Bloomfield Public Schools

Thank you to Seabury residents and staff for hosting our high school students today as a part of Literacy Celebration Week! Students shared powerful literary pieces of their choice with the Seabury community.

2024 Bloomfield Public Schools Literacy Celebration Week is off to a great start! This morning, Bloomfield High School students read to Laurel Literacy Academy classes to kick the week off. Thank you BHS students!

Dear Bloomfield Public Schools, On Tuesday, February 27, we presented the Superintendent's Proposed 2024-25 Budget to the Board of Education. This budget was developed collaboratively with our Principals, Central Office leaders, and the Board of Education to increase transparency, understanding, and efficiency. The Board of Education Finance Committee provided cost-saving recommendations that we have incorporated into our proposal. Mayor Wong and members of Town Council engaged in a conversation with our finance team to share initial cost drivers and expectations regarding budget increases. Our aim is to introduce efficiencies that have minimal impact on our students and classrooms while streamlining district operations and central office structures. The primary goal of this budget is to invest in our students and classrooms. We have made sure that the budget preserves our classroom teachers, with no teacher positions being eliminated in this proposal. When we started our conversations with the Board of Education Finance Committee in January, we had an estimated increase to our budget of nearly 7% compared to last year. However, after thorough efforts to identify savings, our proposed budget reflects a 3.19% increase, or $1,652,054 over 2023-24. The school district budget includes specific expenses, referred to as major cost drivers, which require annual increases. These include contractual salaries and benefits, student transportation, and tuition costs for students enrolled in other settings. By leveraging additional grant opportunities from the State of Connecticut, along with legislated magnet school tuition support, and restructuring staffing roles and responsibilities at Central Office, we have been able to mitigate rising costs, retain all certified classroom teachers, while keeping the increase request at 3.19%. We invite the public to join us on Tuesday, March 5, at 7:00 PM for public comments on the budget. Your input is valuable and we welcome your voice in this budget process. The Board of Education will vote on adopting the proposed budget on Thursday, March 7, at 7:00 PM. To view our budget and the presentation made to the Bloomfield Board of Education, please visit our website. We would like to express our gratitude in advance for your input in this budget process. We look forward to sharing this information with the Town Council when our Board of Education presents the adopted budget. Together, we can ensure our students continue to thrive. Warm regards, Bethany B. Silver, Ph.D. Acting Superintendent, Bloomfield Schools

Join us for our 2024-2025 Budget presentation tonight during our Special Meeting of the Board of Education at 7:00 pm. The meeting will take place at the Board of Education and on Zoom. The link to the meeting is below: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89863894107?pwd=TE5ZWUpFTS93ZjJublhUdEVDWC9sQT09

Good morning, Due to weather conditions, tonight's Board of Education meeting has been cancelled. The meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 7:00 pm.

Due to weather and road conditions, all offices are closed today, February 13, 2024.

Good evening, Bloomfield Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. Thank you.

Bloomfield Public Schools, in partnership with Integrated Health Care Services, is inviting you to a virtual informational session on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. as part of a Board of Education Special meeting. Join us as we learn about a grant opportunity that would provide Laurel Literacy Academy and the Carmen Arace building with School Based Health Centers that are coordinated, culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate. The Centers would provide primary care, dental care, social/emotional behavioral health services, and health education, leading to increased access to these valuable resources for our Bloomfield students. We invite you to attend this virtual meeting and learn with us as we explore this opportunity. Visit our website, under "Events" for more information.

Bloomfield Social and Youth Services is partnering with the Bloomfield Police Department for the Bloomfield Police Department Youth Program. This is an opportunity for Bloomfield Youth to partner up with members of the Bloomfield Police Department for an exciting in-person program built on mutual understanding, support, and respect. Youth will learn to collect evidence, profile and examine the evidence, and solve a mock crime scene. The program meets biweekly on Tuesdays from February 6 to May 14 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Bloomfield Police Department. Please contact Tiffany Wright at 860-242-1895 or twright@bloomfieldct.gov for more information.

Bloomfield Public Schools will be sharing the warmth this winter by supporting the community. Each school has selected an organization and will be donating items of warmth. Donations will be collected at each school from January 16 to February 14. Please contact your school for more information.

Bloomfield Public Schools will be closed on Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Our offices will also be closed. We will open again on Tuesday, January 16. We hope you all have a restful long weekend.

The Office of Family and Community Engagement would like to invite you to attend the family workshop series entitled: The ABCs of Credit and Borrowing led by CT Money Schools. The goal is to share and be equipped with knowledge that will lead to healthy financial habits. We invite you and your family to participate. Register using the link below. Food and childcare will be provided for school- aged children. We hope to see you and yours at the Bloomfield Community Center on Thursday January 11th 6:00p.m.- 7:30p.m. https://forms.gle/DhagNp1XV7yxGDfR7

Good evening from the Bloomfield Public Schools. Due to weather conditions, school openings are delayed two hours on Monday January 8. Opening times are: BHS - 9:35 GEMS - 9:40 Arace - 10:05 Wintonbury- 10:40 Metacomet - 10:45 Laurel - 10:50 Steps to Success - 11:00 The Nest - 11:00

The State of Connecticut recently changed the kindergarten-entry age. Starting in the 2024-2025 school year all children entering kindergarten must be five years of age on, or before, Sept. 1. Attached is a letter from Principal Jennifer Dwyer to current and future Laurel Literacy Academy Families with additional details regarding this change: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15QHiTlWMUcPNkpZRxPWHyip-EdXZeUCK/view

A reminder that the deadline to fill out our district-wide Climate Survey is Thursday, Dec. 21. The survey allows us to measure the level of positive school climate by getting anonymous feedback from students, families and staff. Here is the link to the survey: https://bloomfieldschools.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3C5LHu4siq4ZpXg

Today is the LAST DAY to buy BHS Championship swag: The BHS Sideline Store will be selling BHS football championship apparel, in celebration of the new 2023 Class S state champs. All orders will be shipped directly to your house. If you are interested in purchasing championship gear - a sweatshirt, t-shirt, etc. - please click on this link: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/bhsfbchamp

BHS hosts its Holiday Concert today, 6:30 p.m., in the auditorium. Come out and support the BHS Band and Chorus. You are guaranteed to leave in the holiday spirit!

BHS hosts its Holiday Concert this Thursday, December 14th, at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Come out and support the BHS Band and Chorus. You are guaranteed to leave in the holiday spirit!

The BHS Sideline Store will be selling BHS football championship apparel, until Dec 18, in celebration of the 2023 Class S state champs. If you are interested in purchasing championship swag - a sweatshirt, t-shirt, etc. - please click on this link: https://bsnteamsports.com/shop/bhsfbchamp All orders will be shipped directly to your house.

The district’s next free Family Workshop Series is Thursday, Dec. 14, 6 p.m., at the town’s community center, 330 Park Ave. The topic is “The Self-Care and Parenting Connection - Defining Self-Care and What it Means to You.” The family workshop series will continue into 2024.