News

‘An Incredible Human Being’: Board of Ed Accepts Gift from Unnamed Donor for Lunch Program Support

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The Board of Education last week voted unanimously to accept a donation that helps kids enrolled in New Canaan Public Schools’ free and reduced lunch program. The “incredibly generous donation” from an unnamed individual goes into an initiative that the district piloted last year within the program, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. “Without going into too much detail, the long and short of it is that it’s an opportunity to help children across the district that are in that program to have a little bit more flexibility in their purchasing of snacks and food in our cafeteria,” Luizzi said during the Board of Ed’s regular meeting, held Nov. 20 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “There’s one anonymous donor who’s underwriting this for us,” Luizzi said before the school board voted 9-0 in favor of accepting the $27,649.76 donation, facilitated by the New Canaan Community Foundation.

Board of Education

Board of Ed Elects Hugo Alves as Chair [UPDATED]

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The Board of Education on Monday night voted 6-3 in favor of Hugo Alves as the elected body’s new chair. Elected to two-year terms in 2021 and 2023, Alves is a member of the school board’s Resources Committee. In the wider community, the Republican—a financial planner, by profession—volunteers on the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society’s Board of Governors. In nominating Alves during the Board of Ed’s regular meeting, member Julie Toal said, “I love working with Hugo and I’ve sat across from him for two years now.” 

“And I love watching him from across the room, holding court with the administration and the other Board members,” Toal said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “And I think Hugo has earned everybody’s trust and formed solid relationships with all of us sitting up here at this table.

Board of Education

‘Politics Divide School Communities’: Board of Ed Chair Addresses Partisanship at Final Meeting

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New Canaan’s longtime Board of Education chair during her final meeting last week expressed gratitude to the district’s administration, fellow school board members, municipal officials and the wider community while also calling for an end to partisanship. Katrina Parkhill, a school board member for nearly seven years and its chair for the past four—encompassing the entire COVID-19 pandemic—said she had three messages after reflecting on her time on the elected body, starting with “stay the course.”

“I believe that the foundation of our school system’s success is predicated on how we, and so many before us, work together to lead our district forward, maintain a culture of mutual trust and respect, and put students at the center of everything we do,” Parkhill said a final Board meeting for herself and fellow BOE member Bob Naughton, held Nov. 6 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School (the eve of Election Day). 

“These are qualities that have defined New Canaan Public Schools for years and we should never take them for granted,” she continued. “As we continue to move through this challenging and transformative period in education and in our nation, we must continue to lean into these qualities and nurture and respect how we got here. Most of our policies and Board practices have been in place for a long time, and they have served us well.

Board of Education

Election 2023: NewCanaanite.com Endorsements for Board of Education 

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We thank all candidates for the Board of Education for running—an act of generosity and care for the community that, sadly, is met at times with ignorance and vitriol. The following appears in the state statute that establishes Boards of Education in Connecticut towns (Sec. 10-221):
“Each local and regional board of education shall develop, adopt and implement written policies and procedures to encourage parent-teacher communication. These policies and procedures may include monthly newsletters, required regular contact with all parents, flexible parent-teacher conferences, drop-in hours for parents, home visits and the use of technology such as homework hot lines to allow parents to check on their children’s assignments and students to receive assistance if needed. Such policies and procedures shall require the district to conduct two flexible parent-teacher conferences for each school year.”
That’s 87 words within a 790-word section on Board of Ed procedures.

Board of Education

Two-Year Board of Ed Candidates Debate Enrollment, Priorities, Classroom Topics

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The major priorities for the school district are preparing for an expected enrollment boom, safety and “continually looking forward to ensure that our curriculum is gradually changing, so that we are keeping pace with changing society,” according to one candidate for a two-year term on the Board of Education. Democrat Josh Kaye said during a League of Women Voters of New Canaan debate that aired Monday night that when he was in school he “didn’t learn how to use a slide rule, even though that had been important for my parents.”

“Because the world changed,” Kaye said. “The world didn’t stop changing in 2000. So we need to look forward. We need to be thinking actively about the skills and abilities our kids need to graduate so that they can be prepared to thrive.”

Responding to the same question about his concrete goals on the Board of Ed, Kaye’s opponent in the Nov.