To the Families of Ansonia Public Schools:

              The month of April brought a week’s respite for students and staff, as well as the start of the final marking period for three of our four schools.

              Here are some of the events and meetings I attended this month:

• Accompanied by Business Administrator James Gaskins, I attended the Mayor’s Cabinet meeting on April 4 and spoke about the issue of residency. Several area schools this year are seeking the assistance of other city departments to look into issues of student residency. I have had a conversation with Lt. Wayne Williams, who will be conducting further research.
• The monthly Community Meeting with the Superintendent was held on April 8. The final session was held May 7 from 7-8 a.m. in the Robert E. Zuraw Administrative Office Building, 42 Grove Street.
• The Spring Concert of the AHS music department on April 9 was extremely impressive. Led by AHS music teacher Maria Tangredi, the students did a phenomenal job, and it was clear how much time and effort was put into this concert.
• In conjunction with the Spring Concert, Ansonia High was busy raising money to support the troops in Iraq, thanks to the efforts of AHS senior Kristen Boulay, whose brother J.J. is serving in Iraq, Principal Sue McKernan and staff members. The school spearheaded an effort to raise $600 to cover the shipping costs for the snacks, books, batteries, toiletries and other personal items donated for the troops.
• Together with Asst. Superintendent Anne Giddings, I concluded meetings with school administrators to review procedures and establish a standard format for the evaluation of teachers.
• Meetings also began this month with administrative teams, including the alternative education program, to discuss their school-wide plans for the 2008-09 school year. The purpose of the meetings is to improve our areas of weakness and bring consistency to operating procedures in our schools and programs.
• There were several meetings this month related to the Human Relations Club at AHS. On April 9, the HRC students got into the classrooms at Mead School to begin their prejudice reduction lessons. For three weekly sessions, the AHS students led classroom lessons in all of our fourth grade classes. Reports from the classroom teachers are that our AHS students are doing a phenomenal job and are having a positive impact on their younger peers. I also attended a meeting on April 18 at City Hall with the mayor and some department officials to brainstorm ways to encourage the community to attend the Community Conference on May 21 at Ansonia High School. The final session this month was a Press Conference on April 30 in City Hall.  I have encouraged our staff members to participate in this important event on May 21 and will be providing teachers who attend with Continuing Education Units. Finally, I’ve offered a challenge among our schools by offering a free dress down day for staff and students with the high conference attendance by staff members.
• On April 24, a district-wide planning meeting was held with administrators to monitor the implementation of the District-Wide Plan goals and objectives and to align our Professional Development in 2008-09 with our plan.
• On April 29, I attended the Valley United Way’s 40th annual meeting and recognition dinner at John J. Sullivan’s. Jack Ribas, director of the Boys & Girls Club, received the 2008 Charles H. Flynn Humanitarian Award. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jim Geissler of the Shelton Public Schools, who participated in the Adult Education golf class held in our middle school gym and was very complimentary about the cleanliness of the facility.

Respectfully,

Carol Merlone

Superintendent of Schools

“Persistence and Determination Win the Race”

Superintendent's Office

42 Grove Street

Ansonia, CT  06401

(203) 736-5095

Carol Merlone, Superintendent of Schools, cmerlone@ansonia.org

Anne Giddings, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Schools, agiddings@ansonia.org

Katherine Gabrielson, Director of Special Services, kgabrielson@ansonia.org

Patricia Nicolari, Director of Alternative Education, pnicolari@ansonia.org

James Gaskins, School Business Administrator, jgaskins@ansonia.org

Diana Brancato, Coordinator of School Readiness, dbrancato@ansonia.org

Robert Evans, Director of Facilities, bevans@ansonia.org

Eileen Ehman, Grants Manager/Community Liaison, eehman@ansonia.org