In what he calls an "11th-hour decision" Wilton Superintendent of Schools Kevin Smith proposes that next week's student orientation days are canceled
Wilton Board of Ed Chair Deborah Low opened last night’s Special Meeting of Wilton Board of Education and after the agenda was approved, she asked for comments from the public.
There was one public comment that came from Wilton High School math teacher Peggy Meurer who spoke on behalf of fellow high school teachers and asked that school reopening be delayed.
“We’re simply not ready,” she said, “There are virtually no safety protocols in the school,” she said. In addition, the lack of training for teachers is compounding the situation. “The stress and anxiety are palpable,” she said.
It was then that Wilton Superintendent of Schools Kevin Smith began his presentation, saying he came to a conclusion in the past two hours that he wanted to share. “I prepared a presentation for the evening, I’m going to reverse the order. I apologize for the 11th hour, and for some of you it might sound like a shock.”
Smith said with conviction, that it has become “evidently clear” that with the tropical storm Isaias we lost about a week of school. “We’re behind. It’s a significant setback, we have to be ready. I’m not reacting to Peg’s letter, but she is expressing the sentiment of many and she’s right.”
The proposal Smith put forth is that next week’s two orientation days are canceled. “ And we give that time back to our teachers and administrators so they can do further planning and we fold those orientation days into the first days of school.”
“From an instructional and educational point of view, we have to take the time we need to make sure we are as ready as possible,” said Smith, who noted that he didn't see any benefit of pushing the start date beyond the 31st. "Taking the time that’s available to us next week will give us a handful of hours to do some training," he added.
