Dear Darien Community,
If you were not able to attend the opening last night, I urge you to stop by UCBC Bagels in town and see the amazing display of student art work and creativity. You will see wonderful work from all grade levels, K-12. Congratulations to the artists and teachers who brought the exhibit to life. It is another great example of the Vision of the Graduate in action. Many thanks to UCBC for hosting the exhibit.
Board of Education
Please join me in congratulating our newly elected Board of Education members: Kadi Lublin (on her reelection), Jonathan Dunn, and Bill Vredenburgh! Serving our community’s children is incredibly rewarding, and we are excited to have them join us.
As we welcome our new members, we must also share our deepest thanks to Jill McCammon and John Sini for their outstanding dedication and service over the years. I am personally looking forward to working closely with the entire board on the most important work there is—serving our students.
Fiscal Forecast
At last Tuesday’s BOE meeting, we kicked off the budget development season. At the request of the BOE, Mr. Rich Rudl, director of finance and operations, and I presented a fiscal forecast for the 2027 Budget.
The purpose of the presentation is to share where we project the budget to be heading as we work with our administrative team over the next few months on building a fiscally responsible budget that meets the needs of our schools and programs. On Jan. 8, 2026 we will present our proposed comprehensive budget to the BOE. If you are interested in viewing the Fiscal Forecast presentation, please follow this link. The presentation begins at 1:30.
School Psychology Week
This week marks National School Psychology Week, and we are proud to recognize the invaluable contributions of our dedicated school psychologists. These essential educators play a vital role in supporting the academic, social and emotional wellbeing of all our students. Please join me in thanking our school psychologists for their expertise, compassion and unwavering commitment to our school community. They are:
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Taylor Bonano, Bahar Musa, Jenna Poulos and Jacquie Vele, Darien High School
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Taylor Kurtz, Fitch Academy
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Patricia O’Meara, Katherine Petruzzelli and Monique Ross, Middlesex Middle School
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Nisha Chokshi and Cassandra McGrath, Hindley Elementary School
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Deirdre O’Connell and Liz Viducich, Holmes Elementary School
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Annie Farson, Danielle Rathey and Myriah Rosengarten, Ox Ridge Elementary School
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Caitlyn Crean and Diana Whamond, Royle Elementary School
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Nicole Broomfield and Morgan Cole, Tokeneke Elementary School
Fireside Chat
We’re excited to invite you to participate in my first Fireside Chat on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Holmes Elementary School, for an engaging conversation focused on the three C’s of our Vision of a Graduate: Communication, Creativity, and Curiosity. This is your opportunity as a valued member of our community — parents, students, staff, and residents—to submit questions in advance that will be addressed during the chat. Please submit questions via this form by Monday, Nov. 10 at 3 p.m.
Weekend DHS Sports
Get ready for an exciting weekend as our Fall Athletic season begins to wrap up! The excitement kicks off today at 3 p.m. when girls varsity field hockey takes on Greenwich for the Class L quarter finals in the stadium.
“Friday Night Lights” returns for our boys varsity football team, who will be hosting Ridgefield High School at 7 p.m. in the stadium. Also today, our girls varsity swimming team heads to the Class L Trials at Cornerstone Pool at 5:30 p.m.
Tomorrow, the boys junior varsity football team travels to Ridgefield High School for a 10:30 a.m. game, and our boys varsity cross country team will compete in the New England Championship at Thetford Academy starting at 12:15 p.m. Come out and show your support for our student-athletes. Roll Wave!
Have a terrific weekend.
Sincerely,
Eric A. Byrne, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools