Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, and Community Members:

Social-Emotional Curriculum

As we head towards the end of the year, it is wonderful to see all of the normal spring and end of the year activities that showcase our students and help them feel more connected to school.   The art shows, athletics events, concerts, dances, club activities, field trips, and other events support the development of social connections that we can all agree have been missing over the past few years.   

Local, state, and national data indicate that the effects of the pandemic on our student's mental health, most notably in the areas of anxiety and depression, have been significant.  As a school system, we are ethically and legally obligated to ensure that our school environment promotes a positive climate so our students are ready to learn. We are also ethically and legally (Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA) obligated to provide support for students with more complex needs.  We know that students need to be emotionally ready to learn and achieve academically.  

As we are coming out of the pandemic, we have data to support increased mean behavior amongst students, increased amounts of students seeking in-school counseling support, and increased suicidal ideation.  We believe that this is partially due to isolation and increased use of technology for social interactions.   In our recent parent survey, many parents also identified emotional well-being and mean behavior as an area of concern. 

There has been a lot of misinformation in the news and social media about the implementation of the social-emotional curriculum in public schools.  To be clear, I have been an educator for 31 years, and public schools have always implemented these types of programs to create a positive climate/learning environment.  None of this is new.   As examples, these programs address things such as being active listeners, problem-solving, handling conflict, being kind and respectful, managing emotions if you are angry or sad, etc.   The district has always made it a priority to partner with parents.   To that end,  we have created a website that provides extensive information and resources for our families.   On that website, there are two videos that you might find informative that provides a detailed description of what social-emotional learning curriculum are and how they are implemented in our schools.  If you have any questions about our programs, I would encourage you to reach out to our Social Emotional Coach, Tom Salvador at salvadort@bethel.k12.ct.us.  

COVID Update & Test Kit Availability

On another note, we have seen an increase in COVID positive cases this week in the Bethel Public Schools.  We recommend that students who show any symptoms or have had any contact with a COVID-positive person, regardless of vaccination status, take a COVID test. Please note, that this is not mandatory.  We have COVID test kits available at each school should you need them. Also, every household in the U.S. is now eligible to receive a second set of 2 free test kits; you can register at www.covidtests.gov.  If your child does test positive or is not feeling well please keep them home and contact the school nurse for further information and directions. Thank you for making a commitment to the health, wellness, and safety of each other. 

Parent Survey Feedback

We appreciate the feedback you gave the district in the Parent Survey which closed this Wednesday.   We use the feedback to help improve our practice in our schools and at the district level.   In addition, each school uses the information to create a goal within their school improvement plan as an area of focus.  In the coming newsletters, we will try and summarize the themes from the surveys and provide more detailed summary information regarding the feedback.  

Multi-Sport Turf Complex Update

As you probably noted, there was a slight construction delay on the Multisport Turf Complex.  The new target date is next Monday, May 9th.   

BMS Presents Seussical Jr.

Come out to see the BMS presentation of Seussical Jr.  Our students consistently put on outstanding shows!  Shows are tonight, Friday, May 6th @ 7 PM, and Saturday, May 7th @ 1 PM & 7 PM.  Tickets are $10.

Mock Car Crash Assembly at Bethel High School

As previously mentioned, on April 20th Bethel High School students participated in an assembly of a mock car crash caused by an individual who was under the influence.  

This assembly was planned by a group of seniors, in conjunction with our School Resource Officer, Jason Broad,  from their work at a student leadership summit.  The purpose of this advisory was to raise awareness about driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.  In this assembly, the students, with the assistance of first responders,  simulated an actual accident caused by an individual driving under the influence, including the arrest of individuals responsible, death, and injury. Our students even arranged for Life Star to do a flyover as part of the presentation.  

If you would like to view the Mock Car Crash, the video is linked here.  **Please Note:  We want to make you aware of the realistic nature of the mock car crash prior to viewing the video. We would like to extend thanks to Ms. Feuerman, our Media Technology Specialist, and her crew for putting together such a great video. 

We would like to thank the following departments/organizations that were involved in this demonstration: Bethel Police Department, Bethel Fire Department, Stony Hill Fire Department, New Milford Police Department, Danbury Police Department, and the Redding Police Department.