Meet Brookfield's New Teachers

Brookfield's new teachers were introduced and welcomed Wednesday night at the first Board of Education (BOE) meeting of the new school year. "We had a very strong applicant pool for these positions" said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Genie Slone, who introduced the 12 new teachers, who completed their orientation on August 24. "We really pulled the best of the best." 

Enrollment updates were given from each of the schools, beginning with Center Elementary School (CES) Principal Carrie Killian. There are 309 students enrolled this year at CES. The school implemented a new multi-age preschool program and has moved to a block schedule, which will provide protected times each day for literacy and math.

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES) welcomed 584 students total, according to Principal Mary Rose Diamond. Classes are larger class than predicted, with the addition of 42 new students to the district. Class sizes are between 23 and 24 students.

At Whisconier Middle School (WMS) there are 892 students enrolled, down from 919, according to Principal Deane Renda.

Brookfield High School (BHS) Principal Bryan Luizzi said they currently have 1015 students enrolled.

Art Colley, director of Business and Technology Operations, addressed the transportation issues that occurred during the first week of school. "We had a rather difficult start to the school year," he said. "We have some problem areas we need to address." Buses were significantly late due to road work in town and the major restructuring of the transportation schedule. They are working closely with the town and All-Star Transportation and are "committed to making this work," said Colley.  The district has promised a 45 minute maximum bus ride for students.

Superintendent Anthony Bivona added that he would like to "reassure parents and the community, we will fix what needs to be fixed."

Vice Chairman Rob Gianazza solicited the help of parents to help by "maintaining a safe atmosphere so they can get the kids on and off of the buses quickly."

Additional topics covered:

• The BOE held a special workshop on August 30 to discuss the Strategic Plan presented at the August 18 BOE meeting. "We had a very productive workshop clarifying some of the questions the board members had" said Bivona. He added that the feedback from the board has been noted and they will be presenting a new draft for review at the September 15 BOE meeting, and hopefully adopt the plan soon after.
• The BHS roof restoration has been completed, according to Colley, "We were able to get more done than planned." The section of the roof that was in the worst condition has been replaced, on time and on budget.
• New state education legislation was reviewed, some will take effect immediately and others down the road, including new graduation requirements, parent/teacher conferences, which are now required (two additional days have added to the school calendar), and the district is now required to provide in-school suspension. According to new regulations, the BOE is not required to post meeting notes on the district website, but they have chosen to continue the procedure.
• The board thanked Sue Budress, the interim Director of Special Education and Student Services, who will be leaving for a position in a different district at the end of the month.

The meeting closed with a suggestion from  Gianazza to get ahead of the budget process. He suggested the board members to "take the time to put our thoughts together" before they begin. He also encouraged community members to "contact their favorite board member" with ideas or concerns going forward.