New school start time frustrates parents

Giselle Oldani ’22, Web Arts Editor

March 15, 2020

Nearly 500 people have signed a petition in under a month that aims to reverse the 30 minute delayed school start time taking effect next school year.   Westport parent Elena Shmonia started the petition, which consists of mainly preschool, elementary and middle school parents’ signatures.  “From four years of age to 11, that is their childhood and they should be o...

BOE votes to remove the Innovation Fund

Katie Simons ’22, Arts Editor

March 3, 2020

The Board of Education (BOE) voted 5-2 to remove the Innovation Fund funding for the 2020-21 school year in a 5-2 vote during their meeting on Feb. 10 to reduce the budget and because of the lack of applicants. The Innovation Fund was created to inspire creativity within the Westport school system. T...

BOE considers cutting 2 Staples staff positions

Katie Simons ’22 and Prasaus Yeager ’22, Arts Editor and Staff Writer

February 7, 2020

The Board of Education (BOE) announced on Jan. 27 that they were considering cutting two teacher positions, one position each  English and science departments at Staples High School. Costs accrued for treating the mold at Coleytown Middle School, upgrading facilities in other Westport schools and addressing the staff healthcare cost surge have contributed to heavy hits on the budget. Estimates for thes...

Board of Education continues superintendent search, anticipates naming candidate in March

Anastasia Thumser ’22, Web Opinions Editor

January 29, 2020

The Board of Education (BOE) is continuing its nationwide search for a new superintendent who will resume the responsibilities of Interim Superintendent Dr. David Abbey on July 1. The BOE previously disclosed that the candidate will be named on March 18, and that date is expected to be upheld as of...

The new redistricting plan creates difficulties for middle school students

Lyah Muktavaram '22, Staff Writer

October 14, 2019

Recently with the new redistricting plan to rebuild Coleytown Middle School, the district has come to the decision that there needs to be more enrollment in the Coleytown schools. As a result, the elementary schools need to be evened out in terms of enrollment.  Consequently, students previously expected t...

Board of Education examines redistricting for elementary, middle schools

Katie Simons ’22, Arts Editor

October 8, 2019

The Westport Board of Education (BOE) discussed plans to redistrict the elementary and middle schools at a meeting on Sept. 23. Although redistricting would balance out the recent decrease in enrollment in the Westport Public Schools system, no decisions have been finalized. The BOE discussed...

BOE names Stafford Thomas Jr. principal of Staples

Andreas Lolis '21, Paper News Editor

June 25, 2019

The Board of Education unanimously approved Stafford Thomas Jr. as Principal of Staples High School on June 20. The Principal seat was vacated by James D’Amico, who earlier this year announced his resignation effective at the end of June. While Thomas doesn’t have any specific potential pol...

Palmer continues to receive transportation benefits, salary while on medical leave

Audrey Bernstein ’20 and Allie D'Angelo ’20

May 2, 2019

Superintendent Dr. Colleen Palmer will continue to receive her annual base salary and insurance benefits while on leave for medical reasons until her retirement on Aug. 1. Palmer will additionally be receiving a transportation allowance through her leave time, according to the Separation Agreement between Palmer...

Community Advisory Committee recommends options for 2019-20 school year

Eddie Kiev '20 and Marlo Von Der Ahe '20

December 9, 2018

After extensive research, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) has recommended three options to the Westport Board of Education (BOE) on how to proceed in the 2019-2020 school year to compensate for Coleytown Middle School’s (CMS) mold infestation. The three options include housing sixth graders...

District staff unifies in response to contract termination decisions

April 26, 2018

By Lili Romann '19 and Daniel Harizman '19 Over 100 Westport Public School District teachers attended the Board of Education meeting Monday, April 23 after 135 non tenured district staff received email notifications Friday, April 20 that their contracts would not be renewed for the upcoming school ye...

A Passing of the Reins

Jimmy Ray Stagg, Staff Writer

April 7, 2016

Almost any weekday at around 5:30 a.m., if you look out over the Saugatuck River, you’ll see many early bird rowers taking advantage of dawn’s quiet serenity. Among these early risers there’s a face that will soon become very familiar to the Staples community: Dr. Elliot Landon’s successor as ...

February break returns despite state schedule

Sophie Call, Staff writer

March 30, 2016

On March 28, the Westport Board of Education (BOE) voted to keep February break in place for another two years. Until yesterday, the district had been told that this year’s break would be the last, due to a statewide mandated schedule. “Break is so important for students,” Jeffrey Shepard ’18 said. ...

Principal search on hold while experts are called in

Megan Doyle, Staff Writer

October 5, 2015

The search process for finding a new permanent principal at Staples is changing and is currently on hold until directed otherwise. The Board of Education suggested hiring a search firm to effectively find new, interesting candidates for this important role. Last year, as a way to find applicants, the town of Westport placed ads featured in the New York Tim...