News

NCPS Hires Final Certified Staff Positions as 2025-26 School Year Gets Underway 

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New Canaan Public Schools in the two weeks prior to the start of school lost three certified staff members to relocations, though the district is swiftly hiring for those jobs, officials say. The district welcomed 34 new teachers at its induction and officials thought, at the time, that the schools were fully hired “in the certified area of our staffing,” according to Darlene Pianka, director of human resources. 

“In the last two weeks we’ve had three resignations all due to the fact that people were relocating,” Pianka told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting, held Sept. 2 in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “So we were unaware of that. Our wonderful administrators—and I’m not just saying that because they’re here—jumped on those situations relatively quickly.”

She continued: “And as of today, we’ve hired one of the positions, which is a literacy specialist at East School, and we are solidly in process for a technology integrator at Saxe and a psychologist that is shared between the high school and West.”

The comments came during a staffing update from Pianka.

News

‘A Remarkable Resource’: ‘The Dome’ at NCHS Provides Students With Unique Learning Opportunity

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“The Dome,” New Canaan High School’s new immersive learning theater—a space formerly known as “the planetarium”—saw a surge in usage last year as it became a center of the district’s learning, officials say. The Board of Education received an update on The Dome’s growth and future plans at its Monday meeting. “The Dome has become a remarkable resource for our faculty and staff, transforming the way that we explore, learn, and connect,” NCHS Director of Innovation Melinda Meyer told board members at their regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS and via YouTube. “In its first full year, The Dome hosted experiences that inspired curiosity across disciplines, sparked collaboration among teachers, and immersed students in learning that felt both personal and shared,” Meyer said as she began her presentation. The Dome officially opened in the spring of 2024.

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.

News

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.