Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

CANCELLED: Postponed to Feb. 12: Parent Information Session on State Test Assessments

UPDATE: Due to the snow, these sessions have been cancelled and rescheduled for Feb. 12. Here’s the announcement from Darien Public Schools:
The Parent Information sessions related to state assessments planned for today, February 8, 2016 at the Darien Public Library have been cancelled. The sessions have been rescheduled as follows:

Smarter Balanced assessments (For Elementary/Middle): Friday, Feb. 12, 2016 at 9:30am- 10:30am in the Board Meeting Room, 35 Leroy Avenue
SAT Information session (For High School): Friday, Feb.

Health

Tokeneke Aces Health Inspection ‘Retest’ & All Public Schools Now Inspected

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Tokeneke School cafeteria received a perfect score of 100 in its most recent inspection on Jan. 22 after the school received an uncharacteristic “Poor” rating on Jan. 12, when a health inspector found food not being kept at the proper temperatures. Health Director David Knauf later said an item of equipment wasn’t keeping food at the right temperature, so the equipment was relpaced. Darienite.com previously reported on that inspection:

“Hamburgers and tater tots weren’t hot enough at the Tokeneke School cafeteria on Tuesday when a Darien Health Department sanitarian showed up for an inspection, according to the department.

Ox Ridge School

UPDATE: Water Main Break on Mansfield Fixed; Ox Ridge School Reopens Tuesday

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Update 6:27 a.m., Tuesday

Ox Ridge elementary school students, who are going back to school Tuesday morning, didn’t even get a whole extra day off from Mondays water main break on Mansfield Avenue — they’ll have to make it up with a half day on March 28, the school district announced. Here’s the announcement from Darien Public Schools:

We are pleased to report that the water main has been fixed on Mansfield Avenue and that school will resume at Ox Ridge tomorrow on a regular schedule. Connecticut school law requires that students attend classes for 180 days.  As a result of Ox Ridge students missing today, they are at 179 class days requiring them to make up one day of instruction. March 28 which was originally a professional development day for teachers will now be a half day of instruction for the students at Ox Ridge. Students will be picked up at their normal times and be released at 11:45 a.m. on March 28.

Michael Harman

Board of Ed Chairman’s State of Town Speech: Schools Will Need More Space

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The Darien High School building, constructed and opened just 10 years ago, is expected to become too small for the student population, new Board of Education Chairman Michael Harman told the Representative Town Meeting on Monday. “Darien High School (DHS) is again facing classroom space concerns as enrollment moves closer to the maximum building capacity of 1,400 students, a number which is forecasted to be exceeded in 2018,” Harman said in his speech, one of four “State of the Town” speeches given Monday night. The town’s elementary school population will also need more classroom space, Harman said: “At present, the district has very limited capacity to accommodate any future growth, without attempting to address either elementary class size policy or use of aging portables.” That means the school district will have to build more classroom space or use “temporary” portable classes, he said: “[A]ll indications are that any recommended course of action could entail some type of facilities project and/or significant capital expenditure. _________

STATE OF THE TOWN SPEECHES: Full texts and descriptions on Darienite.com:

Expect to Get More Housing, Retail Options, Says Stevenson in ‘State of Town’ Address
Finance Board Chairman Expects a Higher Tax Rate Increase Than Last Year’s 2.5%
Planning & Zoning Chair: Decisions on New Housing, ‘Unprecedented’ Commercial Development Coming in 2016

_________

In September 2014, the Board of Education hired consultants to study district space needs.

Darien Public Schools

Introduction to Handwriting Without Tears

A Darien Public Schools literacy workshop:

In this interactive workshop, parents will learn the approach to handwriting that all K-2 grade students learn. This will include strategies to improve pencil grip, form letters and introduce cursive writing, along with resources and tips to help support your child at home.

Oval

School Starts Monday, Aug. 31, High School Freshmen Start Friday

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Darien High School freshmen will have an orientation day on Friday, Aug. 28, and the school district says it will be ready for all the rest the town’s students when they return to classes on Monday, Aug. 31. After the first five days of school, the Labor Day weekend starts, meaning schools will be closed the following Monday (Sept. 7).

Darien Public Schools

High Number of Last-Minute Resignations in Darien Schools

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Darien Public Schools, in a trend going on elsewhere in lower Fairfield County, has seen a lot of employees leaving their jobs this summer, Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner said Tuesday. Out of about 800 employees in the town’s school district (according to the town bond prospectus published in July), Brenner said that within a few weeks 64 will be people hired by the school district since the end of the last school year. That’s 8 percent. A number of resignations have come as a surprise just at the end of summer, he said. “I have never experienced this — where we have gotten so many last-minute resignations,” Brenner told the Board of Education on Tuesday night.

Darien Public Schools

Darien Math Coordinator Hired as Trumbull Principal

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An announcement from Trumbull Public Schools:

Dr. Gary Cialfi, Superintendent of Schools, has announced that Jennifer Chirles has been appointed to the Trumbull High School “A House” principal vacancy for the Trumbull Public Schools. Ms. Chirles has been employed by the Darien Public Schools since 2010 and in her role as mathematics program coordinator, she has demonstrated exemplary leadership for the school district. She has facilitated professional development opportunities, developed and presented student performance data analysis reports, and is a member of Darien’s Tri-State Consortium Committee. Prior to her tenure in Darien she was a high school mathematics teacher in two other school districts since 2001. Ms. Chirles earned a bachelor of electrical engineering degree from Villanova University, a master’s degree in mathematics education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is expected to receive a doctor of education degree from Northeastern University in May 2016.

Debbie Farber Special Education

Darien Special Ed Chief Praised as She Steps Down from Job

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Deborah Farber, who stepped down as head of special education for Darien Public Schools, was praised by a school board member for her improvements to the program and communication with parents and others. Board of Education member Sarah Zuro at the board’s meeting on June 23 publicly thanked Farber for the quality of her work. When Farber spoke at school meetings, Zuro said, “I was so impressed at how she always patiently stayed at the podium until the last parent question was asked and answered.” Here is Zuro’s prepared statement:

Immediately after Dr. [Lynne] Pierson [interim superintendent of schools] arrived in the late Fall of 2013, she assembled a team and plan for addressing Darien’s special education challenges with an eye toward compliance and conflict resolution, and, where necessary, initiating the proactive development of numerous improved programs.

This plan was enormously complex but essential to the healing of our school district. Central to this work was the appointment of Ms. Debbie Farber.

Cicchetti Darien Public Schools

School Board Member Praises Departing Human Resources Director

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Michael Cicchetti, the school district’s interim human resources director was praised at a recent school board meeting for his organization, broad and deep knowledge of his field and hard work. “Dr. Cicchetti, we cannot thank you enough for coming to our rescue at a time when we needed leadership and guidance,” Board of Education member Kathrine Stein said in a statement marking the conclusion of Cicchetti’s one-year term heading up the district’s personnel office. “You have put structures and procedures in place that will carry us forward for many years to come.” Cicchetti was one of several district administrators stepping down who were praised at the June 23 Board of Education meeting. Here is Stein’s prepared statement:

We knew we needed a director of human resources.