Ridgefield Public Schools
Our shared purpose is to provide highly engaging, relevant and personalized learning for ALL members of the community

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.

New RPS Summer Programs for Grades Pre-K to 12: Save the Date!

Save the Date for the Ridgefield Public Schools new Summer Bridge Program. The District has started this program to provide a “bridge” back to the experiences that students missed this year. RPS will offer three in-person sessions to elementary and middle school students according to the following schedule.

  • 5 days a week from 8:30 a.m.–Noon
    • Session 1: 6/17–6/30
    • Session 2: 7/5–7/16
    • Session 3: 7/19–7/30

These sessions will be device-free, fun, primarily outdoor opportunities to engage with peers and teachers face-to-face. The middle school program will also have a community service component.

Ridgefield High School will also offer fun 3 to 5-day mini-courses on cooking, robotics, art and design, engineering, a book club, and creativity challenges from June 17–30.

All these programs are designed to bring students back to the schools in a low-stress environment that will foster a love of learning and help ease the return to school in the fall. Please put these dates in your calendar and stay on the lookout for signup information.

High School and Middle Schools Re-Open on April 19

RPS announced that Ridgefield High School, East Ridge, and Scotts Ridge Middle School plan to offer full in-person learning on April 19. Families are asked to complete the survey received via email ASAP. Please read Superintendent Da Silva's March 24, 2021, update. 

Ridgefield Public Schools Appoints Elementary Director

Ridgefield Public Schools announced today the appointment of Linda Johnson as Elementary Director. From her home in Westport, Ms. Johnson wrote, “I am excited and honored to join the Ridgefield Public Schools. I look forward to working alongside highly talented teachers, administrators, staff, and community members. Together we will continue to foster meaningful teaching and learning to capture the success of all students.”

To learn more about Ms. Johnson, please read our press release for March 5, 2021.

Dr. Erik Gundel Named Grade 6–12 Math and Science Supervisor

Ridgefield Public Schools announced today the appointment of Erik Gundel, Ed.D., as the new Grade 6–12 Math and Science Supervisor. Dr. Gundel comes to Ridgefield from the Greenwich Public Schools, where he has worked since 2010, first as a Mathematics Teacher at Greenwich High School, then as Course Leader. He has also taught Computer Science and been an emerging leader at the school for the past eleven years.

To learn more about Dr. Gundel, please read our April 1, 2021 press release.

Remote Learning Criteria

Our goal is to provide the best learning experience for all students with the least disruption as possible. As a result, please note the following important reminders.

Remote learning is available to students:

  • who have elected this option as their learning model
  • who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms but are well enough to attend school
  • who are awaiting COVID-19 test results 
  • who are in quarantine

Remote learning is not available to students:

  • who are on vacation
  • who are located at a second home and are not sleeping in Ridgefield
  • who occasionally prefer to remote learn
  • who are running late to physical school
  • who are not well enough to engage as a learner
  • who have an appointment, and may otherwise be “late”

Students and Parents Create Anti-Racism Resources

Last June, the Ridgefield Public Schools community joined the country in speaking out against racism. We have continued to look for ways to actively fight against discrimination and engage all students and families in hope of fundamental change and a better future. To that end, we wanted to share two anti-racism resources with our families. The first is a website designed by four RHS students - Kayla J., Samantha R., Cheyla W., and Marlene E. - which was shared with all RHS social studies students. The second resource we would like to share is a video of a panel put together by the Branchville Elementary PTA, How to Talk to Your Kids about Differences: A Focus on Institutional Racism and Implicit Bias. Look for a follow-up district-wide panel discussion that the PTA Council will be sponsoring. 

Asynchronous Early Dismissal Days

We will be holding one Early Dismissal day per month between January and May where students will engage in asynchronous learning in the afternoon. The purpose of this time is to allow our faculty to plan, prepare, and discuss best practices to support student learning. Each of our schools will send a reminder as we approach the dates below.

  • Monday, April 26
  • Monday, May 24

Parent Requests for Changes into or out of Cohort “C”

Parents who elect to change their children’s learning model into or out of Cohort “C” (full-time distance learning) may do so by:

  • Elementary School Parents: Please directly contact the building principal via email and “cc” your child’s classroom teacher.
  • Middle and High School Parents: Please directly contact your child’s school counselor via email and “cc” a building administrator.

RPS Reopening of Schools Plan

We have prepared our Reopening of Schools Plan as a comprehensive document that will guide you through CSDE requirements, our journey, as well as inform you on the steps and plans for the reopening of school this fall. You can continue to expect frequent communication and updates as we receive them. We encourage you to read through our reopening plan in its entirety. Continue to send your questions to reopening@ridgefieldps.net.

District Presentations to the BOE

Each month our district leaders make presentations on a wide variety of topics to the Board of Education to keep both board members and the general public informed of the work of our district staff, building leaders, teachers, and students. Although all BOE meeting documents can be found on our dedicated BOE page, for your convenience we will provide quick links here to the most recent presentations.