UPDATE: Darien Public Schools Open Monday, Delayed Schedule

Update 6:37 p.m.:

The Darien Public Schools website now has Superintendent Stephen Falcone's announcement on resumption of classes Monday on the Home page.

Update 1:54 p.m.:

The Darien Public Schools website is back online, but there's no announcement on the Home page about the resumption of classes on Monday.

Update 1:46 p.m.:

The Darien Times has published a message from Darien Public Schools Superintendent Stephen Falcone. Here is the message as published by the Darien Times (Darien Patch has not received Falcone's statement):

Darien Public Schools

Office of the Superintendent of Schools

Sunday, November 4, 2012

90-Minute Delay for Students on Monday, November 5th

90-Minute Delay for Students on Tuesday, November 6th

I have been advised at the recent EOC meeting by our CL&P representative that all schools will have power at approximately 3 p.m. today.  There are two schools currently without power, Ox Ridge and Royle.  Ox Ridge is scheduled to regain power at 2 p.m. and Royle at 3 p.m. today. Also, roads have been deemed safe for bus and pedestrian travel.  Therefore, all schools will re-open on Monday, November 5th.  As was noted in the previous correspondence, we will operate with a 90-minute delay for students.  All faculty and staff are asked to report at their regularly scheduled time.

Additionally, in an effort to maintain continuity of instruction for our students, we will have a school day for all students and staff on Tuesday, Nov. 6 (Election Day).  Please note that this had been scheduled as a professional development day for faculty and staff only.  Like Monday, we would operate this school day with a 90-minute delay, though faculty and staff will report at their regularly scheduled times.

It is important to highlight the following items:

• Faculty and staff will arrive earlier than students on Monday in order to prepare for student re-entry.  Brief informational meetings led by school administrators will occur for faculty and staff.
• In the best of situations, we must always be alert, attentive, and patient when transporting students, whether it is by car, bus, or foot.  Your efforts in supporting a safe arrival and departure for our students are greatly appreciated.
• As is typical practice with delayed openings, buses will run on the 90-minute delay schedule.
• If you do have bus-related questions, please contact our Transportation Department at 203-656-7475.
• We are sensitive to any situations regarding living conditions which might result in student absences, though we ask that you do report absences to the respective school offices.
• We will be reviewing marking period and academic calendars for appropriate adjustments given this unprecedented weather event.
• School and voting will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 6.  The delay on Tuesday will be designed to allow teachers to have professional development time and permit voters to attend the polling sites in the early morning with a minimum of traffic interference.  We will be providing additional information regarding this situation at a later time.

This has been an extremely challenging time and it is my sincere hope that you are safe and that you are beginning to recover from this serious event.  I am grateful to the people of Darien, including those who have worked with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate the efforts that have served and will continue to serve our school and town community.  Your patience and cooperation have been greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing your children on Monday.

Best regards,

Stephen V. Falcone

Superintendent of Schools

Original article:

Darien Public Schools will be open Monday on a delayed schedule, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson tweeted.

The Darien Public Schools website isn't even functioning at 1 p.m., possibly because so many parents are trying to get to it. School authorities said they'd post an announcement by 1 p.m. Sunday on whether or not school would be open Monday.

Here is Stevenson's post on Twitter:

"Darien Public Schools will be open Monday on a delayed open schedule. School will also be open Tuesday on a delayed open schedule."

As of 1:04 p.m., the public schools website Home page was unreachable. A web page with the words "Service unavailable" was all that could be seen (see the attached screen shot for what that looked like).