Superintendent's Newsletter
April 2018
Utilization Update
On April 25th at 7:00 p.m. a Community Information session will be held in the Benchwarmers Gym at Strong School. The Utilization Committee of the Board of Education will share pertinent information on the current building and grade reconfiguration options that are being recommended at this time. From 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. community members will be able to view informational posters that illustrate suggested building configurations that will support the suggested options. From 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. members of the Board of Education will share specific information relative to the three options. Community members will then be invited to share their ideas and ask questions from 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. The following options will be reviewed:
Option A: (one building track for all): Brewster Pre-K-2; Memorial 3-5, Strong 6-8; Coginchaug 9-12
Option B: Brewster Pre-K-4, Memorial K-4; Strong 5-7; Coginchaug 8-12
Option C (maintain current building and grade level configuration): Brewster Pre-K-3; Lyman K-4; Memorial 4-6; Strong 7-8, Coginchaug 9-12
An informational flyer will be sent electronically to all parents and through the mail to all residents at the end of this week. A survey is included in the flyer and it is suggested that it be completed after the informational session is held. The survey can be submitted online or in paper to your child’s school or to Central Office.
Strategic Visioning Update
For the past three months Dr. Veronesi has been working with a team of 16 educators from Regional School District 13 as a parallel process to the utilization work that is being done at the Board level. Through the strategic visioning process the team is working to identify priority themes and from there the design elements that will show evidence of those themes throughout our district. The purpose of the work this year was to begin a process that would be further defined in the coming two years once a building and grade configuration decisions were made. The strategic visioning outcomes are being taken into consideration by the Utilization Committee and Board of Education. Parents have been invited to participate in three prior sessions to-date and two more sessions will be held where parents and community members can engage in this important work in the Coginchaug library. Those dates and times are:
Tuesday, April 24th from 4:00 p.m. –7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 15th from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Babysitting will not be available on the April date and we will inform you if it will be available in May. Both are potluck suppers and parents are asked to RSVP to their child’s school by Monday, April 23rd if they plan to attend the April 24th session.
At this time the priority themes that have been identified through a variety of exercises using an asset-based framework are:
· Connection
· Choice
· Voice
· Innovation
· Creativity
· Collaboration
· Transformation
Identified design elements to support these themes include:
· Multi-age classrooms and multi-age experiences
· Project-based/self-directed learning
· School-wide assemblies
· HOT School framework including strong arts/arts integration
· Democratic practices including a defined student leadership structure
· Space configured to support priority themes
· Daily time for movement
· Connection to outdoors and nature
· Social emotional learning support and opportunities
We look forward to the involvement of our parents and community in helping us vision for a bright and dynamic future for all Regional School District 13 students and staff.
CRHS Girls' Basketball State Champions with the RSD13 Board of Education
Safety and Security Upgrades
The Board of Education has been working with the administration on safety and security upgrades. Those upgrades include staff training and development in incident response situations of all kinds, various physical plant improvements, support for student social and emotional well-being as well as general mental health support, and the inclusion of a School Resource Officer (SRO). The SRO, who would spend most of his or her time at the high school, would be a resource for the entire district and each school in the following areas: surveillance of the interior and exterior of all school buildings, support and presence as a law enforcement officer, law-related counselor, and law-related educator, promotion of positive attitudes regarding the role of police in society and informing students of their rights and responsibilities as lawful citizens, support of students and parents in conjunction with school personnel as appropriate in matters involving bullying, social media misconduct, substance abuse, and training related to disaster, trauma, emergency response and security awareness in the school environment. The SRO would also offer training classes which would include DARE training at the middle school.
The Board of Education has not approved the inclusion of this position in next year’s budget at this time. An information session on the SRO program and the benefits of this position will be held on April 24th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m in the library at Coginchaug High School.
Budget
The Public Hearing will be held tonight in the Thayer Auditorium at Coginchaug at 8:00 p.m. An overview of the 0% increase budget of $36,819,319 will be held and the community will be invited to comment and ask questions after the 30 minute presentation. The budget process continues with a District Meeting on Monday, May 7th and the referendum vote scheduled for Tuesday, May 8th at Korn School and the Middlefield Community Center.
Kathryn Y. Veronesi, Ed.D.
Email: kveronesi@rsd13.org
Website: http://www.rsd13ct.org
Phone: (860) 349-7200