Just days before public schools were to resume in-person classes in the Hat City since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Danbury has decided to once again postpone opening up its classrooms.

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In an official announcement on Friday (October 23), the city's Superintendent of Public Schools Dr. Sal Pascarella said that after a close watch of Danbury's recent increase in positive cases of COVID-19, officials including Mayor Mark Boughton, local medical advisors, and the Department of Public Health made the decision to pull the plug on the students' return. Instead, laptops and tablets will remain the main method of learning as Danbury's youth will continue to be schooled at a distance.

Dr. Pascarella said that students in Kindergarten through grade 5 will simply resume the remote learning schedule they've been on with their current teachers. Students enrolled in grades 6 through 12 will begin their revised bell schedule as posted in PowerSchool, the Danbury school system's online portal.

"We are closely monitoring this situation and working with the Mayor, Department of Public Health and medical advisors and will provide you with updates as we know more," said Dr. Pascarella. "Please know as a district we are committed to returning to in-person learning as soon as the community conditions allow us to safely do so. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your building administrator."

Friday's announcement also noted that while the SAT session scheduled for Tuesday, October 27 will be cancelled, breakfast and lunch for students will remain available for pickup Monday through Friday, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at all public schools.

The announcement seems to come along with many mixed feelings from the members of the community, as you can read in the comments made across local social media accounts:

Dear Families and Community Members:
As a school district, we have been closely monitoring the increase in the community...

Posted by Mayor Mark Boughton on Friday, October 23, 2020

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