By Sarah Opdahl

“The start of a new school year is always exciting,”  New Fairfield Public School District’s Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw shared, “It brings me great joy to see our students return refreshed by summer activities and ready to start a new chapter in their educational journey.” With a couple thousand students about to enter the doors of the three schools in Town, Craw is happy to welcome them back into the academic fold.

In recent days and weeks, district administrators have eagerly prepared for the return of staff, which occurs on Monday, August 25 and Craw is pleased that, unlike other recent years when the budget approval stretched into the summer, the hiring is substantially complete for all open positions. Craw shared that school and district leaders are currently meeting with new faculty as part of new staff orientation and the hallways are bustling as teachers are coming into the schools to set up their classrooms. Craw said, to a person, the administrators and faculty “are committed to continuous improvement to enhance the overall quality and experience for our students and families.”

The district’s youngest learners will visit New Fairfield Elementary School at a special Meet and Greet  on Tuesday, August 26 from 12-3 PM and all three schools will fully open on Thursday, August 28. Craw is enthused for them, saying, “my hope is that each student meets with success, makes strong connections with peers and staff, and models kindness toward others that will strengthen our school community.” In addition, he has tried-and-true advice for students and families: “establish routines from the outset of the year that include reading daily.” He went on, “Having a consistent time and place for homework gets students in good study habits that will set them up for success.”

There are understandably a multitude of items on Craw’s mind as the school year draws near, including a number of new programmatic initiatives that all support long-term strategic planning goals, such as newly-designed units of study in the K-12 science program, which will be implemented across the schools this year. He points to the hard work of curriculum leaders and teaching staff who have worked diligently “to bring forward innovative, rigorous and relevant learning experiences for our students in this important subject area.”  In addition, he is enthused about entering the second year of implementation for K-5 literacy resources; growing the orchestra program; and a lift in academic growth, following harder years in and after the pandemic.

In addition to the exciting curricular advances, the school properties have received further upgrades, including the final touches that are being made to the track and field. “We’re excited for our athletes and community to enjoy this upgraded facility soon,” Craw said of the popular stadium. There was also a completion of an oft-discussed aging oil tank, which was replaced, “giving us peace of mind that our heating infrastructure has been upgraded and is fully code compliant.” And Craw is tremendously pleased about classroom restoration work that was completed at New Fairfield Middle School. He explained, “As part of our capital plan, we’ve restored four classrooms in the lower level of the building back to the middle school for academic use. The district offices that had been occupying these spaces during the building projects have been relocated.”

With all of summer’s moving parts, Craw runs thin on time during the break, but he did make the most of it, saying “It was great to have our oldest daughter back home from her first year of college.” In a season of life many families can relate to, the Craw family’s summer “included several college visits and tours for our younger daughter who will be a senior in high school this year.”  In addition, they  enjoyed attending several Yankees games.