Schools

We don’t just cover the Board of Education and issues affecting New Canaan Public Schools parents, including testing mandates and teacher evaluations, new hires in the district and programs in our schools—we also celebrate students and teacher achievements and spotlight outstanding work at all levels.

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Recent Articles

Board of Ed Moves Toward Allowing K-9 Searches for Drugs in Schools

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The Board of Education on Monday took formal steps toward allowing police K-9 dogs to search school property for drugs. 

During the first read of a draft policy during the board’s regular meeting, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said “the idea is that the superintendent would be empowered to authorize a search of the schools, any one of the schools, with police and police dogs.”

“The policy from the Board of Ed really speaks to a belief in the importance of having substance-free schools,” Luizzi said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “I have been in schools that had searches. It can be difficult, complex to put in place, but certainly worthwhile.” (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Public Safety, Schools, Board of Education, Dionna Carlson, Dr. Bryan Luizzi, Leon Krolikowski, Maria Naughton

‘A Concern That I Have’: New Canaan High School Sees Drop in Teacher-Coaches

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Just 37 percent of the total athletics coaching positions at New Canaan High School are filled by Board of Education staff—a figure that has dropped off in recent years though it would benefit the district to see it higher, officials say. Out of 106 coaching positions, 39 are filled by district staff, a number that represents 29 unique coaches, as some of them coach multiple sports, according to NCHS Athletic Director Jay Egan. A closer look at the numbers shows that just 21 of those unique coaches are teachers, Egan told Board of Ed members at their most recent meeting. “So that means almost 20 percent of the coaches are teachers,” Egan said at the June 18 meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “Now, 15 years ago that was a much different model. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Schools, Sports, Board of Education, Dionna Carlson, Gary Kass, Jay Egan

New Canaan High School Class of 2018 Graduates

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Back when Paul Reid was sitting among a sea of students at his high school graduation, he envisioned himself having a career teaching the nation’s youth. He didn’t see spending 25 years serving in the U.S. Coast Guard before ever even settling into said career of teaching. Reid attended the Academy, in great part, to take advantage of the opportunity to go to school—and the fact that it wouldn’t cost him a penny to do so. Yet while his initial thought was to end up elsewhere prior to graduating, Reid stuck around the full four years. His mindset then shifted to honoring his duty to the country and government, serve for five years and move on—but that wasn’t to be either. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Schools

Reflections on Freshman Year: 5 Tips to New High School Graduates

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Spring is a blur of exciting events, one after another, for high school seniors: college decisions, prom, internships, and graduation. The possibilities for your future seem almost endless, and it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind. But before you pack your car with all the things your parents insist are necessary for you to have (although you still don’t know how to iron and are quite certain you won’t touch that vacuum) and leave your hometown in the past, here are five tips for maximizing your college experience and making a smooth transition out of this stressful and exciting time. Don’t Trust Social Media

During the first few weeks or months, it is inevitable that you will become homesick or disillusioned by popular media’s portrayal of college life where you meet a group of 10 close friends and transform into the best version of yourself overnight. In reality, branching out is hard and almost no one loves college right away; however, everyone wants to make it seem that they do. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Schools