New Tech, New Upgrades for Brookfield Schools

Art Colley, the director of business and technology operations for Brookfield schools, said that over the summer the district added new technology, refurbished parts of its buildings and joined with municipal officials to ensure that the schools would be ready and the roads would be clear following .

He told the Board of Education (BOE) at its meeting Wednesday that the wireless access capacity at Brookfield High School (BHS) was increased to accommodate , in which each freshman and several teachers now have an iPad, and new policies that allow for greater use of iPads and lap-top computers by other students and staff members.

“We have had to expand our wireless networks,” said Colley, who initially arrived in the district in fall 2006 as the technology director and added the business operations to his portfolio in the spring of 2008.

He has said that BHS is the first school in Connecticut to distribute iPads to a full class of students.

Colley said the district also has added a 10-unit iPad lab for the members of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter at BHS and purchased 180 refurbished computers.

He said new computer units have been installed at Whisconier Middle School (WMS) and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES).

Colley said that school administrators worked with officials from the Public Works, Police and Parks and Recreation Departments to ensure that the roads and buildings were safe for the start of school after trees fell on the roads following the tropical storm.

“There were many meetings as the storm approached and the response was great,” he said.

Colley said the Public Works crews, for example, cleared trees early last week so that buses could finally operate on August 31, just two days after the initially planned opening of the academic year.

“We were able to get kids into a safe and secure environment,” he said.

Colley said through the early days of the academic year the buses have been running smoothly under a schedule that was .

He said last month Dan Schatzle, the supervisor for facilities, retired after more than 34 years in the district.

Angelo Rodriguez, who had held a similar position in the Danbury schools, succeeded Schatzle late last month.

Colley and BOE member Harry Shaker praised the school custodians.

“Enough can’t be said about the custodial staff,” said Shaker, a longtime youth sports coach who said he has received many compliments about the maintenance of the buildings and fields from out-of-town coaches through the years.

Colley said that the physical improvements over the summer included the second phase of the restoration of the BHS roof and the installation of a new phone system throughout the district, which replaces one that had been in place for 17 years.

The business and technology director said a , was recently installed near the BHS softball field in return for the bottling company getting the concession rights at the athletic events. Pepsi also is contributing a combined $7,500 over the next five years to the BHS athletic program.