Weekly Message from the Superintendent

Superintendent's Weekly Message - January 12, 2024

Dear Staff and Families,

We are nearly halfway through the academic year and our Associate Superintendents and building principals are continuing to make progress toward the initiatives outlined in Vision 2025, especially related to instructional leadership in our school buildings.

During the Board of Education (BOE) Teaching and Learning Committee Meeting this week, the Associate Superintendents and principals shared how they are collaborating across the elementary, middle, and high schools to ensure our students are receiving rigorous, high-quality instruction. For instance, our principals are working with the Associate Superintendents and instructional leadership coaches to develop and implement a year-round training plan to:

identify and leverage best-in-class instructional practices,
ensure proper pacing of curriculum and differentiation of instruction, and
review data structures to ensure student progress can be properly measured.

At the same meeting, Chief Academic Officer Amy Beldotti provided an update on curriculum development, including the work of the District Curriculum Advisory Committee and efforts to update policies and regulations in the 6000 Series. If you missed the meeting, please click here to see the video and PowerPoint.

Proposed School Year Calendars

During the BOE Labor Committee Meeting, we reviewed the proposed 2024-2025 and

2025-2026 school calendars. BOE members had a robust conversation about the proposed calendars, which you can watch here. The full Board of Education will vote on the calendars at the BOE meeting on Tuesday, January 23.

Budget Presentation Tuesday Night

Chief Financial Officer, Ryan Fealey, and I will present the proposed FY25 Operating Budget to the BOE Fiscal Committee on Tuesday January 16 at 6:30 p.m. Please plan to watch the proceedings via zoom to learn more about next year’s school budget.

Café con la Super

The 2024-25 budget will be the focus of our next Café con la Super on Monday, January 22

at 6:30 p.m. This Spanish-language meeting for SPS families takes place in the Stamford Government Center 4th Floor Cafeteria. Translation in English is available for non-Spanish speakers.

Westover to Become K-8 Program; Middle School Feeder Pattern Changes

The Stamford Board of Education recently approved the plan to accelerate the transition of Westover Magnet School into a K-8 program. Beginning this fall, all students who attend Westover – whether by attendance zone or the magnet lottery – will be able to remain there for grade 6. Each year, an additional grade will be added. Over the next three years, this will create a K-8 program at Westover.

The BOE also approved the following changes to the middle school feeder pattern effective in Fall 2024:

Students zoned to Stillmeadow Elementary will be assigned to Turn of River for grade 6, starting Fall 2024 and moving forward.
Students zoned for Hart Magnet Elementary will be assigned to Rippowam for grade 6, starting Fall 2024 and moving forward. (Students at Hart via the magnet lottery will be assigned to their zoned middle school – Dolan, Rippowam, or Turn of River – for Grade 6).

Students zoned to Roxbury Elementary will remain assigned to Cloonan for grade 6. The assignment will continue until the new Roxbury K-8 facility is completed.

Early Kindergarten Admission Assessments

Don’t forget that beginning this fall, children must be 5 years old on or before September 1 of the school year to be automatically eligible for kindergarten. If your child was born between September 2, 2019 and January 1, 2020, you may apply for early kindergarten admission. Please click here for more information and to schedule an assessment appointment. If you have questions, please email ofce@stamfordct.gov.

MLK Day of Service

There is no school on Monday in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Please join us tomorrow, Saturday, January 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at UCONN Stamford for the

MLK Day of Service. Activities will include: