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October 18, 2020
To:
Colchester Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeffrey Burt
Colchester Board of Education
Colchester First Selectman, Ms. Mary Bylone
From:
Michael Dubreuil
180 Woodbine Road, Colchester
References:
(A) School Reopening Plan; Colchester Public Schools; V.2; dated August 25, 2020
(B) CPS Instructional Model Update; Superintendent Burt; dated September 30, 2020
(C) Addendum 4 Interim Guidance for Decision-Making Regarding the Use of In-Person,
Hybrid (Blended), or Remote Learning Models in Connecticut Schools during
COVID-19; Connecticut State Department of Education; dated August 3, 2020
(D) CPS Instructional Model Update; Superintendent Burt; dated October 1, 2020
(E) COVID-19 Update October 16, 2020; Superintendent Burt; dated October 16, 2020
(F) Series 0000/1000 Community/Board Operations, Policies, Regulations and Bylaws
of the Colchester Public Schools; Colchester Public Schools
(G) Great Barrington Declaration; https://gbdeclaration.org/; dated October 4, 2020
(H) Series 9000 Bylaws of the Board, Policies, Regulations and Bylaws of the
Colchester Public Schools; Colchester Public Schools
Attachments:
(1) Chatham Health District Status Report; dated October 12, 2020
To all concerned,
The School Reopening Plan, Reference (A), defines the current plan for reopening
Colchester schools during the pandemic. Page 4 indicates, “The Colchester Public
School District is working to develop procedures and protocols to ensure a safe and
secure return to on-campus instruction for the Fall of 2020. The State of Connecticut
has directed districts to plan for all students to return to traditional instruction to start the
school year, so long as public health data continues to support this model.”
Reference (A) defines learning models based on the level of community spread of
COVID-19; the learning models defined are: In-Person Learning, Hybrid Learning, and
Remote Learning. The plan is deficient and recognizes a void in the plan by noting, “As
of July 24, 2020, districts have not been provided with a detailed model of when
learning should shift between the three models above.”
In a September email to Colchester families and staff, Reference (B), Superintendent
Burt references Reference (C) and indicates, “based on Addendum 4 to the CSDE
“Adapt, Advance, Achieve” plan, the leading indicator of less than 10 new cases per
100,000 population has been consistent and favors full, in-person learning.” Indirectly
Reference (C) fills the void in Reference (A).
The town of Colchester is located within the area of cognizance of the Chatham Health
District (CHD). On a weekly basis CHD publishes a publicly available weekly status
report on COVID-19. The current weekly status report is provided as Enclosure (1).
According to the CHD weekly status report, Enclosure (1), the following statements are
facts:
● The 7-day moving average per 100,000 population community case rate has
never exceeded 10 new cases per day.
● Within the health district, 4 out of 6 school systems are operating in the
“Full-Time” learning model.
Despite guidance from the Connecticut Department of Education, and health data
supporting full-time in-person learning, Superintendent Burt chose to start the school
year in the hybrid learning model. This decision contradicts the plan; no explanation that
references the plan and health data was ever given to parents.
In an October 1st email, Reference (D), Superintendent Burt addressed the reopening
of Colchester schools. In the email he indicated the schools would remain in the hybrid
model due to “a significant increase in community spread in Norwich as well as other
communities in the area.” The Superintendent did not address the plan or the health
data. The term “significant increase” is a meaningless term without additional
information; for example, was the increase significant with regards to Reference (C). A
review of the CHD data during that time revealed a negligible increase in community
spread. In fact, the data would merit entering or remaining in the full-time in-person
learning model.
In an October 16th email on COVID-19 and school reopening, Reference (E),
Superintendent Burt never mentions the plan or actual local health data. The letter
states, “Current data show an increase in both the State of CT and New London County,
meaning that cases per 100,000 are on the rise. If this trend continues, we will have to
cautiously revisit the reentry plan.” Health data is vaguely presented without context.
The reference to county level data may be because of a new emphasis by the
Connecticut State Department of Education to include county level data when making
learning model decisions. The use of New London county data when making learning
model decisions for Colchester should be carefully considered. The following problems
exist:
● Colchecter is geographically distant from the center of New London country. The
distance is so great, the county’s de-facto newspaper, The Day, does not offer
home delivery to Colchester.
