Darien Public Schools 2021-2022

Coronavirus 2022

Superintendent: Masks To Be Optional in Darien Schools Starting Feb 28

By DARIENITE.COM | February 18, 2022

Starting Feb. 28 in Darien schools: masks will become optional for students and staff, lunch practices will return to pre-COVID-19 rules, social distancing won’t be required, masks will still need to be worn on school buses. Those were among the upcoming changes schools Superintendent Alan Adley announced Friday in his regular message to parents and staff. Superintendent’s Friday Message
Here’s the full text of the message, sent out late Friday afternoon:

Feb. 18, 2022

Dear Families & Staff,

Last night the Board of Education convened a special meeting to discuss the transition to local decision making regarding the wearing of masks in schools.

Coronavirus 2022

Schools Superintendent: Updates on Masking, Next Year’s Budget, Vax Clinics

By DARIENITE.COM | February 11, 2022

Masking for Darien students and school staff may be over by Feb. 28, as the school District Medical Team has recommended, but the state Legislature and Board of Education will each need to approve the proposal, Superintendent Alan Addley said in his regular Friday message to district parents and staff. Over 99% of students from ages 12 to 17 and staff in their schools have been vaccinated, and 55% of students and staff in elementary schools, Addley wrote. “Making this recommendation is only possible given the success of our mitigation
strategies, our high community vaccination rates […] the sharp decrease in COVID-19 cases; low hospitalization rates; the lack of spread in the schools; and the minimal, if any, serious illnesses,” he said. Addley indicated that even if the mask requirements go, wearing masks would be voluntary, since “some staff and students may need to or want to wear masks.”

Coronavirus 2022

Superintendent’s Newsletter: Vax Clinics for Kids 5-10 Start at Noon Saturday, COVID Restrictions to Ease

By DARIENITE.COM | February 5, 2022

Students 5 to 11 years old can get their second vaccination shot — or their first — from 12 noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley said in his Friday newsletter to parents and staff. This coming week, some of the district’s COVID-19 restrictions will be easing as the number of identified cases continues to go down: Lunches will return to cafeterias and spectators (who must be masked) will be allowed to attend sports games, Addley wrote. Another vaccination clinic for students of any age, with no signup necessary (just walk in), will be held from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, he said. Full Text
Feb. 4, 2022

Dear Families & Staff,

Earlier this week Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of below average temperatures.

COVID-19 2022

Coronavirus illustration CDC wide for facebook

Total New COVID-19 Cases in Darien Schools at 49 for Tuesday — Monday’s Figure Revised Upward

By DARIENITE.COM | January 4, 2022

There were 49 new COVID-19 cases reported Tuesday among students and employees in Darien Public Schools, district officials said, and Monday’s total of 55 was revised upward to 65. In related COVID-19 news, the Darien Health Department released its weekly update on Tuesday, showing 63 new COVID-19 cases reported in the seven-day period from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3. Numbers for COVID-19 new cases reached a high point in the six days from Dec.

Coronavirus 2022

Total of 195 COVID-19 Cases Reported to Darien Schools Over Holiday Break, 5 Days of Self Isolation for Each

By DARIENITE.COM | January 3, 2022

There were 195 Darien school district employees and students who tested positive for COVID-19 during the holiday break, school district officials said in an announcement Monday night. The district now has a five-day mandatory self-isolation policy, and about a fourth of the total, 55 people, whose positive-test results were reported to the district on Monday, have been told not to come to school within that period. Of those 55, a total of 39 who tested positive were already vaccinated, the announcement said. “Without doubt, the Omicron variant of COVID is affecting our school community,” said the announcement from Schools Superintendent Alan Addley and School Nursing Director Alicia Casucci. On Monday, the district was informed of 31 Darien High School students or employees who been tested positive, and 22 of them (more than two thirds) had been vaccinated, the announcement said.

Coronavirus 2022

Superintendent: This New Explanation of Revised Protocol for COVID-19 Cases ‘Essentially Reflects’ Last Week’s

By DARIENITE.COM | January 3, 2022

On Sunday afternoon, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley sent parents and staff a description in chart form of the state’s latest policy on school protocols for students or staff who test positive for COVID-19. “This is just a brief update to the communication sent to families on Thursday, Dec. 30 [on] Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and Department of Public Health (DPH), testing, and contact tracing policies for schools,” Addley said. The superintendent said the district’s “revised policies,” which follow state education and health department policies, “essentially reflect” what the District Medical Team devised and told families about on Thursday, Dec. 30.

Coronavirus 2021

Superintendent: All Schools Back in Session in a Delayed Opening on Monday

By DARIENITE.COM | December 30, 2021

Darien schools reopen this Monday, Jan. 3, although on a two-hour delayed opening, Superintendent Alan Addley announced late Thursday in a message to parents and school staff. Addley also said that five days of remote learning will be available to students tested positive for COVID-19 or who have symptoms of it or who have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 or who have been in contact with a household with a COVID-19 positive resident. The two-hour delay, Addley said, would “provide teachers with the opportunity to prepare remote and in-person learning for their students.” A total of 78 students and/or staff have tested positive for COVID-19 in the eight days since Addley’s previous message to parents and staff, he said.

