For the last couple of months, Josiah has been enrolled in the hybrid learning model and told NBC Connecticut he's had his share of hard days. "Being at home felt very constricting and it felt as though I couldn't learn as much as I was learning full-time," said Perez-Henry. Prior to the decision, school leaders were consulting with health officials about what needed to happen to get students safely back in the classroom. "Our schools have low positivity rates for staff and for our students and the fact that we've been able to implement our safety mitigations strategies helped with our decision," said Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent for Hartford Public Schools. "We heard loud and clear that families needed to have that option so we worked to the best of our ability to provide options to give families that option."