● Colchester is uniquely bordered by 3 other counties: Middlesex, Hartford, and
Tolland.
It would seem appropriate that when making learning model decisions when using
county level health data that the counties of New London, Middlesex, Hartford, and
Tolland should be weighted. The weighting criteria should be documented in the
reopening plan.
Another reason given by the State Department of Education to use county level health
data is to increase stability of the data, The data from CHD is remarkably stable, and
has always been below 10 new cases per 100,000 population. The data supports
Colchester using a full-time in-person learning model.
The Colchester Public School system follows a “Code of Ethics” (Reference F). The
code of ethics defines how board members should conduct themselves, “ In fulfilling my
responsibilities, I will think of ‘children first.’” It is imperative to understand that although
we measure COVID-19’s effect on the broader community that we reflect on the
statement “children first.” COVID-19 is a virus that is less harmful to children than
influenza (Reference G). To my knowledge, influenza has never caused Colchester
Public schools to enter into learning models that consist of remote education.
I propose the following recommendations.
To the Colchester Board of Education:
● Add an agenda item to board meetings to discuss the current COVID-19 Plan
and Response. Although the board should not try to “run the schools”, it is
imperative that during this pandemic response they are updated on the latest
policies and actions.
● With respect to the Code of Ethics (Reference E) the board should consider
censuring Superintendent Burt in accordance with Reference (H). The
superintendent has:
○ Failed to maintain the School Reopening Plan (Reference A)
○ Failed to follow the School Reopening Plan (Reference A)
○ Failed to ensure the community is fully and accurately informed about our
schools.
■ When communicating with parents on school reopening the
superintendent never references the School Reopening Plan
(Reference A). As evidence in Reference (D) and (E).
■ I attended a Zoom meeting on October 1, 2020 on a JJIS
Instructional Model Parent Discussion. I did not leave that meeting
with the understanding there was a plan with metrics on reopening;
or the fact that we were currently not following the plan. I have
spoken to other parents who aren’t aware a formal school
reopening plan actually exists.
To Colchester First Selectman, Ms. Mary Bylone:
● In an October 8, 2020 Facebook Live session you indicated that you have no
jurisdiction on the school system; however you do have periodic conversations
with Superintendent Burt. I would encourage you that during your conversations
with Superintendent Burt that you extol the virtues of transparency and integrity.
To Colchester Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeffrey Burt:
● Update the missing information in the School Reopening Plan (Reference A) with
information from the Connecticut State Department of Education (Reference C).
● Continue to maintain and re-issue the School Reopening Plan (Reference A) with
any changes.
● When communicating with parents on reopening the schools, reference the
School Reopening Plan (Reference A) and provide the health data your
decisions are based on.
● In accordance with the School Reopening Plan (Reference A) and health data
from CHD (Attachment 1) immediately enter into the in-person learning model.
Sincerely,
Michael Dubreuil
Attachment (1)
Chatham Health District Status Report
October 12, 2020
Chatham Health District Status Report
Report Date October 12, 2020
Cumulative COVID-19 Cases as of 10/12/2020
Median Max Min Total
Male Female Deaths
Age Age Age Cases*
Colchester 45% 55% 55 101 1 138 6
East Haddam 68% 32% 50 77 4 37 1
East Hampton 38% 62% 47 94 18 74 3
Hebron 44% 56% 47 82 10 54 2
Marlborough 36% 64% 70 99 9 105 20
Portland 45% 55% 66 101 17 89 14
Total CHD 44% 56% 56 101 1 497 46
*Case numbers in the table above include cases from long-term care
facilities, and may be different from those reported by the State of
Connecticut due to lag in reporting and surveillance system
inconsistencies.
Chatham Health District is reporting case numbers weekly on Mondays. For the most current reports
of case counts by town on other days, please visit https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus and click on
“Connecticut COVID-19 Data Tracker”.
Rate of New Daily Community-Based Cases of COVID-19 and 7-Day
Moving Average per 100,000 by Date, Chatham Health District,
Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 per 100,000
10/12/2020
12.0
New Cases per 100,000
10.0 7-Day Moving Average per…
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
Data Source: Connecticut Department of Public Health Electronic Disease Surveillance System, excludes cases
in long-term care.
