Health Requirements For Students Entering Pre-K And K-8

Students entering NPS Pre-K and registering for the first time in grades K-8 must have specific medical forms completed and turned in to the school prior to enrollment. To help clarify the process and let parents know exactly what is needed, the NPS nursing team has put together two videos regarding materials needed. All health forms can be found on the NPS website under School Health Services.

Please note, due to the current health crisis, NPS is unable to accommodate in-person delivery of documents. Therefore, materials should be turned in electronically at this time. This can be accomplished by scanning documents and emailing them to school secretaries. Documents can also be sent via email via a high quality photo. Please contact your school secretary after emailing documents to ensure that the documents were received and can be read.

To access the online registration portal, click on the online registration section of the Norwalk Public Schools website.

The ELL Welcome Center is also available to assist with the online registration process for those who need language assistance. The Welcome Center can also help if a family does not have access to a computer. Please leave a message with the ELL Welcome Center by calling 203-854-4093. Someone will return your call as soon as possible.

The Step Into Kindergarten page has everything parents need to know about kindergarten including information on immunizations needed, NPS school assignments, school lunches, registration process details, kindergarten expectations, social emotional development and more!

For further registration questions, please contact your specific school. Please note, if you are a current NPS student, you do not need to re-register each year.

Infographic: The state of young people during COVID-19

Carver summer camps open today!

Summer Camp

Though the public health crisis significantly reduced the number of children we are able to serve this summer at our day camps at the Carver Community Center and Columbus Magnet School, Carver summer students ages 5 through 13 years old will begin summer camp 2020 today!

The program offerings include project-based and hands-on personalized learning to catch-up on learning loss over these past months and to prepare students for the coming school year.

The summer literacy program, facilitated by certified teachers, uses the myON and Lexia Reading Core 5 software to provide personalized learning. NPS certified teachers also teach math sessions, the two primary programs are TimezAttack and ThinkCentral. TimezAttack is a computer-based math fact game that strongly supports fact fluency. ThinkCentral is the online component of the GO Math Common Core math program used in NPS K-5 classes. A Computer Adaptive (CAT) intervention targets individual strengths and weaknesses.

Middle and High School Transition Programs

The virtual (with some in-person experiences) summer transition programs are designed to help incoming 6th and 9th grade student’s transition into Norwalk’s four middle and two high schools.

Programming includes individualized instruction, parental involvement, diverse enrichment activities, and full-day activities. Students learn the basics of navigating their respective new schools. The incoming 9th graders school students learn how to read a transcript, understand graduation requirements, earn credits in courses, and look ahead to potential career options. Students use Naviance/Family Connection to develop an individualized Student Success Plan to identify needs and interests and to set future goals.

Carver summer 2020 programming is subject to public health instructions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Carver regularly updates its website with the latest news. Everyone, please stay healthy and safe!

It is now CT law: AN ACT CONCERNING THE INCLUSION OF BLACK AND LATINO STUDIES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CURRICULUM

The Act to include African-American studies in the social studies component of the public school curriculum was signed into law on June 21, 2020.

Scot Esdaile, President of the Connecticut NAACP State Conference and a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors, testimony was among more than 200 heard or filed on March 6, 2019, at the Connecticut General Assembly’s Education Committee, urging passage of House Bill 7082, An Act Concerning the Inclusion of Black and Latino Studies in the Public School Curriculum.

Before the legislative session concluded last spring, the law was approved unanimously by the Senate and 122-24 in the House, and was subsequently signed into law by Governor Ned Lamont on June 21, 2019.  The curriculum is now being developed, in accordance with the law’s requirements.

It requires the State Board of Education to review and approve, by January 1, 2021, a Black and Latino studies year-long high school course that the State Education Resource Center (SERC) has been designated to develop. Local Boards of Education must offer the course in the 2022-23 school year, but they may do so in the 2021-22 school year. The law requires the high school course to be offered, but does not require that every student take the course. 

During the school years 2022-23 to 2024-25, the State Department of Education must conduct an annual audit to ensure that the Black and Latino studies course is being offered by each Board of Education in the state.

Among those testifying at the Capitol last year were students, including those attending colleges and high schools throughout Connecticut.

The process of developing the curriculum and course syllabus is now well underway.  Even with obstacles presented by COVID-19 restrictions, SERC has moved forward, with appointment of a nearly 150-member Advisory Group, and additional input from focus groups and surveys of state residents. 

‘She is visionary’: Estrella brings new perspective to Norwalk schools

Photo: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

Alexandra Estrella began as Norwalk’s new superintendent of schools this week.

Read the entire article here.

…“Part of my work right now is listening and learning,” Estrella said. “As I learn more about the thinking, I can better respond. ... As I continue with listening and learning, part of what I'm doing is building relationships and establishing an understanding in who the people are and what are their interests? What are their priorities? To me, it's about building relationships, having open communication and hoping we can have more dialogue moving forward.”

Estrella has spoken with Brenda Penn-Williams, president of the Norwalk branch of the NAACP, about how to move forward and develop a more open relationship.

“I’m very encouraged,” Penn-Williams said. “We have a new superintendent I think I can work with and we can have a great relationship. I’m hoping to see more minority teachers. I’m also looking for ... some kind of alternative program to expulsion. I’m looking to see the gap is really closed. They’re saying the gap is closed. I’d like to see real data.”

