The Westport Youth Commission (WYC) is seeking nominees for the annual James S. Bacharach Service to the Community Award, Human Services Director Barbara Butler announced today.

Since 1989 awards have been given as a tribute to the late James S. Bacharach, founder and past-president of the Youth Adult Council, predecessor of the WYC, which Bacharach and others founded in 1974

“All qualified high school seniors from Westport are eligible for this award,” said Butler. 

“This honor, given to one or more high school seniors from Westport, recognizes their significant community service contributions in our town.

The Bedford Middle School newspaper Ursus took top honors in the competition. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Bedford Middle School’s student newspaper Ursus received a Gold Crown Award, the top honor, from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), school officials announced today.

The CSPA contest is the nation’s largest and longest running scholastic press competition, judging papers and yearbooks from almost 2,000 schools from across the country.

According to Lisa Marriott, spokeswoman for the Westport schools, the recognition represents one of only two Gold Crowns awarded on the national-level for middle school newspapers, joining Harvard Westlake, a private school in Los Angeles, in receiving top honors.

Marriott said that Stephen Rexford, the teacher-adviser to Ursus, was invited by Columbia University to present a seminar for advisers of student publication at the 92nd annual spring convention.

Staples High School students excelled in the the Fairfield Region National History Day 2016 competition at Sacred Heart University Saturday in Fairfield.

Matt Gibson, a Staples High School 10th grader, receives his award for “American Immigration Policy 1960s.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Dozens of area teams competed in the annual academic competition with projects as diverse as Walt Disney and the American Dream, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Islamaphobia.

National History Day has grown in size and popularity in the past few years, offering students a chance to compete academically through their historical research. 

The event, now part of the Staples U.S. History Honors curriculum, saw more than 150 Westport students participate, including some from Bedford Middle School. 

Westport’s Bedford Middle School placed second statewide in the Science Olympiad Tournament Saturday at Irving Robbins Middle School in Farmington. The Science Olympiad events include knowledge-based and building events. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Twelve Westport teens – seven of them from Staples High School – are among a select group of students nationwide named as honorees and candidates in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

The program recognizes students for their academic and extra-curricular involvement with both the school and their community.

The Staples students include: William O. Andrews; Claudia Chen; Rachel O. Corbally; George Menz; Audrey Seo; Steven K. Xu, and Xiaotian Zhang.

Westport students attending other schools include: Brian Beaumonte, Saint Luke’s School; Jacob J. Klegar, Choate Rosemary Hall, and the following Hopkins School students:  Grant M. Moberg; Neha Srivastava, and Michael Zhou.

Staples High School announced today that William Andrews and Hannah DeBalsi are this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. Used to winning, he is co-captain of the Staples championship tennis team while she is a nationally ranked runner – the best female track star in Wrecker history. Andrews will speak at graduation in June. DeBalsi will address her classmates at baccalaureate, the night before. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

By James Lomuscio

As expected, Westport’s Board of Finance (BOF) tonight unanimously approved the Board of Education’s proposed $112.6 million operating budget for 2016-17, a 1.29 percent increase over the current year.

Touted as the second lowest school board increase in a more than a decade, the budget approval came with a vote of confidence that the school board was on track as much as possible toward toward the finance board’s “zero-based budget” philosophy.

“I think the result is going to be good for Westport,” said Brian Stern, finance board chairman, adding that it would keep taxes in check while funding “excellent town services.”

The Board of Finance also voted unanimously on the overall town budget, $204,039,595, a 0.97 percent increase. It comprises the schools’s and the $91.6 million municipal one, a .79 percent increase, that the finance board approved Tuesday night.

Following a months’ long national search, the Westport school board tonight voted unanimously to appoint James D’Amico, Westport’s director of secondary education, as Staples High School’s new principal.

James D’Amico: takes over July 1.  Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

D’Amico, 39, replaces John Dodig who retired last year. Mark Karagus, who has an extensive background in secondary education, is filling in as interim principal through the end of June. D’Amico takes the helm July 1.

“Staples is the crown jewel of Westport,” said D’Amico, lauding its long history of educational excellence. “We have extraordinary teams here that make that happen.

“It’s an honor and an extraordinary responsibility,” he added about heading a school that is “a model of what public education can be.”