Welcome to Our district
There's nothing we enjoy more than sharing the good news about our wonderful students and staff members. And we have a lot of great things to share! Read all about student and faculty awards and accomplishments, past happenings, upcoming events, and so much more.
At the June 11 BOE meeting, Dr. Miller presented a draft of the new homework regulations that are the result of a yearlong review by the district and recent input from community focus groups. We invite you to view the presentation and documents, and provide us with your feedback.
We anticipate finalizing the homework regulations this month (for presentation to the BOE) at the June 26 meeting. Once approved, new homework regulations will have a multi-phased roll-out.
The Ridgefield Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. JeanAnn Paddyfote as the Interim Superintendent of Schools, replacing current Acting Superintendent Dr. Robert Miller. Dr. Paddyfote’s appointment will begin July 1, 2018. She will serve as interim superintendent in the district until a permanent Superintendent is appointed. Please see our press release for full details regarding our new interim superintendent.
At their June 11 meeting, the Board of Education approved the contract for the Business Manager position at Ridgefield Public Schools and welcomes Dawn M. Norton, effective July 9, 2018.
Ms. Norton brings over ten years of municipal experience in Connecticut to the role of business manager, having served as Interim Director of Finance to the Town of Clinton, Director of Finance for the Town of New Canaan, and Interim Director of Finance and Comptroller to the city of Bridgeport. She received her Master of Science in Management Degree from Albertus Magnus College and is State of Connecticut Bureau of Education Standards (085) Certified for School Business Administration. To read this announcement in its entirety, please see our press release.
Dr. Kim Hapken, Assistant Superintendent of Special Services for the Ridgefield Public Schools, has announced her retirement, effective August 12, 2018. In her two years of service to the Ridgefield Public Schools, Dr. Hapken has played a key role in improving the district’s special services department as an advocate for all students with disabilities. Her comprehensive approach to special education included the strategic professional development of both special and general-education staff in order to improve outcomes for students and forging positive relationships with families. Dr. Hapken was also responsible for developing the Unified Sports program at Ridgefield High School that will soon expand to the middle schools. To read more about Dr. Kim Hapken and her announcement, please see our press release.
Each year CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education)honors Connecticut High School and Middle School students who exhibit exemplary leadership skills with the CABE Student Leadership Award. We are happy to announce that six Ridgefield students received this honor at the May 19 BOE Meeting: Chris Karle, Evia Rodriguez, Omika Suryawanshi, Tanner Daubenspeck, Katherine Gilland, and Max Aaronson.
Please take a moment to view the complete article for additional details on our student awardees.
This year’s storms and consequent school cancellations have been hard on all of us. Our decision to close schools on a given day is influenced by several factors, and we want to share that process with you.
First let’s look at a typical storm closure. There are a series of phone calls that occur leading up to our message to you. Please read the complete article for more information on school cancellations.
Creating an Environment that Enhances Learning
We know our students, teachers, and administrators work hard each school day. Teaching and learning at its best is engaging and often challenging. When Ellen Tuckner joined our community last year as principal of Veterans Park Elementary School, she noticed something special from the moment she walked in the door. It was something that could be cultivated even more and strengthen the school culture so that the serious work of education could meet the challenges of a dynamic purpose: to provide highly engaging, personalized, and relevant learning for all members of the VPES community. That something special is ... joy.
We invite you to enjoy this end-of-the-year leadership insight feature with Ms. Tuckner as we look at this subtle but important aspect of the work of creating an environment that enhances learning. Meet members of the Culture & Climate Committee and the Fifth Grade Student Council. Drop in on a monthly morning meeting and watch closely for a few dancing first graders! And more. View this month’s Leadership Insight feature!
With Dr. Kara Tanner and Matthew Hoey
Two educators and four students at Veterans Park Elementary School generously invited us to observe and video record for you a literacy coaching session and the small group lesson that followed.
See fifth grade teacher Matthew Hoey collaborate with Literacy Specialist Dr. Kara Tanner in creating a lesson plan on strategies for understanding historical fiction. Then watch as students learn new skills to grow their reading comprehension. See for yourself how this collaboration works for the benefit of both staff and students.
Our Board of Education page contains archives of BOE minutes, agendas, and packets. For your convenience, after each BOE meeting, we will also post the most recent district presentations here on our News page.
- WCSA Winners for RHS
- WCSA Winners for SRMS
- WCSA Winners for ERMS
- Secondary Math Update
- CABE Winners for RHS
- CABE Winners for SRMS
- CABE Winners for ERMS
- Proposed Calendars(not final)/Homework Policy Draft
- Financial Report - April 30, 2018
- Strategic Coherence Plan Update - May 14, 2018
- Strategic Planning Committee Update - May 14, 2018
- Team Imagine - Middle School
Do you want to know what is happening at our Board of Education meetings?
We know you are busy, so new this year we offer Miller’s Minutes. This column is a log of tweets from the BOE meetings and called Miller's Minutes as they were written by Dr. Robert Miller in the past. These are not official minutes of our BOE meetings, as those need to be voted on by the board, and then posted on the BOE page. We thought you would appreciate the brevity and timeliness that our Twitter feed offers.
So please take a few minutes and read Miller’s Minutes, updated every week after a BOE meeting.
Want more info? We offer a live feed of each meeting, live posts on social media, and archive footage, minutes, packets and agendas all on our BOE page.