News

‘Her Legacy Will Continue To Inspire’: Board of Ed Honors the Late Hazel Hobbs

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The Board of Education on Monday honored Hazel Hobbs, a longtime New Canaan resident and educator who passed away June 20. Hobbs was a “dedicated, loyal and longtime volunteer at the New Canaan Public Schools, and a cherished member of this board,” Chair Katrina Parkhill said during the elected body’s regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “She served on this Board of Education for multiple terms, including three years as chair. When she retired only a few years ago, we joined together to honor her for her exceptional contributions to our schools and our community over the years. Hazel was a devoted and passionate member of our community, and a leader in education serving both our community and many others around us.

News

New Canaan’s Pat O’Connell Joins Board of Education Following Unanimous Vote

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The Board of Education on Wednesday night voted unanimously to approve a longtime resident and 1988 New Canaan High School graduate to fill an open seat on the elected body. Pat O’Connell will join the Board following a 5-0 vote at a special meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. 

The Republican will fill the unexpired term of Julie Mackle Reeves, who resigned this month due to a move out-of-state. The term expires in November 2023. “As a longtime member of our community and an active volunteer over the years, Pat brings a wealth of knowledge and will be an advocate for our schools and our students,” Board Chair Katrina Parkhill said. “His professional experience and financial background will add to the breadth of skills and experience on our Board.”

Parkhill, Secretary Jennifer Richardson and Penny Rashin, Dionna Carlson and Sheri West voted in favor of O’Connell joining the Board.

Board of Education

Superintendent: Elementary School Kids To Begin at 8 a.m. Under Revised Start Times Schedule

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District officials said Monday night that they’ve figured out a way to push back the start time for elementary school kids under a planned new schedule from 7:50 a.m. to 8 a.m.

By adding two smaller-size “type 2” buses to its fleet, the district can “shave off” run time for buses that currently must travel out-of-town in order to find a place to turn around before picking up more kids and getting them to school, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi. At a cost of $63,000 apiece, the two smaller buses (seating about 16 to 20) would be operated by drivers already employed by New Canaan Public Schools and “they would shave off the couple of longest runs and help us move our time tighter and get to that 8 o’clock,” Luizzi told members of the Board of Education during their regular meeting. “We can get to 8 o’clock with our first tier, the elementary kids,” he said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “It’s 8:35 [a.m.] for our second and 9:20 [a.m.] for our third, but we will keep working on the other two,” he said. “What we are doing is what we said, we are going to continue to dive into it, to look at it, to refine the runs,” Luizzi said.

Board of Education

Superintendent: District Shortens Quarantining Period for Families Traveling Out-of-State for Sports Tournaments

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New Canaan Public Schools officials say they’ve updated a quarantining requirement that affects many sports-oriented families. 

Until this week, if a family traveled out-of-state for more than 24 hours for a sports tournament, they’d be required to quarantine for a minimum of seven days after testing negative for COVID-19 virus on their return, or 10 days without a test-out, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi told members of the Board of Education said during the elected body’s meeting last week. Luizzi said during the meeting, held May 3 via videoconference, that he and others were seeking approval from health officials to update the change the requirement so that kids involved in sports could return to school faster. 

In email to the school community Tuesday, Luizzi said district officials now are allowing students to return to in-person learning with a negative PCR test after returning to Connecticut. “Having raised two daughters who are both student-athletes, I know the challenges this particular DPH/CDC guideline may have caused, and I’m thrilled to be making this welcome adjustment to our protocols,” he said in the email. The Connecticut Department of Public Health’s guidance is based on that of the CDC, and is more strict than rules that apply to other types of travel, Luizzi said during the Board of Ed meeting. “When I asked them about why—why this is different from any other kind of travel—what they said was the expectation that when students and families go to tournaments, they’re going to be spending most of their time off the field, together with multiple households in the same setting,” Luizzi said.

News

Superintendent: Plans for June 15 NCHS Class of ’21 Graduation Ceremony at Dunning, Car Parade in the Works

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District officials say they’re planning a limited-attendance June 15 ceremony at Dunning Field for New Canaan High School’s graduating class that will be followed by a car parade that invites in the wider community. Officials are “still working through the restrictions and requirements around number of attendees” for the Dunning portion of the day’s events, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting Monday. NCHS Principal Bill Egan and the PFA are working together on the plan, Luizzi said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “Having it on the 15th, doing it earlier in the day, so that we would then have an abbreviated ceremony,” Luizzi said. “So it would be shorter than usual, and we would still incorporate a car parade into the experience for the kids.