Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Board of Education chooses School Leadership, LLC to guide the search for Darien’s next Superintendent of Schools.
The Board of Education's search for a replacement Superintendent of Schools continues with Secretary Clara Sartori as committee chair and New York firm School Leadership, LLC leading the way.Superintendent Donald Fiftal announced in early January his plans to retire at the end of the academic year, and on Jan. 12 the board subsequently voted to work ensemble in the search for a replacement. "We spent some time in January and February looking at search consultancy firms and narrowed it down," said Sartori.Of the three firms interviewed, the board chose School Leadership, LLC for its "depth of experience in finding successful superintendent candidates for school districts similar in demographics." And the firm's work begins with the …
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tudor Singers will host Chanticleer Youth Choral Festival Concert Tuesday evening.
The Grammy Award-winning men's vocal ensemble from San Francisco, Chanticleer, will coach Darien's Tudor Singers and students from four other high schools on Tuesday, culminating in an exciting choral performance by 120 voices. The public is invited to the free concert on March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the DHS auditorium. Chanticleer professionals will also perform with the student singers. "In sports terms, it's the equivalent of the New Orleans Saints and their coach, winners of the Super Bowl, coming to Darien High School to lead running pass drills and tackle drills, ending in a scrimmage game with our team," explained Chris Andrade, director of vocal music at DHS. "It is a really wonderful, positive experience and one of the highlights of …
Friday, February 26, 2010
After debate, the Board of Finance votes to appropriate $410,000 for a boiler replacement project at the elementary school
A top priority capital project of the Board of Education came under scrutiny at the Board of Finance meeting last Tuesday, as members questioned the urgency of appropriating the $410,000 necessary to replace two boilers at Holmes School before the start of the coming academic year. Replacement of the two oil-fired steam boilers at the elementary school is one of the few top priority projects featured in the Board of Education's 2010-11 budget, and a project long overdue, said Director of Facilities Paul Engemann. At 75 years old, one of the boilers has reached the end of its life; a second 14-year-old boiler has been working overtime as a result. The Board of Finance voted to appropriate the necessary funds for the asbestos abatement and …
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Darien High School's English Department Coordinanator Douglas Paulsen is due back in court on Feb. 25.
Douglas Paulsen, the Darien High School's English Department Coordinanator who faces a public indecency charge stemming from an incident at a Norwalk gym that took place in late November of last year, appeared in Norwalk Superior Court for a pre-trial hearing Thursday morning. Paulsen entered a plea of not guilty; his pre trial will continue on March 30.Paulsen has been suspended from teaching since his last court appearance in early December. Superintendent of Schools Donald Fiftal said the trial would not directly affect Paulsen's teaching status, emphasizing the separation of the court and the classroom."We're not necessarily linked to the judicial system in terms of the outcome, but we will also be keeping aware of the court," said …
The Board of Education approves the curriculum for third-year Mandarin Chinese at Darien High School and looks to develop middle school, elementary and summer programs.
More than one billion people count Mandarin as their native tongue; and not far behind, is a growing number of Darien High School students who are en route to becoming literate in one of the most complex languages in the world. "Students are really pushing themselves in what is a very complicated language. Having a clear curriculum helps with that process," said Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Stephen Falcone.The Board of Education approved the curriculum for Mandarin Chinese III in early January, accomplishing district objective 2.3 for the 2009-10 academic year. The course offers a third year in what will soon be a four-year program: two years of university-level Chinese in four years at DHS."The program that we're …
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Technology is helping Darien students and teachers alike with the challenges of state-mandated Scientific Research Based Intervention.
January's interim report on Scientific Research Based Intervention in Darien schools met the Board of Education with concern that the plan may have put unnecessary strain on special education resources; but Tuesday's meeting brought news of an unlikely hero: technology. "Technology is helping these students get in and out of the program; many of them receive the supports they need to get back on track," said Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Judith Pandolfo. A state-mandated program, SRBI was introduced to Darien's elementary schools in September of 2008 and requires that each school create tiered level academic support plan. Where the old system prompted teachers to take action only when there was a major discrepancy, SRBI…
Superintendent Search Committee Chair and Board of Education Secretary Clara Satori gives a brief update.
The Board of Education's search for a replacement Superintendent of Schools continues with Secretary Clara Sartori as committee chair. Superintendent Donald Fiftal announced in early January his plans to retire at the end of the academic year, and on Jan. 12 the board subsequently voted to work ensemble in the search for a replacement. Sartori gave an update on Tuesday night's regularl board meeting."We spent some time in January and February looking at search consultancy firms and have narrowed that selection down to two finalists," said Sartori. The decision will be made in the next two weeks, said Sartori, and "anything of interest" will be shared publicly at future Board of Education meetings. "We certainly expect it to be a process …
Monday, February 22, 2010
Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Judith Pandolfo gives rave report on Darien Technology Plan 2006-2009; says challenge of the new plan will be maintaining technological advancement on tight budget.
School administration say the past few years have seen impressive growth to the implementation and effectiveness of technology in Darien classrooms. But with every techno leap forward, comes a budgetary challenge. "As far as our technology is concerned, I think we're in a good place," said Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Judith Pandolfo. "The challenge going forward, especially with budget constraints, is going to be maintaining quality of the equipment."Pandolfo's technology report presented to the Board of Education last December highlighted a number of outcomes—all positive—of the district's investment in technological advancement. The board's new challenge, Pandolfo said, would be securing the fnds to maintain that …
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Darien High School graduate Alexandra Duncan shares her gap year story.
When Alexandra Duncan entered Tufts as a freshman in September, she was already familiar with the ways of the world—quite literally.She had waded with a shovel into muck to clear a fishpond in a remote village in Ecuador. She had plucked green leaves from a tree in the forest to flavor a rice dinner she prepared with an indigenous tribe in Thailand. The scarf she learned to weave there is a treasured keepsake.She helped provide home health care to a desperately poor township in Africa.All this: before college. "After having gotten used to having my learning be tied to the world and really mean something, I'm finding it frustrating to be at college where so much is theoretical and intangible," Duncan said.Duncan's choice to take a pre-…
Friday, February 19, 2010
Registration at Tokeneke and Royle draws 45 fewer applications than projected.
Where enrollment at Darien High School has boomed unexpectedly, registration for the district's recently sanctioned full-day kindergarten program has drawn fewer applications than anticipated. "This is just the first of many updates for full-day kindergarten enrollment," said Chairperson Kimberly Westcott.Darien school officials introduced full-day kindergarten as a pilot program at the start of the 2009 academic year. Prompted by the educational benefits of a longer school day and the economic incentive of eliminating a midday school bus, DPS officials began to offer kindergarten parents the option of sending their children to school for a full six-and-a-half-hour day or the traditional five-hour extended day. News of the pilot program …
I had Mr. Paulsen as a teacher and I can honestly say that he is an extraordinary individual with a gift for teaching. I believe he is innocent. more ›