James Bairaktaris 2/25/21 James Bairaktaris 2/25/21

Superintendent: 3 New COVID-19 Cases in 3 Schools

Last Evening’s Press Release

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 3 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. The reports came from the following schools:

Saugatuck Elementary School - 1
Bedford Middle 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

James Bairaktaris 2/23/21 James Bairaktaris 2/23/21

Points for Tonight’s Board of Ed. Meeting: Health Update, Social/Emotional Wellness, Plan for Minority Staff Recruitment

The Board of Education will continue their work after last meeting’s budget vote with another full agenda. Tonight’s meeting will start at 7:00 PM and can be viewed here or on Cablevision channel 79. The agenda and accompanying documents can be found here.

Agenda:

Health Update from Supervisor of Health Services Suzanne Levasseur. Superintendent Scarice plans to speak about the “sharp decline” in local cases.
“Search Institute” Survey from Mr. Michael Rizzo, Dr. Valerie Babich, Ms. Elaine Daignault, Ms. Margaret Watt. A survey for 7th-12th graders that will help the District understand the students’ social-emotional wellness.
Equity Study from Dr. Anthony Buono “The goal of the study is to identify systemic inequalities while positioning the district to effectively develop strategic action plans.”
2022-2023 School Year Calendar discussion.
Policy Committee and first reading of a policy on recruiting minority staff members to the district.

James Bairaktaris 2/22/21 James Bairaktaris 2/22/21

Snow Covers Coleytown Middle School 30 Minutes before Dismissal

Snow covered Coleytown Middle School this afternoon as the area experienced a brief but powerful burst of light snow, creating low visibility and beautiful scenes before changing over to rain.

James Bairaktaris 2/22/21 James Bairaktaris 2/22/21

Superintendent: Vaccines for School Staff Begin March 1st; 4 New COVID-19 Cases in 4 Schools

Press Release

Good morning Westport Families and Staff,

Just before the holidays I spoke of the breakthroughs that were just over the horizon, reasons to be optimistic as we endure this season and the pandemic. Today, I could not be more enthusiastic to share that Governor Lamont will make an announcement that will continue to support our work as we aim to provide as much in-person schooling for our students as possible.

At his 4:00 p.m. press conference today, Governor Lamont will announce that effective March 1st, 2021, COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be opening up for school staff, which includes any staff that work in school buildings and /or interact with students. The month of March will be focused on the task of vaccinating these school personnel and childcare providers throughout Connecticut.

A great deal of work has been done by a number of people in our school community to advocate for the vaccination of school personnel. We are most appreciative of these voices as they have finally been heard. Today, we are on the doorstep as we endeavor to have all school personnel vaccinated in the month of March.

While the news of vaccinating school personnel is wonderful, we will continue with our efforts of keeping the community updated with new cases of COVID-19. The community and regional rates have dropped dramatically over the past month, coinciding perfectly with our efforts to provide full in-person schooling K-8 and increased access at Staples High School beginning on March 1.

That said, since my last communication on Thursday, February 18, 2021, the District received 4 new positive reports of COVID-19 associated with our schools.The reports came from the following schools:

Long Lots Elementary School - 1
Saugatuck Elementary School - 1
Bedford Middle School - 1
Staples High School - 1

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.