With the “From Pencil To Print: How It Happens” series we aim to share the writing process and story behind some of The Newtown Bee’s articles. We will periodically feature stories on some of our top articles and how our reporters pulled everything together to bring our readers the news. Articles require fact checking, follow up e-mails and phone calls, taking notes and/or recording meetings, writing and rewriting to create a finished product. And then updating in time to meet the deadline for print! The hours of time put into creating a story are not always obvious in the polished final story readers receive — nor is the time spent chasing down leads and pursuing sources as a story unfolds. It is also not possible for readers to know the satisfaction that comes from sharing information; and that is the pinnacle of journalism.

Newtown Public Schools Transition To ‘Distance Learning’

Online readers swiftly discovered the article “Newtown Public Schools Transition To ‘Distance Learning’” once it appeared at newtownbee.com on March 17.

The story ran online first and it later ran in the March 20, 2020, print edition with a more in-depth look at the newly implemented Newtown Alternative Learning Plan. Yet, no story begins at its end, and for this online news article, pieces of it began roughly 2½ weeks prior.

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue sent a message to district parents and staff on February 27 regarding a Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) media briefing on the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. At the time the school district was monitoring the situation and was “in constant communication with the Newtown Health District” and First Selectman Dan Rosenthal.

In the February 27 message, Dr Rodrigue explained, “If the situation at the community level should become a threat, prompting school closures of any kind, parents will be notified with a specific plan in place.”

While the district monitored and prepared for COVID-19, The Newtown Bee continued relaying the superintendent’s messages to the community and preparing for further updates.

The superintendent released another letter on March 6. At that time the district was continuing to follow sanitizing recommendations and other protocols from the CDC.

“On Wednesday, March 4, I met with my leadership team to begin to outline an Alternative Learning Plan for our students,” Dr Rodrigue wrote on March 6. “This would enable learning to continue, even if schools are closed. Staff worked in their respective buildings during their professional learning community time to create a plan for all students to access instructional activities and resources, using both print and digital platforms. These plans will be shared with you next week.”

By March 11, Dr Rodrigue had another message for the community. Schools were being closed to students on March 13 to allow professional development time for staff regarding COVID-19 updates.

“Newtown,” the March 11 message read in part, “will also apply for a waiver from the state of Connecticut to support distance learning that may be counted as regular school days.”

Two days later, Dr Rodrigue released another message to district staff and families: Newtown Public Schools would be closed “until further notice” starting on March 16.

For each of the superintendent’s messages, The Newtown Bee reached out to the district to receive the information directly from the district. The messages were then posted online individually as they were released.

While everything that runs in The Newtown Bee is edited to meet the newspaper’s style and format, the superintendent’s messages were kept close to their original format to share Dr Rodrigue’s messages in her own words.

Once posted online the messages were then shared on The Newtown Bee’s Facebook page and through it’s Twitter account.

Then in the evening of March 16, Dr Rodrigue shared another update with district staff and parents announcing the district would transition to “distance learning” starting on March 18.

Dr Rodrigue’s March 16 message was included nearly in full in The Newtown Bee’s subsequent article the following day; as the education reporter, I called Dr Rodrigue midmorning on March 17 to add more details to the article.

The phone interview lasted between 20 to 25 minutes. While Dr Rodrigue offered details on the new Newtown Alternative Learning Plan, a food distribution system for families in need through the district’s food service provider Whitsons Culinary Group, and on what students and families could expect from distance learning, I typed notes.

The notes were then used along with the superintendent’s March 16 message to create the online version of the “Newtown Public Schools Transition To ‘Distance Learning’” article. The superintendent also supplied a photo from the March 13 professional development day to run with the story.

The story was posted by the early afternoon on newtownbee.com and shared on The Newtown Bee’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The longer print edition version of the story was published with the headline, “Newtown Public Schools Going The ‘Distance’ For ‘Learning.’”