• Bridgeport Public Schools

    February 16, 2022

    Dear Bridgeport Public School Community:

    The purpose of this letter is to update you on the recent events related to masking in schools. On February 7th Governor Lamont announced that he was recommending a plan to eliminate the statewide requirement for masking in schools.  The Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Connecticut State Department of Education announced that they are in the process of providing public health guidance for Connecticut’s schools in response to decreasing levels of COVID-19 in the state and in advance of the planned Feb. 28 elimination of the statewide school mask requirement.

    Beginning Feb. 28, the determination on whether to require masks in schools will be made at the local level. The guidance will advise schools on how to manage COVID-19 safely as part of a routine disease prevention model and will be posted in the coming days. At a regular meeting of the Bridgeport Board of Education on February 15, 2022, the Board voted to extend the mask mandate in all Bridgeport Public Schools until March 31, 2022.  

    The Bridgeport Board of Education’s decision will allow for more time to evaluate the trends of COVID-19 in our local community. Our local positivity rates and percentage of children vaccinated are important data points that we continue to monitor. As of the writing of this letter, many of our students are not yet fully vaccinated. I encourage all parents to discuss the topic of vaccines with their child’s pediatrician so they may make an informed decision on whether to should vaccinate their child. Enjoy the long holiday weekend.


    Sincerely,

    Michael J. Testani
    Superintendent of Schools