Day Schedule Changes Announced for Stratford Elementary Schools

Two Stratford elementary schools will have different arrival and dismissal times in the upcoming school year due to a new teacher collaboration the district is implementing this year.

Nichols and Wilcoxson schools will now start at 8:15 a.m. and dismiss at 2:45 p.m., while the district’s other elementary schools will start at 8:45 a.m. and dismiss at 3:15 p.m., according to the Stratford Star.

Stratford Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson told the Star that she can understand the frustration of the parents for the late notice but said the process took longer than expected to work everything out with the bus company.

Read more at the Stratford Star here.

Read Robinson’s statement that was posted online Friday regarding the new collaboration initiative and the schedule change below (via stratfordk12.org):

Welcome to the 2015-16 School year

Posted on 8/14/2015 by Janet Robinson

As we are prepare to open the 2015-16 school year, we have hired a number of high quality candidates to replace our retirees, and they will be with us next week for their orientation to the Stratford Schools.

Some changes are taking place this year. The new Victoria Soto School will open to replace Honeyspot. The ribbon cutting will be August 28 at 11:00. It is exciting to visit this beautiful new school with its bright colors and natural sunlight. All the schools look wonderful too, as the custodians have worked throughout this summer stripping and waxing floors and repairing things to make every school a comfortable and pleasant learning space.

We will have five early release days this year devoted to teacher collaboration. Secondary teachers teaching the same content at both high schools or middle schools will have the opportunity to work together on their curriculum and instruction. Each elementary school will be paired with another and the grade levels will meet together for the same purpose. This collaboration will lead to greater consistency in instruction throughout the district. We have some highly talented teachers who will now have the opportunity to share strategies. This has to lead to continually improving our instruction with positive outcomes for your children.

To overcome an obstacle to this collaboration, different schedules for some elementary schools, we have worked with the bus company to see that partner schools are on the same schedule. This week, we received a final schedule from them that moves Lordship, which is paired with Johnson Academy, to an 8:45 start; and Wilcoxson, which is paired with Nichols, to an 8:15 start. This enables all schools to work on the same schedule as their partner school.

As we enter this new year, we look forward to continuing our active partnership with parents. Your child’s success is important to all of us!