Board of Education

District: Overall Enrollment Down 88 Students from Last October 

By |

Enrollment in New Canaan Public Schools as of last week stood at 4,134 district-wide compared to 4,222 students on Oct. 1 of 2020, officials said. The overall 88-student difference pre-K through 12th grade likely will change again once all move-ins are accounted for in figures that administrators present in November, Director of Human Resources Darlene Pianka told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting, held Aug. 23 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. As of Aug.

Board of Education

Podcast: Board of Ed Candidate Julie Toal 

By |

This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Board of Education candidate Julie Toal. The Republican is one of eight total candidates seeking a four-year term on the school board Nov. 2. There are five four-year seats up for election. There also is a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term.

Alexandra Sullivan

Superintendent: Temporary Remote Learning in 2021-22 To Be Limited to Those in Isolation or Quarantine Due to COVID-19

By |

Unlike 2020-21, eligibility for temporary remote learning in the academic year that opens next week will be limited to those who are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19 virus, district officials said Monday. While fully vaccinated students are not required to quarantine if they remain symptom-free, when unvaccinated people return from travel, guidance from state and federal officials dictates that they”self-quarantine for a minimum of seven days with a negative test on or after the third day,” according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. “So that poses challenges,” he told members of the Board of Education during their regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and streamed via the district’s YouTube channel. “Certainly as we start the school year here, coming in from the summer break, we’ve got a four-day break around Labor Day this year and then we’ve got families who travel for various reasons,” Luizzi said. “So the CDC and their guidance is still strongly urging unvaccinated people not to travel.

Board of Education

Podcast: Board of Ed Candidate Penny Rashin 

By |



This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Board of Education incumbent Penny Rashin. The Democrat is one of eight total candidates seeking a four-year term on the school board Nov. 2. There are five four-year seats up for election. There also is a contested two-person race for a two-year Board of Ed term. 

Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Amanda Morgan

Superintendent: New Guidance on ‘Close Contact’ Likely To Reduce Number of Quarantines

By |

District officials said Monday night that they intend to bring all students K-12 back for in-person learning at New Canaan Public Schools when the 2021-22 academic year starts in two weeks. In addition, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi told members of the Board of Education during their regular meeting, revised social distancing guidance on what constitutes “close contact” likely will decrease the number of students and teachers who must quarantine in the event of a positive COVID-19 case. Specifically, a close contact has changed from someone within six feet of a known positive case for at least 15 continuous minutes to three feet for the same amount of time. “That is a pretty significant change,” he said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “We do anticipate that that’s going to help bring the down numbers in quarantine,” Luizzi said.