The Board of Education tonight approved the hiring of the Kroll security firm to conduct a $98,000 school security audit following the Newtown shootings.

The firm was among three finalists whose representatives appeared before the board in an executive session before the public meeting.

Also taking part in the executive session were Police Chief Dale Call, Deputy Chief Foti Koskinas, and Deputy Fire Chief Robert Kepchar, said Board Chair Elaine Whitney.

In March, an hour before the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) session scheduled to consider a $100,000 school security audit appropriation request, the Board of Education said it was withdrawing the item. (See WestportNow March 5, 2013)

The Westport Board of Education tonight approved the appointment of Norwalk public schools chief operating officer Elio Longo Jr. as school business administrator to replace Nancy Harris, who is retiring in June.

Elio Longo addresses the Board of Education tonight after his appointment. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Harris, who has been assistant superintendent for business since 1999, announced her retirement in February. (See WestportNow Feb. 10, 2013)

Longo has served since November 2011 in the Norwalk school system and previously worked for 10 years in Danbury as finance director of its public schools.

Board of Education Chair Elaine Whitney said Longo would serve to at least 2016 at an annual salary of $185,000. Harris last year earned $205,344.

Westport editor and author Lauren Tarshis spoke at the Westport Public Library today, addressing ways that parents can encourage reluctant readers, and about the profound effect the widely adopted new Common Core standards are having on the nation’s school curricula. Tarshis is the editor of Scholastic’s Storyworks and Scope magazines, and the author of the “I Survived” series and the critically acclaimed novels ” Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree ” and “Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) David Dreyfuss for WestportNow.com

Westport’s Staples High School ranked No. 7 among the best Connecticut high schools, according to the 2013 rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report. Nationally, it ranked No. 296.

In the state, the top 10 in order were Darien, Conard (West Hartford), Weston, Ridgefield, Farmington, Wilton, Staples, William H. Hall (West Hartford), Joel Barlow (Redding), and Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy (East Hartford).

According to U.S. News, Staples had a 12:1 student-teacher ratio, a 54.6 college readiness index rating (58 percent took AP courses, 54 percent passed), a 4.5 math proficiency rating (97 percent proficient, 3 percent not proficient), and a 4.4 reading proficiency rating (100 percent proficient).

Last year, U.S. News ranked Staples No. 5 in the state and No. 302 nationally.

Westport resident Claudia Bernstein (r), an eighth grader at Greens Farms Academy, won the prestigious first place in Life Sciences Award at the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair at Qunnipiac University. Her project on the effect of over-the-counter painkillers on the gastric system brought her the highest honor from the Pfizer Life Science Awards as well as the Connecticut Science Teacher’s Association Student Research Awards. Claudia’s teacher, Sara Campolettano (c ), said of her work that it was “authentic, original, and thorough.” Fellow eighth grader, Oliver Ferry (l) of Fairfield won second place in the physical sciences for his project on aircraft design. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

The Greenwich Representative Town Meeting Monday night approved $1.4 million to improve security at Greenwich public schools. The vote was 183 to 5 with one abstention, Greenwich Time reported.

As part of the security upgrades following the Newtown shootings, Greenwich will replace all locks on classroom doors so they can be secured from both the inside and outside. Now, classroom doors can be locked only from the outside, the report said.

In addition, the district plans to add additional security cameras, upgrade intercom systems, reinforce windows with laminated security glass, and put shades on classroom doors and windows that can lowered in an emergency, the newspaper said.

The district is weighing the addition of a second full-time school resource police officer to complement one assigned to Greenwich High School, Greenwich Time said.

Steven Sobel, a junior at Westport’s Staples High School, is one of 30 Connecticut high school juniors chosen out of 150 nominees statewide to be honored as a Governor’s Scholar, school officials announced.

Steven Sobel: one of 30 selected. Contributed photo

With the honor, he will be invited with his parents Richard and Stacey Sobel to a May 16 luncheon with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other state leaders. Staples Principal John Dodig is also scheduled to attend.

Steven was selected by a panel of Connecticut educators based on his class rank, standardized test scores and an essay. To receive the honor students must rank in the top 5 percent of the junior class, and they are required to submit an essay on an assigned topic.

This year, the essay topic asked students to choose three challenges the United States faces. Steven wrote about educational disparity and inequality, preservation of natural resources and the electrical grid.