Weekly Message from the Superintendent

Dear Staff and Families,

The Board of Finance has released the FY25 budget presentation and meeting schedule.  The meetings pertinent to the BOE’s proposed 2024-25 operating budget are as follows:

• Thursday, March 21, 2024 – BOE Budget Presentation to members of BOF
• Wednesday April 3, 2024 – BOF/BOR Fiscal Committee Hearing via zoom

The committee hearing on April 3 is when the public may address the BOF and BOR regarding the BOE and City budgets.  We will share information about how to sign up to speak at the meeting as soon as it’s available.

Upcoming Kindergarten Information Sessions

Kindergarten registration for the 2024-25 school year is open.  If you have a child eligible for kindergarten this year, please mark your calendar for these upcoming events:

• SPS and the Ferguson Library are hosting a Kindergarten Information Session on Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ferguson.  Attend this session to learn about Kindergarten readiness, registration, and age requirements.  Click here to view the flier. 
• SPS and DOMUS are hosting a Kindergarten Registration Event on Saturday, March 9 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at DOMUS.  SPS staff will be available to help families complete online registration.  You will need to bring documents proving your identity, Stamford residency, and your child’s date of birth to this event.  Click here for more information. 

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Join us for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration and to cheer on the SPS musicians marching in the annual parade this Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 p.m. in downtown Stamford.  Click here for more information, including the parade route. 

Graduation and Moving up Ceremony Dates

This is the time of year when we begin getting questions about graduation and moving up ceremonies.  According to the Connecticut State Department of Education, local or regional boards of education must wait until at least April 1 to set high school graduation dates.  We will announce the schedule for high school graduations and elementary and middle school moving up ceremonies in early April.

We have had two inclement weather days so far, so as of today, the last day of school for students is June 14.

iReady Parent Pop-up Webinar

The teaching and learning department recently hosted a webinar about iReady, the diagnostic program that is administered 3 times a year to assess proficiency in reading (grades 4-8) and mathematics (grades 1-8).  To learn more about the iReady student reports and how teachers use iReady data to inform instruction, click here to view a recording of the webinar.

APPLES’ Gathering 

Thank you to the APPLES PTA for hosting another Doughnuts with Grownups - an opportunity for parents to come together to talk and share ideas.  Representative Corey Paris joined the conversation and shared some of the work the Stamford delegation is currently doing on behalf of Stamford families and students.

SPS Quarterly

In case you missed it, the Winter 2024 edition of the SPS Quarterly was released recently.  The Quarterly was created to keep our community-based organizations and partners, City Board members and staff, faith-based organizations, business leaders and the community at large informed about what is happening in Stamford Public Schools.

Community Events

Last weekend John and I attended three amazing events.  Our first stop on Saturday morning was to hear one of our kindergarten teachers who wrote and published a book called Harriet’s Dinner Party.  We then headed to UCONN Stamford for Hope Day sponsored by Kids Helping Kids (KHK).  This student organized and led event had over 40 mental health organizations in attendance to provide support to students and families.   Finally, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting with the Cradle to Career (C2C) parent advisory committee to discuss the Stamford Public Schools.

Stay Safe and Healthy!

Dr. Tamu Lucero

Superintendent

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