News

Letter: Demand for Outback Programs and Space Continue to Grow

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In 2013-2014, the center had 8,180 visits to the facility by students and community members representing an overall 30% increase in usage from the prior year. The $1.5 million facility was built in 2001 by parents and community members, and is in excellent condition, with two levels plus a loft area, a commercial grade kitchen and a recording studio. This past year, by evidence of demand and participation, there has been a shift towards a community center model. Programming for middle and high school students has become much more varied programs rather than simply having open hours for social interaction. This shift was in response to the changing needs of today’s youth who typically have limited free time but are interested in being engaged in healthy, fun or enriching options after school or in social interactions on a weekend night.

Government

Town Seeks Details from Outback as Teen Center’s Role Grows Murky

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Facing a lack of demand and operating funds, Outback Teen Center needs a “critical intervention” from the town in order to continue, officials said Wednesday. Since the nonprofit teen center opened behind Town Hall in April 2001, the landscape of youth services in town has changed dramatically, with more groups—including churches, schools and organizations such as the YMCA—expanding their offerings, officials said during a regular Board of Selectmen meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. Funding sources such as corporate giving no longer are available in the numbers they once were, officials have said, and energy costs are high at the cavernous Outback building. Addressing Outback Board of Directors President Sangeeta Appel and seeking to put into plain language the nonprofit organization’s position, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said: “You would like to see a partnership with town, you still have an active board, you are still raising money and you have a mission. But what you are saying is that without some critical intervention or support from the town, that there is a chance that the Teen Center may not be here.

News

Survey: New Canaan School Parents Want Info through Email, Text and District Websites—Not Social Media

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School parents in New Canaan prefer to receive district communications by email or text, rather than social media, and they’re most interested in information on curriculum, assessments and guidance, according to survey results released Monday night. New Canaan Public Schools’ own emails to parents, newsletters and websites rank as primary sources of information, said the majority of respondents to a 10-question online survey that the Board of Education conducted the week of Oct. 13. In all, 1,101 responses came in to the school board’s Communications Committee after 4,182 parent email invites went out—assuming one respondent per household, the figure represents nearly half of the public school families in New Canaan, Committee Chair Sheri West said at a Board of Education meeting. “It was very informative for us to learn that 56 percent of our respondents preferred that we not communicate on social media,” West said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School.

News

Letter: Board of Ed Issues 10-Question Survey for Parents

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[Editor’s Note: The following information was submitted by the Board of Education’s Communications Committee, members listed below.]

Dear NCPS Community,

In order to improve upon our district communications, the New Canaan Public Schools Board of Education invites you to participate in an online survey. The quick 10-question survey centers on better understanding preferred modes and topics of communication.  To access the survey, go to http://bit.ly/ncps-boe-survey before October 20th. Also, as a reminder, you may follow us on Twitter @picsNCPS for the latest news and information relating to New Canaan Public Schools. BOE Communications Committee

Sheri West

Sangeeta Appel

Jennifer Richardson

News

‘Tight Timelines’ Set to Kick-Start $2 Million Saxe Auditorium Renovation

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With an eye on securing construction funds for fiscal year 2016, the group that’s overseeing the renovation of the Saxe Middle School auditorium is working against “tight timelines” that will see draft plans completed by the end of January, officials say. Members of the Saxe Auditorium Building Committee are meeting weekly now as well as conducting site visits in New Canaan, Darien and Westport so that by the next budget cycle they can come before the town with more details and tap the $2 million earmarked for the work starting next summer, New Canaan Public Schools Interim Director of Finance and Operations Nancy Harris said at the Sept. 8 Board of Education meeting. “We have to have a comprehensive preliminary budget, which means there has to be a draft of a design, so that kicks us into high gear,” Harris said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “At our opening meeting, we really set some very tight timelines,” she said.