COVID-19 New Canaan

District: School Buses Are On Roads To Improve Routes

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The school buses traveling local roads and even making stops as though children would board them are testing routes in order to make drive-times more efficient, district officials say. New Canaan Public Schools rarely gets an opportunity to drive-test routing improvements, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. “The bus drivers are still working for us—they are still employed by DATTCO as part of the contract—and so we thought, let’s get the buses driven and see if we can make the routes more efficient,” Luizzi told NewCanaanite.com. 

“We have an opportunity to have them drive the runs and have them look at the new runs for the [proposed new] school start times, as well,” he added. With COVID-19 drive-thru testing launched Friday outside Saxe Middle School, the school buses have suspended the test-runs for now and they’ll be “sporadic” in the future, Luizzi said. Public schools have been closed since March 12 and the district the following day launched a remote “e-learning” program to keep students learning and connected to their educators.

COVID-19 New Canaan

Superintendent: School Buildings Now Closed Through April 20; Changes Coming to E-Learning Program

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New Canaan Public Schools will resume no sooner than April 20, district officials said late Wednesday. 

Originally planned for two weeks, the e-learning program launched last Friday as the COVID-19 emergency took hold—a system that parents, while grateful for educators’ efforts, have found cumbersome in some ways—will be modified “to ensure that it will be sustainable for our students, staff, and families, and that it will be responsive to whatever lies ahead,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said in an email to parents. 

“These adjustments at each level permit us to adapt to the few challenges that have arisen while capitalizing on some wonderful opportunities that have appeared,” the email said. It wasn’t immediately clear what the changes would involve, though they’ll take hold Monday, Luizzi said. Principals are to contact public schools parents about them. The news comes as state officials waive a requirement that districts hold 180 school days amid growing concerns about the spread of the virus. Connecticut cases are increasing a rapid rate—up from 68 Tuesday to 96 Wednesday, according to the state Department of Public Health,  with more than 70% of cases in Fairfield County.

COVID-19 New Canaan

New Canaan Parents Take on ‘Home Schoolteacher’ Role Amid COVID-19 Emergency

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New Canaan resident Jessica Knowles, an HR consultant and mom of three—a kindergartener and third-grader at South School and fifth-grader at Saxe Middle School—has struggled since late last week to stay on top of work. 

With the kids home as part of the New Canaan Public Schools’ newly launched remote learning program, Knowles’s ability to get back to people, schedule meetings and otherwise do her part-time job has been pushed into the evenings and become “sporadic,” she said. “I work from home and I am not really working, other than really trying to help my kids navigate this,” she said. Knowles is among the hundreds of New Canaan parents who have taken on a new role as “home schoolteacher” under the district’s e-learning program, launched Friday as an educational stopgap amid the COVID-19 emergency. Public school buildings are closed until at least March 30, officials have said. Conducted through email and web platforms and consisting largely of assignments that generate feedback from teachers, the e-learning program is drawing wide praise from the parent community as a testament to the district’s commitment to education.

Dr. Bryan Luizzi

New Canaan Public Schools To Close Thursday After First Confirmed COVID-19 Case in Town

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In a move designed to limit the spread of COVID-19 following the first confirmed case in town, New Canaan Public Schools will close Thursday, district officials said, and starting Friday students will continue learning remotely for two weeks. Faculty and staff “have been working tirelessly over the past weeks to prepare for this scenario,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said Wednesday afternoon in an email to parents. “We have prepared for this scenario by coming together as a district to develop plans that provide our students with a continuing educational experience during the closure,” he said. “These plans will be shared by your building principals in subsequent communications.”

Thursday will count as a snow day, district officials said. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Board of Education

Op-Ed: The Town Has Spoken, Government Must Act Accordingly

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To the Editor, NewCanaanite.com:

We are back in the midst of town budget season. 

The Board of Education has approved a budget for the 2020-2021 school year that will support New Canaan Public Schools’ continued excellence. The budget calls for a 1.47% increase and would represent a compound annual growth rate over the four years ending next year of just 1.88%—below inflation. The increase is the lowest proposed for next year among any of our nearby peer towns. New Canaan’s per-pupil spending is also lower than other towns, including Darien, and yet our school system is top in the state and among the best in the country. 

Next year’s BOE budget also reflects an important investment in the health and wellness of our kids—a change to school start and end times to align with physician recommendations and over two years of BOE work to develop the optimal solution. There are many opinions on start times, but the BOE has been deeply driven solely by what is best for New Canaan kids at all ages. Although this change comes with a cost, it is manageable, particularly due to the significant and sustainable cost savings that NCPS have been able to realize.