The Weekly Update #4

Dear BPS Community,

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! I hope summer provided everyone with the opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy some sunshine with family and friends. We are back for a new year and off to a great start.

Ensuring that students feel safe, healthy, and supported in school is a prerequisite to their success both academically and personally. When students feel secure and engaged, they are more likely to build confidence, develop strong social skills, and excel in their program of study.

We may share the increasing concern regarding the impact of social media and cell phone use on student well-being. Research, including a 2023 advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General, shows that excessive social media use can harm adolescents' mental health and disrupt brain development during critical stages of identity formation. In fact, cell phone use in schools often distracts students from their academic work, with many reporting significant time spent on their phones during the school day.

To address this issue, we will spend time this fall working with the Board of Education and with students, staff and families to understand the scope of the challenges we face in Branford. As an initial step, the Board is engaging in a read of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. While this shared read is not intended to dictate policy, it is a helpful resource in getting the conversation started. Please stay-tuned for additional information regarding opportunities for community feedback.

With cell phone policies and procedures already in place, administration is working to determine the efficacy of our current practices before changes are made. As this has become a rather large-scale issue across the state and nation, we will work closely with the Connecticut State Department of Education and partnering organizations, as well as communities who have made significant changes in their local policy. Your continued support and partnership are invaluable as we create the best possible learning environment for our students at BPS.

Sincerely,
Dr. Tranberg

Continuous improvement is a core belief of the Branford Public Schools. Given that, the district is always exploring opportunities to improve our safety and security measures. We are making adjustments to our emergency procedures by introducing a standard response protocol language. An emergency will be identified or a drill will be practiced using the following language.

HOLD: Students are cleared from the hallways and instruction continues in the classroom. Adults close and lock doors and account for students.

SECURE: Students who are outside return to inside the building and instruction may continue in the classroom. Adults assist bringing everyone indoors, lock outside doors and account for students.

LOCKDOWN: Students move away from sight, maintain silence and do not open the door. Adults clear the hallway if possible, lock the door, turn out lights, move away from sight, maintain silence and do not open the door and prepare to evade or defend.

EVACUATE: Students leave stuff behind if asked and bring their phone if possible. Adults lead students to evacuation location, account for students and notify if there are any missing, extra or injured students or adults.

SHELTER: Students follow directions given by adults due to a weather event (tornado, earthquake, blizzard). Adults account for students and other adults.

Administrators will continue to communicate when drills are practiced and this communication can be referenced for clarity on practice drills or actual building emergencies.

Every new year school year comes with excitement and change. Among the changes this year is the massive undertaking of changing to a new transportation company. While the district continues to experience some delays in the afternoon, we are confident this issue will be resolved when students receive their RFID cards. These cards will allow students to scan in and out in lieu of drivers manually entering each student. Use of RFID cards not only expedites the loading and unloading process, it also significantly reduces human error. The cards are scheduled to arrive Thursday of this week. Additionally, we understand that route times are still fluctuating across the district and pickups for students with multiple addresses remains a challenge. We are working closely with Zum to resolve these issues as expeditiously as possible. Questions regarding transportation can be directed to our partners at Zum, 1-855-RIDEZUM or branfordops@ridezum.com. We appreciate the patience and grace you have extended as we undergo this significant transition. We are excited about the future of this partnership.

Universal Screening is completed three times a year for students in grades K-8. These assessments are standardized and the results are nationally normed. This allows educators to benchmark students against a large pool of data and determine the extent to which performance is typical. The data collected from these reading and math assessments informs many of our instructional decisions and may be used in the following ways:

• Individual student data may help to identify specific areas of strength and areas for growth.

• Classroom level data helps educators identify students who may need additional instruction, intervention, or enrichment.

• Schoolwide data can help to identify pockets of need and assist in the appropriate allocation of resources.

• District wide data helps to determine the overall effectiveness of our core curriculum.

Assessment will begin later this month for all students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Students will be reassessed in the winter (January) and again in the spring (May/June). Your child’s teacher can share specific information about your child’s performance.

As a result of changes to state funding, there was a return to charging for all breakfast and lunch meals this school year. The prices (not including a la carte items) are:

Breakfast Elementary

$2.05

Lunch Elementary

$3.30

Breakfast Middle School

$2.30

Lunch Middle School

$3.60

Breakfast High School

$2.55

Lunch High School

$3.90

To pay for school meals, we encourage all families to add funds to their MySchoolBucks account. The district is currently waiving any credit card fees through December 31st, 2024, so preloading funds has never been easier. You may set up an account through a secure online website www.mySchoolBucks.com and pre-pay whatever dollar amount you choose. You may also make payment directly from your bank account.

Additionally, we encourage families to apply for free and reduced-price school meals.

If your family is at or near the income eligibility guidelines included in this packet and you have not received a Notice of Direct Certification, please take the time to apply. Information you provide on the application is confidential and only seen by one, trained person unless you appeal the decision. This year, reduced eligible students will be completely free, so it is imperative to complete the application. If you would like to apply for Free and Reduced-price meals, please complete, sign, and return the yellow form so that your eligibility can be determined. In order to maximize confidentiality, we are collecting all applications at the Board of Education Central Office, 185 Damascus Road, Branford, CT 06405. Please mail to Central Office, do not return the application to your child's school.

Branford Public Schools welcomed fifteen new certified teachers to our team during teacher orientation. Please welcome Kayla Mason (Sliney, Grade 4), Mairead O’Brien (Murphy, Grade 2), Jonathan Cap (BHS, CTE), Cody Penna (WIS, School Psychologist), Kelianna O’Brien (BHS, School Counselor), Brittany Dorman (BHS, Social Worker), Julia Pagnani (Sliney, SLP), Jennifer Murphy (BHS, Social Worker), Nicholas Ugolik (WIS, Social Studies), Mikayla Cretella (Sliney, Grade 3), Jessica Giamattei (Sliney, Special Education), Kathryn Falzarano (WIS, Special Education), Hannah Moran (Tisko, Special Education), David Trotta (BHS, Social Studies) and Hilarie Alden (Tisko, Grade 4).

BPS staff kicked off the new school year with convocation on Tuesday, August 27th. The program included a live performance by talented staff musicians, the BHS Music Makers and a welcome from First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and Board of Education Chair, Peter Berdon. In addition to an address from the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Tina Boogren offered a keynote presentation on the importance of educator wellness. We are extremely thankful for our community partners who made generous donations for a staff raffle. We appreciate you for appreciating our staff!

Campus Customs

Jalapeno Heaven

Hornets Nest

La Cuchina

Pearl Wine Bar

Shoreline Cafe

Cynthia's Flower Shop

Flower Wonderland

Nonna Gina's

Grid Iron

Branford Youth Football

MTM, JBS, MRT, & WIS PTAs

A special thank you to Giordano Construction for their generous gift that allowed two staff members to leave with very large flat screen smart televisions!

The Walsh Fields Project is underway! The team at Giordano Construction has made amazing progress in just a short time. This has been a massive earth moving project and site is unrecognizable from a few months ago. The grade has been raised substantially to provide a base for drainage and the field turf. Boring holes for the light pole stanchions will be part of the next phase along with further establishing the retention ponds on the property. The project is on schedule!