3, 2020, the school district announced that, “After careful consideration – and knowing that we want to maintain the highest level of safety and well-being for all students and staff – we will open the coming school year in our hybrid model through at least the remainder of 2020.”
The district posted a web page describing how the “hybrid model” is to work, saying that, “The hybrid model is a combination of in-school building instruction and remote learning from home,” based on two, “alternating cohorts.”
While, the district says that, “Cohort A will consist of students with last names beginning with A-L, and Cohort B will consist of students with last names starting with M-Z,” the district says that it will try to group siblings together. The district has an updated “Cohort Schedule.” posted on its Reopening Plan web page.
“We will continue to work closely with the New Britain Health Department and the State Department of Education,” the school district says, “and will reassess before the end of 2020. At that time, we will make a determination as to whether we remain in a hybrid model to begin the 2021 calendar year or switch to the traditional model with all students returning to school.”
One change in the 2020-2021 school calendar, however, is unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2020-2021 school year, for the first time, the school district will recognize Indigenous Peoples Day. The day will be recognized on October 12, 2020.
In July, the Board of Education voted to exchange Columbus Day, as a day off from school, for Indigenous Peoples Day, saying that the new policy is, “to reframe Euro-centric history by centering the experiences of the Indigenous Peoples in the United States and internationally – many of whom still struggle with income inequality, sovereignty, and equity in having their basic needs met in the health, education, and other sectors.”
The Board of Education said that,
In this time of increased awareness and in alignment with district priorities that include using an equity lens and anti-racism in all aspects of our practice, it behooves the New Britain Board of Education and the CSDNB to acknowledge that Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BBIPOC) still suffer from the ramifications of the colonial oppression that ensued at the hands of European explorers like Columbus.
