May 2, 2013
Regional School District No. 6 Superintendent Edward Drapp announced Wednesday, May 1, that three finalists for the James Morris School principal position have been selected by the Principal Screening Committee.
KC Chapman, currently a grade 5 & 6 teacher at Thompson Brook School in Avon, Joanna Genovese, former principal at the Hurlbutt Elementary School in Weston, and Barbara Nanassy, Grade 5 Math & Literacy teacher at the Whisconier Middle School in Brookfield, were selected by the eleven-member panel consisting of parents, residents, teachers, support staff, and district administrators.
The three finalists met with the James Morris School staff on Wednesday, May 1, and are slated to meet with district administrators on Wednesday, May 8.
Parents and interested Morris residents are invited to meet the candidates at James Morris School on Tuesday, May 7, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
According to Superintendent Drapp, the input from the administrators, staff, parents and residents will weigh significantly into his final recommendation to the school board. “The Principal Screening Committee did a fantastic job narrowing the candidates to three outstanding finalists. It is important for me to gather input from all of the constituent groups who will be affected by this decision.”
The School Board may interview Mr. Drapp’s recommended candidate on Wednesday, May 8th if the reference checks are complete.
For questions or more information, call the superintendent’s office at 860-567-7400.
April 2013
Dear Citizen of Region 6:
The school board is proposing a $17,816,300 budget for the 2013-2014 school year; this represents a 1.75% increase over the current spending level of $17,509,876. Furthermore, this budget continues the board’s commitment to fiscal sustainability, as evidenced by the 5.5% cumulative budget increase over the past five years, an average annual increase of 1.1%.
The proposed Region 6 budget is nearly half of the proposed statewide average of 3.44% (as reported by the CT Association of School Business Officials), and unfunded state and federal mandates account for 88% of the budget increase.
Yet, the school budget needs to be more than a fiscal exercise if we are to meet our goal of giving our students a quality kindergarten through grade 12 educational experience and preparing them for college, career and life beyond high school. The school board believes that the proposed budget supports those lofty aims as well.
For instance, the proposed budget includes funding for expanding educational programs for high school students such as: a veterinarian technician program, an emergency responder course, a transition specialist/job coach, an SAT preparation course, and expanded online courses. Similarly, elementary school students will benefit from a shared library media specialist and a gifted, talented and enrichment program.
The Board of Education is sponsoring a Budget Hearing on Monday, April 22, 2013 at Wamogo Regional High School in the James M. Eisenhaure Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Then, the Annual District Meeting will be held at Wamogo Regional High School in the James M. Eisenhaure Auditorium on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 8:00 p.m., at which time the district’s citizens will vote on the budget.
Sincerely,
John Barrett, Chairman
Regional School District No. 6 Board of Education
February 15, 2013
Dear Parents, Staff and Community Members,
Although we hear reports that schools are among the safest buildings in the country and that violent crime in schools has actually declined compared to 20 years ago, the geographic proximity, personal connections to those affected, and horrific circumstances of the Newtown tragedy, make us feel vulnerable and threaten our sense of security. I want to assure the Region 6 community that we are actively pursuing ways to make our schools safer and more secure. Like you, I will always want to do more to protect our students, your children. Yet, in my view, we cannot turn our schools into fortresses or prisons that deny students a healthy climate and environment in which to grow. That does not mean, however, that we are powerless or that inaction is our chosen course.
At the February 6th Board of Education meeting I provided the following update on what the district is doing to improve the safety and security at all of the schools:
- We are reviewing our existing Emergency Operations Guide and will be updating the document to ensure that it is current, accessible and easily identifiable.
- We are conducting more frequent emergency and lockdown drills, and expanding them to prepare students and staff for a variety of scenarios.
- All doors to the building are locked throughout the day, sign in is required for all visitors and there is limited access into and through the buildings; furthermore, outside contractors must be accompanied by school personnel. Staff has been instructed not to wedge open doors. Parking will not be allowed in the fire lanes.
- The video surveillance and intercom systems at the main entry of each school will be upgraded; this work should be complete by March 15. This will be followed by a systematic expansion of video surveillance equipment throughout the schools.
- Two-way locks will be installed on all classroom and office doors; and glass near the entryways will be secured.
- Staff is conducting regular surveillance of buildings and grounds, and all staff has been asked to be extra vigilant and report any activity that seems suspicious or out of the ordinary.
- We are exploring reinstating a School Resource Officer, a position that was funded by the State of Connecticut prior to 2010. We are in discussion with Litchfield about possibly sharing the cost of this resource, and we will continue to lobby our state legislators for the State to provide additional funds and resources for security.
- We have had an outside firm conduct an initial safety audit of the schools. We will be expanding on this report to get additional information to formulate a long-range plan.
- We will work with law enforcement and emergency responders to ensure that we are working together to develop thorough and comprehensive safety plans for our schools.
- Finally, we are and will continue to work on enhancing staff to student relationships, and scheduling more activities and events to connect students to the schools.
These initiatives wil