By Sarah Opdahl

At the Thursday, June 1 New Fairfield Board of Education (BOE or Board) meeting, Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw said, “one of our goals this year at the high school was to look at the current high school schedule and how that supports student learning and the other needs of the high school.” Principal Mr. James D’Amico walked the Board through the committee work that was completed to analyze the schedule and options, plus explained next steps. Noting, “you cannot please everyone” with shifts such as these, he is confident some improvements can be made in the future with changes, however large the changes may be will be informed following next year’s trials. The high school has operated on a block schedule for a dozen years, prior to that it was an 8-Day, A through H schedule.

D’Amico explained that the committee included a variety of constituents and extensive work went into examin ing different schedules and into setting priorities for scheduling.  A survey was distributed to students, faculty, and parents to gather feedback and reactions to some scheduling models. Feedback was sought on class timing, effectiveness of study hall and Rebel 33, homework, evenings, and more. The feedback was logical—more frequency is better for core academic subjects, though there were some exceptions noted such as first period settling in difficulties and longer periods are ideal for courses that require set up and clean-up, such as Culinary Arts. How best to handle periods such as Rebel 33 have multiple solutions, for example, it could be held once per week for a longer duration. There’s a consensus that shorter Study Halls make sense. Students fear homework load with a schedule that includes higher class frequency.

Parents of students place a high value on flexible time during the school day, D’Amico explained. In the evening, he pointed out “Our students are very active…that’s something we want to make sure that we take into account whe n we design the school day.” 

There are many potential schedules that have merit, but the committee has a favorite in the “Drop 2” option, which will be tested in the week of October 2, and includes a hybrid schedule of 60-minute and 80-minute classes. Board members asked to consider trialing two other schedules, one in winter and one in early spring.

Craw gave an end-of-year update on district goals. At this “time of year we reflect back on the year’s accomplishments and also think about where we’re going.”  He pointed to the five major buckets that were the focus this year: (i) to raise student growth and achievement; (ii) to focus on a healthy learning environment; (iii) to facilitate the resources to support teaching and learning; (iv) for Craw to enact his entry plan, which was all smoothly handled; and (v) strategic planning, which was put on hold due to the ongoing budget saga. In teaching and learning, he explained “we are seeing growth in ELA and math” and “we still have a ways to go when we look at the specific achievement results which, of course, we’re going to keep working on.” There were many moves related to school safety and security, “we meet regularly with our SROs and the First Selectman and we focus on how we can better coordinate our response,” Craw said. Plus, health and wellness was a consideration. High-quality professional development helped in satisfying the third goal.

Reflecting on the previous evening’s Board of Finance meeting, Chair Mr. Dominic Cipillone says he fears a police overtime will impact funding for school resource officers. It was also noted that many teachers have sought letters of recommendation and new candidates have backed away due to the failed budget and surrounding issues. He said, “we’ll do what we need to do to continue the well-being of our young people throughout this process and work proactively with the Superintendent to make sure the needs of our kids are met.”

The next regular New Fairfield Boa rd of Education meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, 7:00 p.m.