New Faces, Curriculum Changes, Facilities Upgrades for New Year in Granby Schools

As children across Granby went to sleep Monday night, there were lots of dreams waiting – little ones maybe dreamed of this year’s first lunch in the cafeteria, raising a hand to answer a question or seeing friends waiting to board the bus.

But as Granby heads back to school, Superintendent Alan Addley sees other dreams resting on the district’s success this year.

“One of the keys to the American dream is a good education,” Addley said at last week’s Board of Education meeting. “It is a great responsibility but also a blessing of making kids’ dreams come true every day… it’s really exciting to be a part of that.”

There will be many new faces working to make those dreams come true this year in Granby.

The district opens its doors with three new principals – Mike Dunn at Kelly Lane, Dr. Mark Foley at Granby Memorial Middle School and Mary Gadd at Granby Memorial High School.

More than a dozen new teachers and staff also join the district this year.

In addition, the district will be completing its transition to a number of state-mandated changes like Common Core State Standards, Smarter Balanced Assessments and new teacher evaluations. The district has been preparing for all of them for the past few years.

“We’re in as good a position as we can be,” Addley said. “There’s just a lot to do and a lot of things competing for the same resources and time. It’s hard to do both extremely well but we do the best we can.”

He credited the district’s staff with developing al new curriculum to match the new state standards.

“Our teachers have been wonderful in terms of preparing for this as fast as possible,” Addley said.

There have also been upgrades to the district’s facilities, including new turf fields, which are ready for athletic practices this afternoon, and security upgrades.

Despite all the new behind the scenes work taking place in the district, Addley said the buildings and staff are ready and excited to receive students and start the new year.