COVID-19 Dashboard

As of August 31, 2022 all before and after school programs, sports and activities are expected to proceed as usual.

Suffield Public Schools COVID-19 Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan

We are so pleased to share that the Connecticut State Department of Education Office of Nutrition has announced that the State, in conjunction with the United States Department of Education, will be extending the Free Lunch Program for the 2022-2023 school year.  At this point, we are still uncertain when this opportunity will expire; however, it is likely that the Suffield Public Schools will be able to provide this option for several more months before it expires.  Information regarding this opportunity will be communicated to families once a final decision has been made on this.  However, please also be sure to complete the eligibility form if you believe your child may qualify for Free or Reduced Lunches based on family income.

• Free or Reduced Price Meals Application - PDF
• Parent Letter and Frequently Asked Questions - PDF

• CT Department of Public Health
• CT North Central District Health Department
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization
• Helping Children Cope with Stress - CDC
• Talking With Your Children about Highly Stressful Events - Riverside Trauma Center
• Talking with Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks

We do anticipate intermittent periods of higher positive case counts, and we will respond as necessary to ensure our schools remain functional for in-person learning throughout the school year.  To help us stay on course this year, please consider vaccination.

Detailed information regarding vaccination can be found here on the State of CT Department of Public Health's Vaccine Portal.

The Suffield Public Schools will not be implementing the Test-Mask-Go policy that has been noted by the Department of Public Health as an option for Connecticut Schools.  Instead, we will begin the school year with the same procedures we concluded with at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.  If your child is symptomatic with COVID-19 symptoms, we request that you do not send them to school prior to testing for COVID-19.  If your child has symptoms, but has tested negative, they may return to school; however, we encourage parents to continue testing until the symptoms are no longer present and that their child wears a mask.  Please note that neither of these recommendations are expectations, they are just suggestions.  However, no student should be returning to school until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours.

Please reach out to our school nurses if you need access to a COVID-19 self-test kit for early monitoring of COVID-19 symptoms.

Due to new legislation that prohibits dual teaching (simultaneous in-person and remote teaching), students who are absent from school due to a COVID-19 related illness and/or exposure will no longer be provided the ability to log into their classroom when absent from school.  We recognize that remote access to classroom teaching provided continuity of learning to our absent students, as well as, provided us with some flexibility during January 2022; however, we recognize the many challenges and drawbacks associated with this model and we will remain in compliance with this new mandate for the upcoming school year.  We understand that the potential still exists for teachers to exclusively teach one or the other, but we did not incorporate this into our staffing plan when developing our annual budget.