cheshirecitizen.com
Volume 12, Number 36
Thursday, September 9, 2021
Test results show pandemic, remote learning slowed academic progress By Michael Gagne Record-Journal staff
Students across the area who attended class in-person for most of the 20202021 school year made stronger gains overall in mathematics and reading than peers who spent less time in the classroom or were full-time remote learners as a result of the pandemic.
That is according to the results of Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests administered to students in grades three to eight last spring. The state Department of Education reported the results Wednesday, Sept. 1. In Meriden, roughly one-quarter of grades three-to-eight students who spent the majority of the 2020-2021 school year in remote learning
achieved at least grade level proficiency, according to SBAC results. Meanwhile, more than 33% of students who were in-person learners for most of the school year earned scores that demonstrated they were achieving at grade level. By comparison, during the 2018-2019 school year — the last full school year before the pandemic led to the shut-
down of school buildings statewide — more than 38% of Meriden students in those same grades had achieved at least grade level proficiency on statewide tests. Local results mirror what state officials have observed about the pandemic’s impact on learning. See Results, A3
Fall festival starts Friday
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Synagogues offer holy day services amid rise in cases By Jessica Simms Special to the Record-Journal
Record-Journal staff
Area synagogues are observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — the two holiest days of the year for the Jewish community — in a safe manner as COVID cases rise. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began at sundown Sept. 6, while Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown on Sept. 15.
Jodi Harris, director of Learning and Engagement, stands in the synagogue of Temple Beth David in Cheshire. Area synagogues are preparing to observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in a safe manner.
The Gishrei Shalom Jewish Congregation in Southington is holding services both virtually and in-person. “We rent space from a church with a very large sanctuary, so we are able to safely space out,” said Rabbi Alana Wasserman. “For people that want to come in-person, we are requiring that everybody wear a mask and that you just sit with your own family pod ... for the people that are not yet comfortable coming into the building, we’re going to have services on Zoom.”
“Everyone wants tradition, so even though they may not be sitting in the sanctuary, the fact is they are still hearing the same prayers and are still a part of the community,” Wasserman added.
Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
At Temple Beth David in Cheshire, President Harold Kramer said Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services will only be held on Zoom. “We can’t fit everybody in the sanctuary,” Kramer said. “In normal years we have two services, one early in the
morning and one later in the morning to fit everybody in and it’s pretty tight.” Kramer said the temple’s reopening committee includes health care professionals. “They thought it was too much of a risk,” Kramer said. “If even one person got sick because of our services, that wouldn’t be very good.” See Synagogues, A2
The 33rd Cheshire Fall Festival and Market Place kicks off tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 10, and it looks as if the weather couldn’t be nicer for the town’s big autumn event. Both Friday and Saturday promise to be mostly sunny and in the 70s, dipping to a comfortable temperature of around 60 in the evening. The festival was cancelled last year, due to the pandemic, but the Cheshire Chamber of Commerce officials are bringing back all the traditional favorites along with some special events and activities this time around. See Festival, A2