Yesterday, Tuesday, July 5, New Milford Fire Department was called for a structure fire at New Milford High School. Here, Superintendent of New Milford Public Schools provides a community update.
Dear Parents and Guardians:
I truly hope you are enjoying time with your family and the beautiful weather we have been having over the last few weeks. I am writing to you this afternoon with a general update on yesterday’s fire at New Milford High School, as well as more specific information regarding summer programs.
What we know about the damage so far is that the fire damage appears to be localized on the roof itself, however, as you can imagine the overall damage to the interior of the building is quite extensive. We know that there will be a need for remediation on several levels of the building and we have notified our insurance carrier. We are working closely with Town officials, as the Municipal Building Committee is in charge of this project. At this time, we do not know the estimate of the time it will take, and the funding it will take, to repair the building and replace any materials that were damaged. There was a restoration company on site today to begin to assess the needs. No one is allowed in the building and no items can be removed at this time. If that is to change, I will write to you with an update. We do not know the cause of the fire yet as it continues to be under investigation.
Throughout the day today, we have been working diligently to determine areas that are available for our summer programs in buildings across the district. We have this update for you today and each program will have another more program-specific update for you as our potential start date of Monday, July 11, 2022, draws near. However, this date is dependent on several factors such as the availability of air conditioning at SMS and the potential for air conditioning at NES with the sourcing of portable units. We are also ordering curriculum and instructional materials and all other items necessary for the programs to start today. Once we obtain the items, we can begin.
The following programs will be moved out of the high school and will take place at the new locations noted below. Start and end times will remain the same, however, bus pick-up and drop-off may be different. The updated bus list is being worked on now and will be available on our website: www.newmilfordps.org under the transportation tab over the next few days. The individual program directors will share this link with you again as Monday draws near and will follow up with a program-specific email for each program.
- Credit Recovery Program-Grades 9-12: Schaghticoke Middle School Library Media Center (Transportation provided) Contact: Holly Hollander: hollanderh@newmilfordps.org
- Extended School Year Program: Schaghticoke Middle School (Transportation provided) Contact: Laura Olson: olsonl@newmilfordps.org
- Extended School Year Program Ages 3, 4, and 5 only: Northville Elementary School (Transportation provided) Contact: Laura Olson: olsonl@newmilfordps.org
- Summer Bridge Program: Incoming Grades 3-6: Northville Elementary School (Transportation Provided) Contact: Holly Hollander: hollanderh@newmilfordps.org
- Summer Bridge Program: Incoming Grades 8 and 9: Schaghticoke Middle School (Transportation Provided) Contact: Holly Hollander: hollanderh@newmilfordps.org
- *Algebra Readiness Program will be located at Schaghticoke Middle School from July 25-29 no transportation will be provided. Contact: Holly Hollander: hollanderh@newmilfordps.org
Thank you for your flexibility as we navigate the transition of our programs. We appreciate your help and will continue to work as quickly and as efficiently as we can to begin the programs as close to Monday, July 11th as possible.
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