Norwalk Public Schools to address educational equity in Norwalk

Norwalk Public Schools will launch a comprehensive initiative designed to examine and address educational equity in Norwalk. Starting immediately, the district will partner with Temple University’s Dr. Edward Fergus on an eight-month project that will include implicit bias and diversity training. 

The project will involve four phases of work:  an examination of disproportionate representation that looks at where children of color are under-represented or over-represented in programs and situations; a community survey and focus groups; presentations to the Norwalk community on findings and recommendations; and equity literacy development of district leadership.

Over the course of the project, members of the Norwalk Board of Education will participate in three sessions to explore themes around “Building a District Equity Lens.” The Board will review school district disparity patterns, social justice root causes, and discuss equity and culturally relevant practices in education. The first session will take place at the Board’s annual planning retreat at the end of July.

The state Department of Education offers clarification on schools reopening

The Connecticut State Department of Education published "Adapt, Advance, Achieve: Connecticut's Plan to Learn and Grow Together" on June 29, and gave schools until July 24 to formulate their strategies in response.

Last Friday the state Department of Education released a new document, containing the answers to questions frequently asked by the school districts, to "provide clarity on a variety of topics" found in the original guidelines. 

At the top of the list is a question about the length of the 2020-21 school year. The traditional calendar of 180 days of school and 900 hours of instruction is still mandatory, the state clarified. But given the many uncertainties, a school will be considered to have fulfilled its obligation so long as it offers school for 180 days. "The school district has met its obligation to provide the 180 days, irrespective of the fact that certain students may not have been present for various reasons." Importantly, all students who opt into remote learning will be considered full-time public school students.

NPS is asking families for feedback on how to best re-open

As NPS continues to prepare for the re-opening of schools in line with state guidelines, they are looking for feedback from families. The data and information gathered will be shared with the School Re-Opening Task Force, as work continues on instruction, health and safety, facilities, extra curriculars, and much more. 

Parents and guardians, check your email or Click here to take a brief Panorama survey regarding the re-opening of NPS schools this fall.

NPS establishes a re-opening task force

The Norwalk Public Schools Re-Opening Task Force has been established to address critical areas in regards to the re-opening of school this fall. The Task Force brings together district and school leaders, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents and community partners who comprise 11 subcommittees. It is anticipated that decisions of the Task Force, while applied to the unique circumstances of Norwalk’s schools, will follow the guidance and parameters contained in the statewide plan. 

Recordings of Task Force meetings are available on the NPS YouTube channel.

The 11 subcommittees have been meeting two to three times per week over the past several weeks to provide input into the district’s re-opening proposal to the State, and later meet approximately once per week until the start of the school year. Meetings will be via videoconference or in-person if public health conditions allow. 

Watch for more updates next week about the work that the subcommittees have been doing.

Board of Education Retreat

Board of Education members will join NPS Superintendent Dr. Alexandra Estrella and district leaders on July 23-25 at the annual summer Board of Education retreat to discuss the upcoming school year. Discussion will include Board governance, goals and priorities for 2020, communication protocols, as well as educational equity. Dates and times are below:

• Thursday, July 23, 5:30pm to 8:30pm

• Friday, July 24, 8am to 4pm

• Saturday, July 25, 8am to 12 noon

This meeting will be live-streamed on the NPS YouTube channel. More information will be shared on the NPS website.

All of Who I am: Youth perspectives on social emotional learning

All of Who I Am is the foundational report of the America’s Promise Alliance How Learning Happens research series.

The report, based on a qualitative study of interviews with more than 100 young people from across the country, directly shares youth perspectives on the integration of social, emotional, and cognitive development in their own exemplar learning settings.

The report’s title, drawn from a young person’s own words, encapsulates the biggest insight from the report and from the research series as a whole: that supportive learning environments are nurturing young people’s sense of themselves as valued, multi-dimensional community members. Additionally, six interconnected themes emerged from listening to the young people across the research sites. All six—relationships, belonging, meaningful learning, intentionality, agency, and identity development—are important aspects of young people’s learning experiences, both individually and working in concert with one another.

See the How Learning Happens series here.

A Census 2020 undercount could put Connecticut children at risk

A Census may seem insignificant when compared to the other events of the year, but the results of the Census are critically important and will affect our daily lives for the next 10 years. Everything from funding for schools to the state health insurance program to food assistance programs relies on the results of the Census for funding designation. The results of the 2020 Census will impact today’s children for the majority of their childhood.

During the 2010 Census, nearly a million children were not counted. That meant that for an entire decade, schools and programs that serve child health and well-being were underfunded. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau  shows that young children (between the ages of birth to 4 years) were most likely to be missed. Children living with caregivers other than biological parents, children in the foster care system and children living with multiple caregivers were also missed in high numbers. Children living in lower-income households, the same households that would benefit from program funding, were far more likely to be uncounted.

In a year where many things are beyond our control, completing the 2020 Census is one thing we can do to make our communities stronger for the future. 

Key findings from a national student survey on how youth experienced remote learning

As schools plan for potential hybrid approaches to reopening in the Fall, it's crucial to glean lessons from the students themselves. Here is newly released data from Youth Truth based on 20,000+ student respondents in grades 5-12 on how they experienced remote learning.

The data was gathered in May and June 2020 through a 12-minute online survey, administered in English and Spanish, in partnership with 166 public schools across nine states.

While school logistics worked relatively well from students’ perspective, remote learning still didn’t result in a lot of learning during COVID-19 related school closures in spring 2020. It was especially challenging for Black and Latinx students – who faced more obstacles to learning than other students – and for female students and students who identify in another way – who struggled more with mental health and well-being than males. 

There were a number of other trends based on student demographic characteristics in how students experienced learning and well-being. Students who felt more personally affected by COVID-19 had less positive experiences across most themes and questions. The same is true of 11th graders, while 5th and 6th graders reported more positive experiences. Asian students also tended to report more positive experiences across most themes.

Additionally, the analysis of the student responses sheds light on the complexity of both the challenges faced and opportunities seized in this moment of profound disruption to the institution of schooling. 

Students shared in their own words that they enjoyed having more agency over their schedule and learning pace, that they appreciated opportunities to connect with their family, and that virtual learning often afforded flexibility to learn new skills and deepen knowledge. And still, distractions at home, stress and anxiety, and deep longing for social connection underscore the importance of listening to these voices and exploring this data with empathy and responsiveness to the student experience.

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!