Westport Public Schools Fully Closed Tomorrow, 02/01/21, due to Snow
Good evening Westport Families and Staff,
Due to the pending winter storm, Cooper, which is forecast to have a significant impact on Westport over the next couple of days, the Westport Public Schools will be closed on Monday, February 1, 2021. This will serve as the District’s second full snow day in which the students and staff will make up the day at the end of the school year.
The storm is projected to impact Tuesday, February 2, 2021 as well. We will monitor conditions throughout the day tomorrow and provide updates as appropriate. Should we have to close schools again on Tuesday, this day will turn into a remote learning day for all students and staff. Again, any decisions about Tuesday will be made once we can better assess the storm's impact.
The Board of Education is scheduled to meet tomorrow evening. As of the time I am writing to you this evening, the meeting is still scheduled to take place at 7:00 p.m. We have been working on backup plans throughout the day today, which may include broadcasting tomorrow night’s meeting via the Town’s website and channel 79. An update, including the manner in which the public can access tomorrow night’s meeting, will be sent out tomorrow afternoon.
Please stay safe in the days ahead. The Town has partially opened its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in response to the storm. We will support the EOC by passing along any relevant storm information through the District’s School Messenger service, but please also be on the lookout for any direct communication from the Town as well.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Board of Education Meeting: Plans Move forward to Reopen; Families Plead to Reinstate Missing Long Lots El. Principal
As the Board of Education meeting began, many families took the non-agenda item public commentary period to plead to the Board of Education to have Long Lots Elementary School principal Dr. Debra Dunn reinstated. The principal has reportedly been on leave from the school for about six weeks for unknown reasons. A petition to the Superintendent has been signed by over 300 families as of tonight’s BOE meeting in support of the return of Dr. Dunn. Former and current Long Lots Elementary School PTA presidents described her return as needed in order to “return stability and leadership to the school” while lauding her work as principal in a school that was in need of strong leadership.
Dr. Debra Dunn was a former Superintendent of the York, Maine School Department before her hiring as LLS Principal in 2017. According to letters, the elementary school has seen nearly one dozen changes in leadership in the past decade, with Dr. Dunn being the one who instilled the most confidence in staff and student, according to some letters, while others described her as a calm face who made hard decisions that needed to be made. No explanation of her leave was given from the Board.
The health update remained positive overall as COVID-19 case numbers remained similar to last weeks, with the Supervisor of Health Services Sue Levasseur describing some “flattening of the curve” as time moves on from the holiday breaks.
Superintendent Thomas Scarice said that last week’s public comments of frustration or worry about returning to school were not ignored, as items such as four hundred K95 masks, and desk shields for the middle school, were all ordered ahead of the district’s reopening of schools for its youngest learners. He also described meeting with both the teachers’ union and paraeducators’ union after last week’s BOE meeting to further discuss options and concerns.
The meeting quickly dove into the Superintendent’s proposed budget, which was requested to be cut from the original 4.98% increase to a near 3% increase at last week’s meeting by the Board of Education. Board of Ed members gave concern over the cutting of SmartBoard updates as well as talks about funding for certain programs and extracurricular activities, citing that many new residents chose Westport specifically for those programs. There was also talk about positions of teachers and paras, however the Board wanted to assure that student education would not be impacted.
The meeting ended with discussions about capital expenses, approval of soft costs and acceptance of gifts, including a new cooling tower at Greens Farms Elementary School and the donation of a $9,000 upright Boston piano to the same school by a local family.
Superintendent: Weekend Reports 6 New COVID-19 Cases in 3 Schools; 4 at Long Lots
The Westport Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard. Numbers may not reflect new cases.
From Superintendent Thomas Scarice this morning:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this morning we have 6 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 from Friday evening through the weekend. The reports came from the following schools:
Long Lots Elementary School - 4
Saugatuck Elementary School - 1
Staples High School - 1
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Westport Teachers: Full-in Return is “extremely unwise”; Paediatrican, Parent:“prioritize your job, which is to teach.”
Last week’s Board of Education meeting garnered 63 public comments on the Superintendent’s choice to re-open elementary and middle schools full-time on February 1st, just days before the Governor announced vaccines for educators are delayed until March. Comments can be found here.
With so many public comments - many several paragraphs long - the Board elected to stop reading them, with the promise to post them publicly and read at a later time, in order to attend to their full meeting agenda. Even with the time saving measure, the meeting was pushed until after midnight on Wednesday morning. It’s unknown how late tonight’s meeting will go, or if the Board of Education will comment on staff or family concerns.
