Board of Education

Board of Ed Hears Proposal for New ‘North Elementary School’

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Consultants this week laid out a proposal to add a fourth elementary school in New Canaan. On Monday, at the Board of Education’s regularly scheduled meeting, representatives from MP Planning Group and SLAM Collaborative walked officials through a three-phase plan to create a “North School” off of Smith Ridge Road/Route 123 to address capacity concerns while renovating four other schools in town. MP Planning Principal Pat Gallagher said there’s been “a longstanding desire within the community to move to a K-5 and 6-8 grade configuration at the schools, so we looked at the best options to move towards this goal.” 

“Also, there are capacity concerns at our schools moving forward, and we want to create smaller learning communities by shrinking the student population at the elementary and middle schools,” he said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and via YouTube. Gallagher detailed how, while schools should strive for 90 to 95% occupancy of their planning capacity, East School is operating at nearly 100% and West School is nearing that mark. “Buildings at or close to 100% of their capacity experience operational impacts,” he said.

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School District Starts Earlier-Than-Usual Hiring Process for 2025-26 Academic Year

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New Canaan Public Schools started earlier than usual this year in seeking to hire for vacancies anticipated for next academic year, officials say. Several of the positions—they include an art teacher, school counselor, special education teacher, psychologist and social studies teacher specializing in higher-level economics at New Canaan High School, grade five teacher and two French positions at Saxe Middle School, preschool and kindergarten teacher at West School and a district-wide psychologist— “are in process,” according to Darlene Pianka, the district’s human resources director. “Many of the positions that I just reviewed will be selecting a finalist within the next two weeks,” Pianka told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting, held March 17 in the Wagner Room at NCHS and via videoconference. She added: “This process is a bit earlier this year, just so that you’re aware in the interest of, from our perspective, securing the best candidates in what now, depending on the position, could be a really shallow pool. So we thought we’d get started earlier.

Board of Education

Board of Ed Elects Officers in 5-4 Votes

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A divided Board of Education on Monday voted 5-4 three times in electing its chair, vice chair and secretary. Current Chair Hugo Alves was re-elected to a second year in the post. In nominating him, Board of Ed member Erica Schwedel said he has “led our Board with steadiness and dedication” over the past year, ensuring that “we all stayed focused on what is best for our students.”

“He has developed strong working relationships with the administration and staff, serving as a critical bridge to the Board,” Schwedel said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “He developed trust among Board members and fostered an environment of listening and collaborating.”

Alves also “dedicated significant time to representing the Board of Ed by speaking to groups such as other town bodies at countless budget meetings, our teachers at Convocation, and parents and students at graduation. In addition to serving as chair of the Board, and a member of the executive committee, Hugo also participates in meetings for all four of our Board committees.

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District To Roll Out ‘Phone-Free’ Policy at Saxe Middle School

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Saxe Middle School soon will see students locking electronic devices—including cell phones, smartwatches and tablets—kept in a locking pouch system throughout the day as part of an updated policy on the electronics’ use, district officials say. The “Phone-Free Schools” initiative at Saxe is expected to launch around mid-September, once the pouches are in hand, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. “We’re looking at some of the implementation as a design thinking challenge,” he said during a special Board of Education meeting, held Aug. 26 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and via videoconference. “How do you create a system that best enables students to lock and unlock their pouches as they’re coming and going during the day?” Luizzi continued.

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School Security Update: SROs at Elementary Schools, Doors, Pedestrian Safety

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Each of New Canaan’s three elementary schools will have a dedicated police officer on campus when the academic year starts this week, the superintendent of schools said Monday night. In addition to expanding the number of School Resource Officers or “SROs” from two (New Canaan High School and Saxe Middle School) to five, the district is upgrading its radios, security of school building doors and pedestrian safety at NCHS, Dr. Bryan Luizzi said during a special Board of Education meeting. New Canaan Police Officers Ron Bentley (East School), Nicole Vartuli (South) and Shane Gibson (West) will join Officers Jeff Deak (NCHS) and Matt Blank (Saxe) to fill out the SRO roster, Luizzi said during the meeting, held at NCHS and via videoconference. “It’s really a great team,” he said. “They will work very well with our campus monitors—they’ll work great with our staff, with our principals.