Darien Elections 2021
Town Seal Room 206 Town Hall

2021 League of Women Voter’s Guide to Candidates — PART TWO: BOARDS OF EDUCATION, FINANCE

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Compiled each year as a public service by the League of Women Voters of Darien. This Voters’ Guide is designed to provide information about the candidates to the public in a nonpartisan and balanced way to assist them in casting an informed vote on Election Day. Questionnaires were submitted to candidates for local offices, asking one or more office related questions. Responses were limited to a specific word count and are printed exactly as submitted by the candidates. For every ballot position, a voter may write in the name of someone who is not listed as a candidate on a separate line at the bottom of the ballot for “Write-In Votes.”

In the State of Connecticut for those votes to be counted, the individual whose name is being written in, must have registered with the Secretary of State.

Darienites
Commended Students National Merit Scholarship Program 2021 fall

25 DHS Seniors Named ‘Commended Students’ by National Merit Scholarship Program

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The National Merit Scholarship Program has named a total of 25 Darien High School seniors “commended students” for 2022, the high school announced Friday. These students were named:
Emma de Graaff, Luke Dehmel, Andres Devens, Brooke Dolan, Alexander Domittner, Kiran Ebrahimi, Patrick Finnegan (missing from photo), Piper Fitzgerald, Julia Fullington, John Gorman (missing from photo), Elizabeth Haidinger (missing from photo), Ryan Jones, James Leone, Reed Levinson, Lachlan McLaren, Stella Meier, Sebastian Mengwall (missing from photo), Ellis Murphy, Clara O’Connor (missing from photo), Shruthi Palaniappan, Andrew Siever, Ella Whitticom, Katherine Wolters, Charlotte Zaino and Saskia Zimmerman. Assistant Principal Katherine Dimoulas and Director of Guidance Meghan Emanuelson presented each of the scholastically talented seniors with a letter of commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Newspapers Periodicals

Selectman Sarah Neuman Is an Organizer With Long Experience Leading Groups in Town

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To the editor:

Sarah Neuman is a skilled organizer, effective communicator, and selfless advocate for others. Her candidacy for the Board of Selectmen meets the needs of our town. We met Sarah almost 20 years ago and have been continually impressed with her caring and dedication towards others that has extended to the town of Darien. Our families bonded through our children and have remained very close over the prior two decades. Through her volunteer work, Sarah delivers a positive experience for the people and businesses of Darien.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Swords WWII

Stacey Tie and Julie Best: Tireless Leadership, a Firm Grasp of Education Issues

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To the Editor:
As we have seen over the past 18 months, public service in support of our schools can be a challenging and thankless endeavor. That’s why I am so thankful that Stacey Tie and Julie Best are willing to step forward and serve our students as members of the Darien Board of Education at such a pivotal time. Our students would be so fortunate to have Stacey and Julie as advocates at the table on their behalf. For years, Stacey has been my “go-to” when navigating school issues — particularly as my son’s special education journey began. She has an uncanny way of getting to the heart of any matter with reasoned logic and an impressive level of patience for details.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor Thomas Jefferson

Candidates Julie Best and Stacey Tie Have Dedicated Their Time to Darien Schools for Years

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To the editor:

It is with great enthusiasm that I write a letter of support for Julie Best and Stacey Tie for Darien’s Board of Education in 2021. Julie Best and Stacey Tie have each spent years working in a wide range of capacities within the Darien PTO organizations as well as town government to improve our schools and our community. As a current parent of students in the Darien district, I am grateful for their ever-present support, experience and dedication, helping our students, parents and schools navigate a year and a half of unforeseen challenges. In addition to their work on our various school TPO organizations, Stacey Tie has served on the RTM and its Finance and Budget committee since 2016 and offers experience in all aspects and challenges of our district’s budgets while Julie Best has served in numerous PTO organizations in Darien, with her most recent leadership role as the co-chair of the Council of Darien School Parents, the umbrella organization for all Darien PTOs. I feel their dedication, energy and creative thinking will offer our community the passion, leadership and partnership we are looking for at this time.

Education
Letter to the Editor Horse brown

Stacey Tie Has Integrity, a Strong Urge to Help Darien Educate Its Kids and Is Familiar With the Budget

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To the editor:

I write in support of Stacey Tie’s candidacy for a seat on the Board of Education. Stacey has so many qualities that will make her an ideal BOE member. Topping the list: integrity. Stacey’s decisions will be principled and rooted, above all else, in what’s best for our children. Stacey brings to bear a unique array of relevant experience that will guide her service on the BOE.

Board of Education Election 2021
Letter to the Editor Pilgrim

Ignore the National Culture Wars, Stacey Tie and Julie Best Have a Pragmatic Focus on Darien’s Needs

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To the editor:

We’ve all sought out new activities during the pandemic as we’ve all had so much more free time at home. For me, I spent more time paying attention to our local government. Zoom enabled viewing town council and school board meetings with an ease that didn’t exist before. Mostly, I was interested in how the pandemic was affecting Darien, and especially how town officials were managing and planning school activities. I’m not a particularly political person, and when we moved to town a decade ago I was impressed by the moderate pragmatism that defined both the Democratic and Republican politicians in town.

Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor coin USA 2 CENTS

Board of Ed Candidate Julie Best Is Smart, Sensible, Fair and Has Put in the Work

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To the editor:

I encourage all my fellow Darienites to support Julie Best for the Board of Education. I have known Julie for over a decade and have seen first-hand her dedication to our town, its families and schools. Since 2009, Julie has served our town in many capacities. She has traveled to Hartford more than once to advocate for our schools and students. Most recently, she served for three years as co-chair of the Council of Darien School Parents.

Bigotry
Darien Republicans logo 2021

Darien Republican Town Committee: Condemn Bigotry, But Don’t Respond to It With Recriminations

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The Darien Republican Town Committee on Monday issued a statement condemning an expression of bigotry recently found in graffiti in a boys bathroom at the high school, and it called on town residents to keep calm. “The Darien Republican Town Committee vehemently condemns all expressions and acts of hate and intolerance,” the statement said. “Nobody in our close-knit community should ever be made to feel unwelcome, unsupported or scared. And when it comes to our children, we feel even more strongly.” The graffiti included a threatening comment about gays and insulting comments about females.

Coronavirus 2021
Ingrid Taylar Flickr School Bus in Mirror

Superintendent to Parents: School Buses Will Run as Normal on Monday

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Darien Schools Superintendent Alan Addley told parents in a 3 p.m. email Sunday that they should expect school buses to be running normally on Monday — because the drivers all got their vaccines or are getting tested, as mandated. “The drivers for Darien’s bus company, First Student, have complied with the executive order to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing and we are not anticipating a disruption to bus transportation tomorrow,” Addley wrote. Addley noted that there have been news reports that drivers in some districts might not be showing up for work Monday because they’ve refused to either get the vaccine or the tests, as mandated by an executive order from Gov. Ned Lamont. Across the state, about 350 bus drivers are expected not to report for work Monday morning, according to a Friday report by WTNH-TV news. The Hartford Courant says only about 200 in Connecticut are expected not to show up.

Anti-Semitism 2021
Darien High School DHS 9-13-16

Community Leaders Denounce Anti-Gay, Anti-Women, Anti-Jewish Messages in Darien

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Community leaders on Friday denounced graffiti found this week in a boy’s bathroom at Darien High School that insulted women and threatened gay people. They also denounced an anti-Jewish comment made in an online Darien chat group. “The incidents this week have been reported to the Darien Police Department, and the [school district] administration has aggressively used all the tools legally available to conduct its investigation,” the leaders said in a letter sent to parents and staff in Darien Public Schools. “There is no place for sentiments of hate, bigotry, anti-Semitism or religious discrimination of any kind in our schools or community,” the letter said. “These behaviors are very disturbing and unacceptable.

Education
Bridget Cervero Maritime Aquarium Points to Sharks

Maritime Aquarium Gets Award for World-Class Online Educational Workshops

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For its rapid and broad response in providing live virtual science lessons to schools suddenly thrust by COVID-19 into online learning, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk is being honored for the best educational initiative in 2020 by any zoo or aquarium in the country. — an announcement from The Maritime Aquarium

The Aquarium’s implementation of — and the global reception to — a new slate of STEM-based virtual programs received the top award for education on Wednesday, during the annual conference of the 241-member Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). In presenting the 2021 award, the AZA judges said, “This program has impressive reach and is connected to many diverse communities around the world with its inclusive approach of different languages and abilities.”

Since the pandemic hit in spring 2020, The Maritime Aquarium has live-streamed standards-fulfilling lessons on animals, conservation, habitats and other marine-science topics to more than 38,000 students and individuals in 44 states and on five continents — North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. “This national award confirms the quality of our programs,” said Aquarium President Jason Patlis. Tom Naiman, the Aquarium’s vice president of education, said it’s significant that this is the first time the AZA has presented a top education award for a virtual program.

Education
Maritime Aquarium programs for home schooled students drop-off

Programs for Home-Schooled Kids on Oct 1 at Maritime Aquarium

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Home-schooled kids can take an educational “dive” into the marine world through discounted admission and grade-appropriate programs Friday, Oct. 1 at  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. — an announcement from The Maritime Aquarium

“Homeschool Day” makes available to homeschool students many of the educational classroom programs regularly presented to traditional school groups by Aquarium educators. Options on Oct. 1 include story times for preschoolers and a selection of classroom programs for kids in all grades, from K-12.

Education
First Day of School New Canaan Country School

Tips for Easing the Transition Back to School

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The new school year is upon us, and understandably, for some it can be an exciting but anxious time. New Canaan Country School psychologists Rebecca Comizio and
Jackie Britt-Friedman offer the following tips to help reduce stress around the
transition. — This article is from New Canaan Country School
1. Open up space for dialogue
Children benefit from knowing the adults close to them are there to listen. There will be a myriad of feelings as the first day of school approaches: excitement, apprehension, anticipation, worry.