Summer opportunities for youth

Caver is operating two in-person day camps this summer, one at the Carver Community Center and the other at Columbus Magnet School. We are also conducting our four middle and two hjgh school summer transition programs virtually with elements of in-person experiences.

Meanwhile, there are many other great opportunities for Norwalk youth to learn and have fun this summer.

Norwalk ACTS maintains the TEAM Summer portal that keeps up-to-date information on many resources that will assist in keeping Norwalk kids learning, safe, and healthy this summer. 

Specifically, among the many opportunities described at TEAM Summer, here are summer programs being planned at the Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk Parks & Recreation, Norwalk Public Library, and Stepping Stones Museum for Children.

Announcing the launch of ConnectiCorps

The Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance (the Alliance), of which Carver is a member, is announcing the launch of ConnectiCorps, a new program that will provide community service opportunities for residents while helping community nonprofits that have faced a shortage of volunteers and increased demands due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Similar in concept to the Peace Corps, ConnectiCorps grew from an idea of Governor Lamont’s and is financially supported by AmeriCorps and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. It was announced last week by the Governor at Foodshare. The press release can be found here.

This exciting program meets three immediate needs in the age of COVID-19, it:         

• helps community nonprofits meet their missions;

• supports the people who depend on nonprofits for essential services; and

• provides paid service opportunities for young people at a time of high unemployment.

It also gives The Alliance and Connecticut a chance to be a model for the rest of the country, a program that can be replicated across America. 

While Carver has been providing many programs since the onset of the pandemic, we have not had a need for in-person volunteers. However, we urge everyone to consider supporting this important new initiative. Managing the program for the Alliance means recruiting members and finding placements for them. If you'd like to be considered as a ConnectiCorps site, or if you'd like to share this service opportunity with potential members, please share your interest by using this form. 

The Program Director is Alison Newman Fisher at afisher@ctnonprofitalliance.org.

The state releases guidelines for reopening the schools in the fall

Days after announcing a plan to reopen school full time in the fall, state officials yesterday released this 50-page set of guidelines.

Because experts are continuing to learn more about COVID-19 and the conditions surrounding the pandemic are continually changing, this preliminary guidance will likely
evolve and be amended or supplemented.

Individualized considerations based upon unique circumstances in each school district may also be needed. The state will conduct a survey to find out how many parents want to keep their kids home in the fall for remote learning.

It has been 100 years since educational, public health, and governmental leaders have had
to grapple with the challenges we are facing today, and have been facing for the last several months. When the effects of the pandemic required that schools across Connecticut cancel in-school classes during March, it took moments to realize that education in Connecticut would be forever changed. Connecticut has long been focused on providing all students with equity and excellence in education, and this pandemic has forced us to further focus on the inequalities that still exist within our system and to begin to address them with renewed fidelity.

For the last several months, the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has
been working hand in hand with the Office of the Governor, educational stakeholders, and philanthropic leaders to identify the technological needs of students across our state, and we’ve begun to address the issues of device access and internet connectivity. Eliminating those obstacles will bring us one step closer to leveling the playing field for all of our students in the event that we find ourselves in a similar remote learning situation in the future.

Longtime Carver instructor, Jerry Craft, wins 2020 Newbery Medal with his graphic novel ‘New Kid’

Jerry Craft is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator who has for many years taught Carver after-school kids how to draw and write stories.

His book, “New Kid,” is the winner of the 2020 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. It is the first graphic novel in the Newbery’s nearly 100 year history to receive the award.  Craft is only the fifth African-American author to land the coveted prize.

“New Kid” was also awarded the Coretta Scott King award for an outstanding work by an African American writer. Craft is the second person to have simultaneously won both awards in the same year. New Kid was also the first graphic novel to win the Kirkus Prize in the “Young Readers’ Literature” category.

New Kid follows the life of Jordan Banks, one of the only children of color at a prestigious private school. Announcing Craft’s win, Newbery committee chair Krishna Grady called it a “distinct and timely story”. “Respectful of its child audience, it explores friendship, race, class and bullying in a fresh and often humorous manner … It is, simply put, a ‘distinguished contribution to American literature’,” said Grady, referring to the criteria of the prize, which is given by the Association for Library Service to Children.

Established in 1922, the Newbery has gone to titles including L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, Sachar’s Holes and Cleary’s Dear Mr Henshaw.

Craft was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City. He is a graduate of The Fieldston School and received his B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts. He resides in Connecticut with his two sons and two beagles.

Applications being accepted to be a 2020 Afterschool Alliance Youth Ambassador

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs.

The Afterschool Alliance's Afterschool Ambassador program identifies afterschool providers and advocates of special achievement and helps them raise their voices in support of afterschool.

The Youth Ambassador program is an incredible opportunity for students to share their experiences of afterschool and summer learning programs and the ways that participation in those programs have significantly impacted their lives.

The Alliance selects 12 to 20 Youth Ambassadors from around the country each year, and then provides training, technical support, and modest funding for their Ambassadorial activities throughout the school year. Those activities include: coordinating a major Lights On Afterschool community event; working in concert with other local providers, advocates and business and community leaders to promote afterschool; reaching out to policy makers and the media on afterschool issues; and more.