By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — The 2024-25 school year is off to a good start, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice told both the school board and parents last week.

School buses, for the most part, are running on time, efforts to make the school district more welcoming to all students have shifted into high gear and Staples High School students, at the moment, still have cellphones in their possession.

That said, those students should no longer receive text messages from teachers, coaches or advisors reminding them of assignments, schedule changes or practices.

In his first message of the school year emailed to parents Friday, Scarice made it clear that texting between students and district employees is strictly forbidden.

“I want to make very clear that your child should NEVER receive a text message on their cellphone from a WPS employee. If they do, I ask that you report it to the building administration immediately,” Scarice wrote.

The superintendent said he was unaware of the practice until it was mentioned last spring when the topic of cellphones came up during a board discussion. He called the practice inappropriate.

In its place, Scarice said a new online tool would be introduced — ParentSquare — to assist with communication between faculty, coaches, advisors and students.

Cellphones … going, going, gone?

A possible ban of cellphones at Staples High, meanwhile, was not on the agenda for the board’s first meeting in September.

Cellphones and other personal electronic devices are already prohibited at Westport’s elementary schools and restricted to lockers or back packs in the middle schools.

Scarice, who recommended an across-the-district ban last spring, said he wants to first engage faculty, parents and even students before taking the “phone-free” school plunge.

“I will begin that process this month,” he told both the board and parents. “If there is wide support for my recommendation, I will return to the Board of Education with specific policy, operational and budget recommendations. If there is not widespread support, I will do my best to make my case and make modifications, if necessary.”

He expects to come back to the school board with a summary of feedback in October.

At least two members of the public at the Sept. 5 board meeting at Staples High School said they were disappointed action is not coming sooner.

Nikki Gorman, a local pediatrician and mental health advocate who said she raised three children in town, said she appreciates the care taken with making a decision, but that a ban on phones in school can’t come soon enough.

“Our children, particularly at the middle school age, they don’t have impulse control,” said Gorman. Their brains, she added, are easily addicted.

“They can’t stand to not look at their phones when they are in their possession,” she said. “It would be great if they can eliminate them all together. … I look forward to seeing this roll out.”

Ashley Zwick, the parent of two children attending local schools, said if neighboring school districts like Wilton can move quickly to institute cellphone bans, Westport should be able to do so also.

Cellphone bans, Zwick pointed out, are going into effect in districts across the nation. The state recently issued guidelines for such bans.

“Teachers are hugely in favor of this,” Zwick predicted.

Year starts with positive buzz

As for the start of the school year, Scarice told the board he feels there has been a nice, healthy atmosphere.

“Overall, it’s the best start I have experienced,” he said.

For the second year in a row, Staples freshmen had a full run of their school without other upper-class students for the first half-day of classes. It added to their comfort level, Scarice said.

Across the district, the first 30 days of the school year are devoted to community building and helping students become comfortable.

“It’s how we do business now,” Scarice said.

As for transportation, Scarice deemed it the best start the school district has experienced since he arrived five years ago.

This is the second year bus service has been provided by First Student, the district’s transportation contractor. There is a new fleet of buses, full roster of drivers and fewer road construction projects that pose delays.

Each year tends to start with troubled routes, Scarice said. This year there have been fewer, maybe one “hot” route or less per school, and that issues are resolved more quickly.

“Overall, it’s looking great,” Scarice said. “If you are on one of those [late] buses it’s not great. Know that we are working with those families.”

There was one Kings Highway Elementary School bus, in particular, that was arriving up to 20 minutes late the first week of school. But for three days in a row last week, the bus arrived at school early, Scarice reported.

Staffing vacancies persist

Like many districts, Westport started the school year with a few staff vacancies.

Even after hiring about 60 new staff members, the district is still conducting interviews for a handful of positions, including teaching positions in science, preschool and Spanish.

“We just filled one [of those positions] yesterday,” Assistant Supt. John Bayers told the board last week. He declined to say which one.

The district is also close to hiring a new principal for Coleytown Elementary School. Its former principal, Janna Sirowich, was appointed the new principal of Coleytown Middle School in July.

The board plans a special meeting Thursday, Sept. 12, to vote on her replacement.

Among the 60 new staff members are 27 certified staff members including three new administrators. In addition, 30 new paraprofessionals, secretaries, custodians and long-term sub were hired.

The district also has five college interns working this fall in the district. It had budgeted for eight. Bayers said that colleges are having a hard time finding individuals who want to spend a semester as a teaching intern.

As for filling the other vacancies, Bayers said the district is not willing to settle.

“We are looking for the best,” he said, “for the right match for the district.”

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.