The letters were mainly written by Westport educators, some of whom said they were “overwhelmed, stressed, scared, disconnected, anxious, uncertain, nervous, lonely, worried, exhausted, tense, drained, and uneasy.” according to one group-authored letter. Others described their love for the district and their jobs, but their feeling “undervalued and underappreciated through actions of the Board.”
Some parents brought up concerns for the students who elect to remain virtual, specifically referring to a change in specials scheduling, saying “Distance Learners depend on zoom specials to stay connected to their schools, classmates, and beloved specials teachers. What you have presented is not equitable.”
However not all unread letters criticized the decision to return. One high school parent/paediatrician told the Board of Education “I respect teachers as much as I do physicians so with all due respect I ask that you prioritize your job which is to teach. Leave the job of health and safety to those of us that have spent lifetimes studying it. Listen to the CDC, AAP, and National Academy of Sciences, who have all stated that at this point in the pandemic returning children to school will not change the outcome that you’re imagining.” The parent continued to request that high school seniors are allowed to finish their high school career in-person.
In addition to the Health Report and transition discussions, tonight’s meeting will include a review of the superintendent’s budget - which administrators were told to cut by nearly 1% in order to keep an increase of around 3% instead of the proposed 3.98%. High school class sizes will be looked at in particular, followed by conversations about capital expenses.
Superintendent: 4 New COVID-19 Cases in 3 Schools
The Westport Public Schools Reopening Dashboard
From Westport Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice last evening:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 4 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of note, there were no reported cases of COVID-19 cases yesterday. The reports today came from the following schools:
Coleytown Elementary School - 1
Greens Farms Elementary School - 2
Saugatuck Elementary School - 1
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Midnight Board of Education Meeting: Outrage Over Vaccines; Reopening Info; Letters Oppose Opening; Budget Increase
Last night’s Board of Education meeting was heavily lead by the first agenda item, which included the health and school reopening update. The reports were provided by Superintendent Thomas Scarice, Supervisor of Health Services Suzanne Levasseur, and principals from the town’s elementary and middle schools. Although the update was relatively short, the topic garnered over 60 public comments to be read by Director of Human Resources and General Administration John Bayers, which helped push the meeting until 12:30 Wednesday morning.
Lavasseur began the meeting by presenting a similar number of COVID-19 cases in the district since last week’s meeting, and described a similar school environment that’s aided in keeping in-school transmission rates low, but made it clear that “a zero transmission rate isn’t possible” despite low numbers overall.
After a recent letter to the Board of Education cited frustration over a delay in vaccination registration, Lavasseur explained that other school district staff members received COVID-19 vaccine registration [prior to Westport] as “a mistake” with “unfortunate timing” as the Governor announced this week that educators will be bumped to a later phase of the vaccine roll-out, now saying school staff members should be receiving their vaccine in late February or early March. The new timeline is several weeks after the assumed date of vaccination. Lavasseur explained that any school staff member who registered for the vaccine prematurely was “strongly encouraged” to cancel the appointment to allow those 75 years old or older to maintain their appointments first.
Board of Education Chair Candice Savin empathized with the staff members and shared her frustration with the new delayed date. “It’s outrageous” she added, and stated that the Board of Education members have been working with State representatives to push for earlier vaccination dates for school employees.
Elementary and middle school principals shared further information about the return to full-in learning by the end of this month, and included a new website section and schedule to assist in the transition (below). They described that 6 foot social distancing would not be possible at all times, but that masks, physical dividers, and flexible spaces would mitigate risk inherited by the closer spacing. Lunch and Snack periods for elementary learners were a main area of concern for Board members and public commenters. Administrators described plexiglass dividers between students and dividing children between larger rooms to aid in creating a safe lunch environment. Extra PPE was mentioned for staff working in the higher-risk environments, such as K95 masks.
Updated Elementary School Transition Schedule:
Wednesday, January 27:
All Students: At home learning day. Teachers will prepare their classrooms and instruction to accommodate their full class.
Thursday, January 28th & Friday, January 29th:
K-2nd: Full day, in-person school days.
3rd-5th: Remote instruction via Live Zoom on half-day, hybrid schedule. Virtual specials will not run.
Monday, February 1st:
All Students: Full in-person school day.
