Board of Education

Board of Ed Divided on Best Calendar for 2025-26 School Year

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District officials are trying to figure out the most sensible way to build more wiggle room into the proposed 2025-26 school year schedule. As a proposed calendar now before the Board of Education has it, that school year would start on a Thursday in August and end on a Thursday the following June, meaning the final week of school could absorb just one snow day before threatening to push the academic year into the following week. However, the district by its own policy doesn’t push the school year beyond the third full week of June. “So there’s different things that are conspiring against us here for that start date,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said during the Board’s regular meeting, held Dec. 4 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. 

The ‘25-’26 school year is already an anomaly in that several months will see a reduction in the number of school days just because of how the holidays fall.

Board of Education

Pilot Program: Board of Ed Approves Policy for Bringing Certified Therapy Dogs into Schools

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The Board of Education during its most recent meeting voted unanimously in favor of a policy designed to oversee a pilot program whereby a certified therapy dog can visit New Canaan Public Schools. Led by a teacher who also is a trainer, the program has already seen a certified therapy dog visit South School once “and it was a big hit,” according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. 

“And not only was it a big hit, it was a big dog—it’s a Newfoundland, hard to miss,” Luizzi said during the Board’s regular meeting, held Nov. 20 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “But it was wonderful. The kids loved it.

Board of Education

Following State Law, Board of Ed Updates Kindergarten Policy for 2024-25 School Year

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The Board of Education last week unanimously approved a revised policy regarding kindergarteners, following a new state law that takes effect in the 2024-25 school year. Under the law, children must be five years old by Sept. 1, 2024 in order to start kindergarten that year, though children who do not meet that cutoff date may still be admitted into kindergarten with a written request from a parent or guardian and school “assessment” to determine that the admission would be developmentally appropriate for the child. 

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi noted during the Board’s regular meeting Nov. 20 that the change effectively shifts the age of eligibility for kindergarten from children who turn five before Dec. 31 to Sept.

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.