News

Message to Board of Ed: Local Pediatricians Support Later School Start Times

By |

The medical professionals at a well-established pediatric practice in New Canaan support efforts to re-examine start times in the school district and have advocated for starting later in the morning, according to information presented Monday night to the Board of Education. The four doctors at New Canaan Pediatrics LLC told the school board said that communities with later start times “have shown increased academic performance, reported decreased mood disorders and experienced significantly reduced automobile accident rates in teens,” according to a letter that a local parent advocating for later start times read out at the group’s regular meeting. Evidence in support of later school start times “includes both the unique biologic needs of adolescents and the demonstrable health and safety benefits realized by communities that have later start times,” according to the letter, read by Karen Willett. “In our practice we clearly see a trend of teenagers from neighboring communities with later start times reporting more sleep than those from communities, like New Canaan, that have earlier start times. We understand that the practical hurdles to changing existing start times are significant but the compelling benefit to our children and the community in general makes the change to a later start time for middle school and high school students worth it.

News

Parents Advocate for Later School Start Times Before Board of Ed

By |

Citing multiple medical organizations that say sleep deprivation causes a slew of health problems in children and adolescents, parents on Monday night told district officials that they’re eager to weigh in on an open question, now facing New Canaan Public Schools, about whether to start later in the morning. Karen Willett, a parent of 11- and 6-year-old boys at Saxe Middle School and West School, told members of the Board of Education at their regular meeting that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the CDC have all issued policy statements “about the negative impact of early start times on student mental and physical health.”

“We realize that the decision on start times cannot be made in a vacuum,” Willett said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School

“As in every other district that has successfully changed start times, there are cost complications and logistical issues to be resolved. However, as we go through the process of addressing the difficulties, let’s also stay focused on the reason we are addressing this topic in the first place. Because that extra hour of sleep every day will help improve the mental and physical health of thousands of our children. In one of his budget presentations, [Superintendent of Schools] Dr. [Bryan] Luizzi said he often gets questions during the budgeting cycle from the finance people—and I’m paraphrasing here—‘What expenses can be deferred?’ and ‘What can be done later?’ and his response in regard to the student-impacting expenses, if we know a program is needed, we owe it to the current cohort of children to implement as soon as possible, because they will not be able to benefit from it if we defer it.

Around Town

After Next Weekend’s New Canaan Library Book Sale, Longstanding Event Likely To Be Discontinued

By |

After more than three decades, New Canaan Library’s book sale likely will be suspended indefinitely following next week’s installment, as no one has stepped in to oversee and operate the entirely volunteer-run, twice-yearly event, officials say. The book sale will run June 12 to 14 (next weekend), and after that it likely will be discontinued, New Canaan Libarry Director Lisa Oldham said. “Essentially, if nobody steps up in the next couple of weeks, we will probably have to cancel it,” she said. The book sale, named for longtime volunteer John Randolph, has been operating for more than 30 years, officials say, and each installment brings in about $13,000. The sale itself—the result of a donated book collection that builds up every six months—is a “huge logistical exercise” that has been run expertly and with innovation for the past two years by New Canaan resident Karen Willett, Oldham said.

Around Town

Friendly Faces Lead New Canaan Library Book Sale

By |

Karen Willett and Geri Tobias responded last fall to New Canaan Library’s call for volunteers to help lead the organization’s biennial and hugely popular Book Sale for different reasons. Willett, a resident of New Canaan for just about six months at the time, had moved up here with her family after 15 years in New York City, including two young boys, was looking for ways to get out into the community and loves libraries. Tobias, a North Stamford resident whose two boys go to the New Canaan YMCA and who calls New Canaan Library her “home” library because it’s closest to her residence, wanted to try something different and do something fun for herself. This year’s sale “is a little different, with more quality books” and “the fact that we have so many decorations around that are tied to the holiday,” Tobias said Friday afternoon as bibliophiles, readers and dealers streamed into Adrian Lamb Room downstairs for the bulk of the sale, and also into the art gallery beside the children’s section where kids’ books once again are sold and featured for this sale. The New Canaan Library Book Sale will through 5 p.m. Friday, then 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (when all books will be $5 per bag).

Around Town

Online Auction: Getting a Jump on the New Canaan Library Book Sale (This Week)

By |

New Canaan Library this year added a new component—an online auction of rare books on eBay (including this first edition of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little Town on the Prairie,” with dust jacket—to its popular, annual book sale. An important part of the library’s fundraising efforts, the volunteer book sale—with books, audio books and DVDs all donated by local supporters—will run in the Adrian Lamb Room 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday (all books are $5 per bag on Sunday and there’ll be a special sale of children’s books in the H. Pelham Gallery on the main level). Bibliophiles can pay $15 to get into the very first two hours of the sale (9 to 11 a.m. Friday)—a period when organizer Karen Willett says 50-plus early birds, including a lot of dealers, will get in to snag great buys they can resell at a profit. Library Director Lisa Oldham described Willett as “the volunteer who came to us last autumn to run the winter book sale and who has taken this production to new heights,” and we had a chance to put some questions to Willett about the popular book sale. Here’s our exchange.