John Dodig: interim Staples principal. WN photoThe recently retired principal/headmaster of Fairfield High School, John M. Dodig, has been named interim principal at Westport’s Staples High School, replacing the departing John J. Brady, it was announced today.

The appointment was announced to school staff by Supt. of Schools Elliott Landon in an e-mail.  Landon said Dodig will serve for the remainder of the school year.

Brady is expected to report to his new job in the Amity Regional School District Oct. 18. His hiring was confirmed tonight by the Amity Board of Education which said he had agreed to a three-year contract.

Landon told staff members that Dodig “comes to us with a great reputation among teachers, administrators, students, and parents who have had the opportunity to know and work with him at Fairfield High School over the past 11 years.”

Dr. Gerry Kuroghlian thanks his colleagues after he was named Westport’s Teacher of the Year tonight in a ceremony at Staples High School, where he teaches English. The 38-year veteran of the school system said he was humbled by the selection, adding, “I’ve received a lot of awards over the years, but when you get it from your peers, it takes on a whole different meaning.” His said his “C” hat stands for “classroom, connection, curriculum, and concern.” A colleague added, “And tonight, celebration.” WestportNow.com photo

John Brady: moves to Amity Oct. 18. WN photo Staples High School Principal John Brady will begin his new job as superintendent of schools in the Amity Regional School District in three weeks, the New Haven Register reported today.

It said the Amity Board of Education is close to finalizing employment contract details with Brady and he will take office at Amity on a full-time basis on Oct. 18.

Contract details will be announced after the Amity Board of Education next meets, said Chairman Ken Downey, according to the newspaper.

Brady told WestportNow he expects the contract to be wrapped up Tuesday.

The Westport Board of Education Monday night will review its e-mail policies following a new round of e-mail exchanges that prompted a local newspaper to file a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of electronic board communications and a board member to boycott a meeting.

In a memo to board members included in the backup materials for Monday’s meeting, Supt. of Schools Elliott Landon said discussion of e-mails was proposed by board members and therefore was being included as part of a review of board goals for the 2004-05 school year.

The Hour of Norwalk reported today that it had filed a Freedom of Information Act request to access e-mails exchanged among board members in advance of special board meeting Friday to discuss job performance of Landon and board members.

The newspaper said the e-mails—which it said it had meanwhile obtained from board members—were about whether Landon should attend the meeting.

Staples teacher Jerry Kuroghlian: he’s starting to relate to Frankenstein.WN photo Parents, teachers, and others interested in education held “house parties for great public schools” across the country Wednesday night to discuss education issues in the presidential campaign. One session was hosted by two Westport middle school teachers.

An Associated Press reporter attended the meeting at the Trumbull home of Stacy and Lloyd Stableford, who both teach at Coleytown Middle School.

The gatherings were part of a national effort to spark awareness of education issues in a presidential campaign dominated by war, unemployment and the economy.

The parties were sponsored by organizations including the National Education Association and MoveOn.org which said there were 3,800 such discussions Wednesday night.

Among those at the meeting was the principal of Bridgeport’s Six to Six Interdistrict Magnet School, Leslie Alexander.

Students in Westport’s Staples High School class of 2004 posted the highest SAT scores in a decade, continuing recent trends for excellent performance, the school district has announced.

With scores of 593, math, 581, verbal, the classs combined total of 1174 is an increase of 19 points over last yearҒs scores, which were 584, math, 571 verbal, totaling 1155. The prior years total had been 1139.

The Staples scores continue to be higher than the state and national scores by a wide margin as well, according to a district announcement.

State scores for 2004 were 515, math, 515, verbal; nationals were 519, math, 508, verbal. Both the state and the national scores were higher than they had been in 2003.

Staples High School Principal John J. Brady says his decision to leave Westport for the Amity Regional School District was based on a longtime desire to become a schools superintendent as well as financial needs.
John Brady: “I shall miss this wonderful town.”WN photo

In a letter to Staples parents dated Sept. 15, Brady also said his date of departure will be Oct. 29 “unless (Schools Supt.) Dr. (Elliott) Landon finds a person who can assume my duties sooner.”

In an e-mail to parents dated the same day, Landon had said Brady hoped to leave “on or before Nov. 1.” (See WestportNow Sept. 17, 2004)

“I want you to understand the decision I have made since I realized it has come as quite a shock,” Brady wrote.

“While I truly have enjoyed my experience here at Staples, when I was approached by the Amity Schools, my desire to become superintendent of schools was rekindled first as a tiny spark and then as I learned more about the wonderful opportunity there, as a clear and consuming flame.”

Westport Schools Supt. Elliott Landon has told Staples High School parents that John J. Brady wants to leave his position as principal on or before Nov. 1.

In a letter sent Wednesday to parents, Landon said: As you have heard, last week Dr. John Brady informed us that he expected to be offered the position of Superintendent of Schools in the Amity Regional School District. Last night, the Amity Board of Education made the appointment official.

ӓDr. Brady wishes to begin his new Connecticut assignment on or before Nov. 1.

Landon added, ӓWe expect to be able to appoint a competent and experienced interim principal, one who has demonstrated previous success and outstanding administrative leadership as a high school principal, to serve for the balance of this school year.

Only hours after meeting with parents, staff and administrators at the Amity Regional School District, Westport’s Staples High School Principal John J. Brady was hired Tuesday night as the district’s new superintendent.
John Brady: will give notice to Westport today.WN photo

He said he would give notice to the Westport Board of Education today, according to the New Haven Register.

The newspaper said that the whirlwind courtship between Brady and the Amity Board of Education ended with a unanimous vote by the panel to hire him.

The vote came at the end of a day that saw Brady meet with staff and administrators at all three schools in the regional district for the first time and meet with parents throughout the day.

“I spent the entire day with him and he was received so enthusiastically by teachers and administrators,” board member Rita Gadansky told the newspaper. “Ive never seen a group so hungry for leadership.”

John J. Brady, principal of Westport’s Staples High School, met with parents, students and community leaders in the Amity Regional School District today where he is the finalist candidate to become superintendent of schools.
John Brady: sounding like he already has the Amity job. Cablevision News-12/WestportNow.com photo

In an interview with Cablevision News-12, Brady, 52, sounded very much like he already had the job, even though he has yet to sign a contract with the district that covers Orange, Woodbridge, and Bethany.

“I’m committed to Amity,” he said. “I want to work together with what I think is a very forward -looking and forward-thinking board. I know that there have been problems here in the recent past. I ‘m confident that those problems are behind us.”

Brady was referring to budget problems that forced district voters to go to the polls 17 times before passing the school district’s 2002-2003 budget. There have also been problems with mold at the schools.