63 public comments slowed the meeting’s pace to a crawl as each comment received was read aloud by John Bayers. After 1.5 hours of reading the comments, Bayers still had nearly 40 comments to read as the clock struck 10:30 PM. Board Member Karen Kleine brought up the idea that due to the the Board’s previously receiving many of the letters, specifically those from Westport school teachers, any remaining comments not yet read could be sent to Board members emails to avoid continuing the read aloud session - an idea opposed by Board members Lee Goldstein and Youn Su Chao. With several agenda items still needing to be discussed, the Board decided to delay the reading until after the remaining agenda items, at which point they would decide how to handle the dozens of comments still to be read.
The majority of the comments read in the preliminary reading were all in opposition to Scarice’s decision to transition to full-in learning on February 1st, with many coming from Westport Public Schools staff members - one calling on Board of Education members to wonder “would you feel safe having your 63 year old [family member] go into a room with dozens of unmasked children multiple times per day?” The staff members’ overwhelming topic of feeling underappreciated, stressed out, and scared for the change was echoed by Board members, who took the feelings into account when deciding to continue reading the letters during the meeting, or to post the letter publicly online.
The meeting continued towards Wednesday morning with the nearly 4% budget increase discussions, including Technology, Staffing, Special Education, and Teaching and Learning items all needing to be presented. The Board of Education told Superintendent Scarice and CFO Elio Longo to look into options for a 3% increase, with all members interested in keeping the increase closer to 3% instead of the current 3.98%.
A Discussion of Capital Projects Plan with the Finance and Facilities committee was also on the agenda, as well as April 1st being a school day for staff and students
At 12:30 AM, Chair Savin proposed emailing all remaining public commentary from Agenda Item 1 regarding the School Reopening to Board members, and publicly posting them. One Board member added that they felt the Board could approach the teacher’s unions to find a way that allows teachers’ voices to be heard and to assure that they are included. The meeting ended at 12:33 AM.
Superintendent: 6 New COVID-19 Cases in 4 Schools
Data from the Westport Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard 01/18/21
From Superintendent Thomas Scarice last night:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 6 newly confirmed case of COVID-19 that came in over the weekend. The reports came from the following schools:
Kings Highway - 2
Bedford Middle School - 1
Coleytown Middle School - 1
Staples High School - 2
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent: 9 New Cases in 5 Schools; 1 Case in Central Office
From Westport Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice last night:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 10 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 that came in last night and today. The reports came from the following schools/locations:
Kings Highway Elementary School - 1
Long Lots Elementary School - 1
Saugatuck Elementary School - 1
Coleytown Middle School - 1
Staples High School - 5
Central Office - 1
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice, Superintendent of Schools
Superintendent: 8 New Cases in 3 Schools; 6 in Staples
According to Westport Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice, 8 new COVID-19 cases were reported as of last night among students and staff in the District. Staples High School had the highest amount of cases, with 6 reported just yesterday, and 18 in total. The school with the second highest amount of cases is Saugatuck Elementary School with seven cases. The district has a total of 39 probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 159 staff or students quarantined.
From the Superintendent:
Dear Westport Families and Staff,
In our efforts to remain transparent with reports of positive Covid-19 cases associated with our schools, we will continue to provide these updates as information is confirmed. As of the time I am writing to you this evening we have 8 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 that came in yesterday and today. The reports came from the following schools:
Kings Highway Elementary School - 1
Bedford Middle School - 1
Staples High School - 6
Those impacted have been notified by school and District officials. As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.
Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Staples High School Celebrates December, January Students of the Month
From Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas:
Principal Thomas has announced Staples High School's recipients for December and January Student of the Month:
Mary Bazile- Gr.9
Catherine Cunningham-Gr.11
Nicholas Porzio-Gr.9
Brandon Saunders-Gr.11
Tucker Peters - Gr. 9
Maya Vogelmann-Gr.11
Claire Railton-Jones- Gr.12
Autumn Smith- Gr.12
Matthew Lott-Gr.11
Logan Goodman-Gr.9
Sasha Hamer-Gr.12
The Students of the Month award program recognizes students who help make Staples High School a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the “glue” of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.
Students of the month are nominated by their teachers, who are asked to think of those students who come to school regularly, are friendly to the staff and to fellow students, and make positive contributions in class as well as the Staples community. In short, these students are all-around good citizens of our school. Students of the Month are not necessarily star athletes, high honor students, or lead performers, and even if they are, this award recognizes the positive attitude they bring to school every day in making Staples High School a genial place in which to learn and teach.