With CMS students relocated to Bedford Middle School for a second year this year, construction teams have worked quickly to get the school back online in time for the 2020-21 school year.

Work to be done by the end of the summer includes an entire roof replacement, new HVAC system, with HVAC extended to the gym and locker rooms, replacement of all windows and interior ceilings, and the regrading of the surrounding grounds to assuage water seepage and improve drainage.

“Things can happen,” O’Day said. “We can have terrible weather. We can have material problems,” but barring extreme issues, he said, things should proceed on schedule.

“Winter conditions are built into the various trade work being done,” said Susan Chipouras, project manager. “If we get a blizzard, that’s going to affect people working outside the building.”

While he originally had hoped to see exterior cladding—the last piece of the project—affixed to the outside of the building by mid-September, O’Day said this work will likely continue through October, possibly into November.

“All things that can be done to minimize noise and disruption will be done,” he said, with materials safely stored on site and noisy work—like drilling into the sides of the building—done when students are not present.

“It’s not going to be nearly as disruptive as some people think it will be,” O’Day said.

“The intent is to try and get the noisy work done ahead of time before school starts,” Chipouras said.

“It’s really exciting to be able to visualize more, and also the timing as well,” said BOE member Elaine Whitney, who asked O’Day if he would make monthly reports to them through the winter.

The BOE will decide officially on April 15 whether displaced students return to CMS next year.

O’Day said there would likely be no surprises up until that date and he would report to the board as often as they wanted.

“Essentially you have to have a contingency,” he said, in case of emergency, but he very much doubts it will be necessary to employ it.

Superintendent of Schools David Abbey said his office is working on creating “scenario plans” and is confident they’ll be ready to deal with whichever way matters might progress.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of industrial hygienist work in testing … I don’t think there’s too much to be worried about,” O’Day said in answer to a question about air quality.

Asked about security on the site once students return, Chipouras said the matter was being addressed.

“All the people working there have to have background checks,” she said, per their contracts.

“Once the children are back in school, the contractor will have to get some kind of badge so you won’t just have random people walking around,” she said.

O’Day noted that though work will continue outside, the playing fields should be available as soon as the school reopens.

Parents are invited to attend an informational meeting held at each elementary school on Wednesday, March 4 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

“Come learn about the kindergarten program in Westport, meet the current kindergarten teachers, and sign your child up for a kindergarten visit in May,” the announcement said.

Parent meetings will be held at each elementary school.

If you are unsure as to what elementary school your child should attend, please go to our school locator website:  https://www.westportps.org/parents/school-locator-and-directions

If you need further assistance, please contact the superintendent’s office at (203) 341-1026.

Students from Staples High School and other local towns find the transformed Westport Library an appealing retreat for mid-term exam preparation. According to library spokesperson Rachel Pegnataro, “We’ve been happily flooded with students from Staples doing their exam studying here. It’s so awesome to see students studying and working so hard here in the new library.” Staples High School mid-term exams began Monday and conclude on Wednesday, Jan. 22. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

State officials agreed Friday to enroll more than 1,000 new students in magnet schools as part of a milestone agreement in the decades-long Sheff vs. O’Neill school desegregation case. The agreement dedicates 600 of those seats to the more than 12,000 children who attend struggling, segregated schools in Hartford.

The agreement with civil rights attorneys also includes a commitment by the state to overhaul how it awards seats in magnet schools. That plan will address the backlog created when thousands of children were turned away from integrated schools and left on the waiting list each year.

The settlement follows six years of stagnation in the number of children from Hartford attending integrated schools – and almost 24 years after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that Hartford’s minority children, “suffer daily”  from inequities caused by severe racial and economic isolation.

Civil rights attorneys were prepared to drag the state back to court for not complying with the high courts’ order after efforts stalled under the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

By Jarret Liotta

Though it had some misgivings about choosing different days, the Board of Education (BOE) Monday night decided to adopt a revised 2020-21 school calendar per recommendations of the teacher’s union.

Last month it came to light that the approved school calendar for next year was three days short, listing only 179 days for students instead of 182. There were also only 185 days marked for teachers, though the contract requires 188 working days.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which had traditionally always been a half-day for students but during the abbreviated tenure of the last superintendent of schools had been changed to a holiday, was returned to a half day.

April 19, the Monday after April break, which students had off but teachers did not, will now be a school day, as will June 17, extending the school year an extra day for students.