Cases in Long-term care facilities have been excluded from the graph above to better reflect the risk of
COVID-19 in the community, and align with CT DPH metrics for COVID-19 alerts and schools.
Transmission of COVID-19 in the community in Chatham health District has accelerated since mid-
August. The 7-day moving average of cases has nearly doubled compared to the rates seen over much
of the summer. Most new cases in the community continue to reflect recent out-of-state travel, testing
associated with college students, household contacts of those individuals, and private social
interactions. Cases are identifying high numbers of close contacts during contact tracing. Personal
protective measures continue to be the best way to prevent transmission – wear a mask, avoid crowds,
stay 6 feet away from others as much as possible, wash your hands frequently, and stay home when
sick. Household members of people sick with COVID-19 continue to be at the highest risk for developing
infection with COVID-19. People who are confirmed to have COVID-19 should isolate themselves away
from others for at least 10 days, including from members of their own household by staying in a
separate room of the house, and using a separate bathroom if possible.
COVID-19 Tests Performed by Sample Collection Date, And 7-Day Moving
Average, Chatham Health District, Reported Through 10/12/2020
700
600 Tests Performed
7-Day Moving Average
500
Tests Performed
400
300
200
100
0
Data Source: Connecticut Department of Public Health Electronic Disease Surveillance System
SARS-CoV-2 Tests (PCR Viral Detection, and Antigen) and % Positive as of 10/12/2020
October to
April May June July August September Date
Tests Positive Tests Positive Tests Positive Tests Positive Tests Positive Tests Positive Tests Positive
Colchester 219 10.0% 625 2.4% 1188 0.6% 1729 0.1% 1553 0.3% 2147 3.5% 1085 2.6%
East Haddam 58 8.6% 204 3.9% 435 0.7% 619 0.3% 661 1.4% 881 0.6% 522 0.8%
East Hampton 165 21.2% 369 5.7% 666 1.2% 993 0.6% 1113 0.7% 1453 0.8% 554 0.7%
Hebron 79 13.9% 265 3.8% 460 0.4% 649 0.5% 775 0.3% 1008 1.7% 420 2.6%
Marlborough 116 30.2% 214 21.5% 416 4.3% 585 0.5% 626 0.3% 899 0.3% 343 0.3%
Portland 127 34.6% 307 5.5% 596 1.8% 958 1.0% 1073 0.6% 1350 0.7% 453 0.7%
All CHD Towns 764 20.0% 1984 5.9% 3761 1.3% 5533 0.5% 5801 0.5% 7738 1.6% 3377 1.5%
Testing of residents in Chatham Health District has accelerated, and the 7-day moving average is
approaching 400 tests per day. A surge in October may be due to long-term care facility testing and
community-based pop-up testing in Colchester and other parts of Eastern Connecticut deployed to
address rising transmission rates in this part of the state. Testing is widely available for Connecticut
residents. The most common method used is viral detection tests (PCR), but antigen tests are also being
frequently used now. Both types of tests detect current infections, and are the only test data reported in
this analysis. The percentage of those test results that are positive to date in the month of October is
1.5%.
Surveillance for nursing home and assisted living facilities can be found at:
https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Nursing-Homes-and-Assisted-Living-Facilities
The latest school reopening indicators can be found at:
https://data.ct.gov/stories/s/CT-School-Reopening/ddy2-ijgu/
CHD Call Volume: Heavy. School reopening guidance and contact tracing support. Outdoor recreation
and event guidance. Routine land use. COVID-19 Social distancing and business compliance complaints.
Questions related to the travel quarantine. Routine housing and nuisance complaints.
Town Status:
Town Emerg EOC EMD EOC Phone Town Offices Schools
Declared Status
Colchester (R4) 3/16/20 Partial Sean Shoemaker 860.209.6271 Open to the Public Hybrid
E Haddam (R3) 3/18/20 Partial Craig Mansfield Open to the Public Full
E Hampton (R3) 3/20/20 Partial Rich Klotzbier 860.267.0088 Open to the Public Full
Hebron (R3) 3/13/20 Partial Paul Bancroft 860.748.2562 Open to the Public Full
Marlborough (R3) 3/16/20 Partial Rich Antonelli 860.712.4931 Closed to the Public Full
Portland (R3) 3/14/20 Partial Don Gouin 860.918.1841 Open to the Public Hybrid