From the Superintendent
It may still be winter, but the number of hours of sunlight is increasing, and retail stores are stocking up on gardening supplies and other outdoor living items in anticipation of the arrival of spring. As we move into the second month of 2025, the school and district staff have been busy the past six months providing for the learning needs of all Eastford students.
At Eastford Elementary School, planning for our future students is also very important. As with all our educational endeavors, we are most successful with support from families. The Eastford School Readiness Program will be sending its annual Needs Assessment to families we know of that have children ages birth to 4 years old. We strongly encourage all families with young children in town to complete the survey and send in their results. This information helps us to plan for future space and staffing needs. If a survey isn’t mailed to you, it can be accessed on our school website, . Navigate to the ‘For Families’ tab, then ‘School Readiness’ to find the Needs Assessment Survey and Preschool Registration Forms.
Preschool and Kindergarten registration is open for the 2025-2026 school year. It is helpful to register as early as possible so that we can ensure sufficient staffing. Registration forms can be picked up in the school office and they can be found on the school website,. Navigate to the ‘For Families’ tab, then ‘Forms’. The ‘School Registration’ form should be used for kindergarten and the ‘Preschool Registration’ form should be used for preschool.
Regardless of the grade/age of your child, if your family is new to town, if you intend to have your children attend school in Eastford for the remainder of the year or the beginning of the next school year, it is important that you register them as soon as possible. Working in partnership with families is important to us. Please continue to refer to the monthly Principal Newsletters located in the ‘For Families’ section of our webpage for important updates.
As mentioned in an earlier article, January marked the beginning of a new budget season. At their January meeting, the Board of Education (BOE) accepted for consideration the Superintendent’s proposed 2025-26 operating budget. The Finance Committee of the BOE reviewed the budget proposal at its January workshop meetings. It is anticipated that the BOE may approve their 2025-26 operating budget at their meeting on Feb. 13. All budget documents to date are posted on our website.
At the BOE meeting on Jan. 9, in addition to taking the Superintendent’s proposed budget under advisement, the BOE took the following actions:
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Accepted the updated contract with Regional District 19 (E.O. Smith High School). Currently the Eastford BOE funds the tuition but does not provide transportation for Eastford students attending E.O. Smith High School. Students who want to attend E.O. Smith High School must complete the formal registration and commitment form by March 1 prior to their freshman year.
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Approved the one-year extension to the existing transportation contract with EASTCONN for the 2025-26 school year.
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Discussed the application process for the Ethel Cushing Scholarship program. The deadline for applications is Feb. 4. The application information is posted on the Eastford School District website.
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Continued its process of deciding to maintain or change the designated high school for the Eastford School District by gathering and assessing important financial and programmatic information, obtained from local high schools. As part of this process, survey information was obtained from the administration of several high schools. In addition, E.O. Smith made a presentation to the BOE in the fall and Woodstock Academy has been invited to make a presentation in the spring. Woodstock Academy is currently the designated high school for Eastford students. As such, the BOE pays the tuition and provides transportation for Eastford students.
As we move into 2025, we will continue to achieve success with the support of all members of the Eastford Learning Community. Therefore, it is important that if any members of the community have any ideas, questions or concerns about the programs, protocols and processes of the Eastford School District, they do not hesitate to contact me at dleake@eastfordct.org.