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.

Government

Election 2021 Republican Caucus: Board of Education Candidate Jennifer Richardson

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New Canaan resident Jennifer Richardson is seeking the endorsement of the Republican Party for re-election to the Board of Education. We put some questions to the incumbent about her candidacy. Our exchange follows. New Canaanite: Tell us about yourself—how long have you lived in New Canaan, what have you been involved with here in town and what led you to your decision to seek re-election? Jennifer Richardson: My name is Jennifer Richardson and I am running for re-election onto the Board of Education. I moved to New Canaan in 1983 and am a graduate of New Canaan High School.

Homepage Featured

Board of Ed Votes 6-2 in Favor of New School Start Times Schedule; Plan To Take Effect Next April

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The Board of Education on Monday voted 6-2 to change to a school start times schedule that will see elementary schools start first in the morning (at 7:50 a.m.), followed by grades seven through 12 (8:30 a.m.) and then grades five and six (9:15 a.m.). Dubbed “Scenario A” by New Canaan Public Schools officials, the schedule would take effect next April. The Board had also been considering a “Scenario B,” which would have seen grades five and six start first (7:45 a.m.), follows by grades seven through 12 (8:30 a.m.) and the elementary schools last (9:15 a.m.). Saying additional school buses could be hired on a trial basis, Board member Dionna Carlson urged the elected body to either adopt Scenario A on the condition that the district “solve for” an elementary school start time no earlier than 8 a.m., or else adopt Scenario B.

“We need to sharpen our pencils—7:50 is nice but 8 o’clock is not an unreasonable request and I think that because we have these local schools, you could add a few more buses in the early tier and then those buses would be done getting those kids back quicker than they normally would be if it was a Saxe or high school drop off at the end of the day,” Carlson said during the meeting, held both in persona and via videoconference. “The research that I read about elementary start times is when you are looking at giving high schoolers more sleep, don’t ever do it at expense of the younger kids,” she added.

News

Board of Ed Re-Elects Katrina Parkhill as Chair by 9-0 Vote

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The Board of Education on Monday unanimously re-elected Katrina Parkhill as its chair. The school board also voted 9-0 to re-elect Brendan Hayes as vice chair and Julie Mackle Reeves as secretary. In nominating Parkhill to a second term, Hayes noted that “it’s been quite a year, to say the least.”

“In a typical year the board chair has a ton of responsibilities,” Hayes said during the meeting, which had members attend in person in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School as well as remotely. “Many hours spent with the administration, the Board and various committees to work through things on behalf of the Board and really be the leader of the Board. Really what was that means is a ton of hours.

Board of Education

Superintendent: Elementary Schools To Phase In Grades K-4 Next Week [CORRECTION]

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[Editor: The headline has been corrected to reflect grade 4 instead of 5.]

District officials said Tuesday that they plan to have elementary school students phase into in-person learning next week. Under the plan, all kindergarten, first- and second-graders will start in-person learning together Monday, with the full third and fourth grades to follow after a half-day Wednesday, according to Superintendent of School Dr. Bryan Luizzi. (For Monday through Wednesday, third- and fourth-graders will continue with the current “cohort” model, where half are in school at one time.)

The plan is designed to give faculty and staff “the time to learn along the way, pace it out, to make adjustments,” Luizzi told members of the Board of Education’s Reopen NCPS Committee during a meeting held via videoconference. “Make sure everyone feels safe,” he said. “Make sure all the mitigation strategies are in place.”

Luizzi noted that the district since early-August had planned to have all elementary school kids back for in-person learning next week, and described the phased approach of breaking up grades K through 5 as true to that plan.