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.
Brenner said he has been told this isn’t unique to Darien — that other school districts, at least in lower Fairfield County, have been getting an unusually large number of employees leaving. He doesn’t know why the resignations are taking place, he said.
Two more employees resigned on Tuesday, Human Resources Director Marjorie Cion said.
The Board of Education was given a short list of employees who recently left and a larger list of new employees.
Here’s the shorter list, which only covers about an eighth of those leaving the school system:
Retirements:
- Mary Minogue — food services worker — Middlesex Middle School
- Rosemary Chianelli — secretary — Darien High School
Resignations:
- Elise Dardani — English teacher — Darien High School
- Francesca Grasso — teacher — Royle School
- Jade James — paraprofessional (teacher aide) — Early Learning Program
- Jennifer Chirles — teacher and math program coordinator (she accepted an administrative post at Trumbull High School)
- Melissa Reiner — paraprofessional — Ox Ridge School
- Mia Passerelli — paraprofessional — Hindley School
- Nicole Geraci — speech and language pathologist — Ox Ridge School
- Sean Brinkerhoff — paraprofessional — Darien High School
These 18 teachers are to be added to the district’s payroll as of Wednesday, Aug. 26:
Darien High School
- Garrison Rose — social studies
- Jess Tabaka — physical education
- Lucie Almasi Smith — Spanish
- Stephen Glick — special education
- Susan Flaherty — special education
- Teresa D’Elisa — psychologist
- Theresa Vara-Dannen — English
- Valerie Leger — French
Hindley School
- Melissa Pepe — Grade 4
Holmes School
- Jennifer Marchiano — special education
- Melissa Labrosciano — SRBI (special education)
Middlesex Middle School
- Chelsea Marshall, English
- Christine Gjuraj, special education
Ox Ridge School
- Carly Fried, Grade 4
Royle School
- Jennifer Sutherland — Spanish
- Katherine Boeglin — Kindergarten
Tokeneke School
- Jessica Castagnetti — Grade 2
- Nicole Choiniere-Kroeker — library media specialist