Ansonia Schools Will Go Online Until Mid-January

ANSONIA — Ansonia schools announced Thursday that in-person learning will cease at the end of the day on Friday, Nov. 13.

“We anticipate holding classes in a remote setting until Jan. 18, 2021,” Ansonia Schools Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said in a letter to the community. ​“We will reassess our model based on our 14-day rolling average and our ability to staff our buildings.”

Click the play button to listen to the robocall issued by the school district.

The news is not a surprise. The superintendent, in previous letters, had repeatedly said the switch to online learning was a strong possibility.

At a school board meeting Wednesday, DiBacco and district medical consultant Dr. Domenic Casablanca noted the City of Ansonia has the highest COVID-19 positivity rates in the lower Naugatuck Valley.

Ansonia has been categorized as a COVID-19 ​“red alert” community since Oct. 29, and the two-week average has been on the increase.

Another COVID-19 update is due from the state today.

“If Ansonia stays in the red, the guidelines from DPH on school reopening is that we should go to 100 percent remote,” Casablanca said Wednesday night, noting that on Tuesday Shelton schools opted to switch to online learning until January.

School officials said Mead School was open to in-person students Thursday for ​“Cohort B.” Those students will attend in-person Friday, but that will be the last day of in-person learning until January.

The superintendent’s letter is posted below.

Ansonia Instructional Model Parent Letter 11.12.20 by The Valley Indy on Scribd

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