As Darien School COVID-19 Cases Ramp Up, Officials Plead to Parents: Keep Kids With Symptoms at Home

By DARIENITE.COM | December 22, 2021

Faced with a flood of new COVID-19 cases, Darien school district officials are sending general messages to entire classrooms of students when they may have been exposed to someone with COVID, the district’s nursing director and superintendent said in an announcement to parents and others in the school system. The nursing director, Alicia Casucci, and Superintendent Alan Adley pleaded with parents to keep their children home if they show signs of COVID-19:

We cannot emphasize enough the importance of keeping any individual who is exhibiting symptoms of COVID AT HOME. These symptoms may be very mild and include a sore throat, headache, cough, congestion, mild runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Anyone experiencing symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, should seek the advice of their primary care provider and testing as soon as possible. (Boldface and italics in original announcement.)

The state Department of Education and other state authorities are reviewing the state’s contact tracing procedures. If the procedures are then changed, Casucci and Adley said, employees and families of those in the school system will be told.

CodeRed 2021

McNally: 43 New COVID-19 Cases This Week, Half of Town Kids Aged 5-11 Get 2nd Dose Saturday

By DARIENITE.COM | December 9, 2021

The Delta variant continues to roll through town, with 43 more cases found this week, First Selectman Monica McNally told the town in a CodeRed statement late Thursday afternoon. Half of all Darien children ages 5 to 11 are scheduled to get their second vaccination shot on Saturday at a special town clinic, and the vaccine should be fully potent by Christmas Day, McNally said. Although the town’s Moderna booster shot clinic is fully booked on this coming Tuesday, the first selectman urged residents to try to get the shot elsewhere, and she asked for volunteers to help staff the Tuesday clinic. McNally’s full statement is below, and below that, the COVID-19 cases report from the Darien Public Schools Nursing Director Alicia Casucci and Superintendent Alan Addley:

Full Text of the First Selectman’s Message
Good evening. This is First Selectman Monica McNally with a COVID-19 update for Thursday, Dec.

Healthy Living

Continued Steady Pace in New COVID Cases in Darien Schools Through Thanksgiving Break

By David Gurliacci | November 29, 2021

During Thanksgiving break, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported among students, teachers and others in Darien schools remained steady, according to reports from school district officials to parents and staff. A total of 21 people tested positive for COVID-19 In the five days from Wednesday (when students were released early, just before Thanksgiving) through early Sunday evening. Although that number is higher than in previous updates to parents and staff, it represents a total of five days instead of the single-day reports that had been given out in each of the five days before Thanksgiving break. A comparison with those numbers shows no increase in the rate of new reported cases: 21 in each five-day period. There was a jump in the number of people told to self-quarantine (21 in the earlier five-day period, 33 in the latest report) but far fewer told to get tested for COVID and be careful (“Screen & Stay” in the reports: 43 in the earlier period, 23 in the later period).

Alan Addley 2021

Uptick in New COVID-19 Cases in Darien — 40 in Past 12 Days, 20 on Monday Alone

By DARIENITE.COM | November 16, 2021

The number of COVID-19 cases in Darien shot up in the past 10 days, a group of town officials, including health officials and school officials, said in a letter to town residents released Tuesday afternoon (full text below). The officials asked residents to be sure to follow health guidelines, although school children have been getting only “mild” cases. “In the past 10 days we have seen a surge in COVID cases across the school district, especially in our elementary school population. Fortunately, the level of illness of the individual positive cases continues to be mild. Increases in COVID cases have also been reported in the town,” the letter said.

Education

Schools Superintendent: Electrical Malfunction and State Education Rules Close Hindley School Friday

By DARIENITE.COM | September 2, 2021

Hindley School won’t be in session tomorrow because the school’s electric system broke down (causing the fire alarm to go off) due to Tropical Storm Ida, Superintendent Alan Addley said Thursday in a message to parents and staff. Students and staff were evacuated from the building. The electrical system — specifically something called the “generator transfer switch” — wasn’t able to be fixed Thursday, Addley said, because there is so much demand for repair work in the area — again, due to Ida — that a licensed electrician wasn’t available Thursday to fix the problem. By the time the long Labor Day weekend is over (lengthened by a day because of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday on Tuesday), Hindley should be open with the rest of the schools in the district on Wednesday, Addley said. The lost day will have to be made up later in the school year, because state rules mandate that school days lost for weather-related reasons don’t count toward the minimum number of days schools must be open in each school year, the superintendent said.

Education

Superintendent: Board of Ed to Discuss COVID Regulations Tuesday — What the Plan Says

By DARIENITE.COM | August 7, 2021

The Board of Education, at its meeting Tuesday night, will discuss a proposed plan for COVID-19 regulations in Darien schools when they reopen for the upcoming school year, and members of the public can tell the board what they think about the plan. In a message to parents on Friday, Schools Superintendent Alan Addley described highlights of the district’s plan, called the “Safe Return Plan” or “SRP.” The plan follows mandates and guidelines already sent out by the state government, along with recommendations from the federal government, Addley said. Those mandates and guidelines often change, he said, especially now in response to the Delta variant. “Preparations are well underway to welcome all of our students back to school in the fall,” the superintendent said. Remote learning will only take place with students in quarantine, he said.

Darien Public Schools 2020-2021

Hindley School Principal Julie Droller Appointed District Director of Elementary Education

By DARIENITE.COM | April 9, 2021

Julie Droller, principal of Hindley School since the summer of 2019, has been appointed by the Board of Education to the new position of director of elementary education for Darien Public Schools, the district announced Friday. Droller was appointed in a unanimous vote by the board when it met Thursday night. She will continue as principal of Hindley through the school year, then take to the new new job on July 1. She was director of elementary education in Westport Public Schools from 2014 to 2018. Droller was interim principal at Hindley for a year, starting in August 2018, before she was named principal.