From the Superintendent
Before embracing the new year, I want to first reflect on last year and thank you for your support for the budget that passed on June 4. Because of this support, we will continue to provide quality educational programming for all our students.
I also want to thank our staff for their tremendous dedication to the students. I continue to be impressed by the passion and hard work of our staff. However, they do not achieve success alone. I would be remiss not to celebrate the support of Eastford families for their children and our staff.
The first day for students will be Aug. 27. If you are new to Eastford, please be sure to contact the Eastford Elementary School office to register your children, including those of high school age, as soon as possible. Details concerning the registration process, and other important school and district information, including the 2025-26 school calendar, as well as current district and school policies, can be found on our district/school website, www.eastfordct.org. In addition, families with students attending Eastford Elementary School will be receiving a letter from Principal McCombe filled with many important details about the beginning of the school year. All Eastford high school students can best access information regarding their schools on their respective high school websites.
EASTCONN will once again be providing school bus transportation services for our students. As we move closer to the start of school, information will be provided by the school and on the website that will provide families with information on how you can access bus routes and additional transportation information.
We have contracted with the Hale YMCA out of Putnam to run our Before and After School childcare programs for the 2025-2026 school year. All registrations and fees for service will be conducted through the YMCA, not the Eastford Elementary School main office. The Before and After School Child Care Services will not begin until Sept. 2. In recent years, we were able to support the cost of after-school programming for students in grades K-8 with funds provided by an after-school grant award. We have applied once again for this competitive funding grant but do not currently know if we are successful in obtaining it. The YMCA has several ways that it provides financial assistance to families, including a sliding fee scale based on family size and income, financial scholarships through the YMCA, and Care for Kids. If you have questions about their program or their fees, you can reach out to Veronica at the Hale YMCA at (860) 315-9622, ext. 4105.
A significant change this school year is that one of our long-standing parent groups, the School Readiness Council, will be replaced by a Local Governance Partnership (LGP). The Office of Early Childhood, through new state legislation, has restructured funding and organizations that support early childhood in Connecticut under a new label, Early Start CT. Early Start CT is designed to bring information and resources to communities to support children ages birth to five years old. The Eastford community has joined a Local Governance Partnership (LGP) with the other northeastern communities of Bozrah, Chaplin, Franklin, Hampton, Scotland, and Sprague. Together, this LGP will make decisions and provide information to communities to support programs like the Eastford Preschool Program. It is important to note that the Eastford Preschool Program is not a public-school program. It is its own entity under the jurisdiction of the Office of Early Childhood. We are fortunate to be able to house the preschool program in the Elementary School so that the children can also benefit from other resources provided by the Board of Education. As the LGP becomes organized over the summer months, we will be reaching out with opportunities for parent and community involvement.
The Board of Education will meet on Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Eastford School Library. Students who received scholarships from the Hartford Foundation and the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut have been invited to attend in-person or virtually to be recognized for their accomplishments.
As always, you are invited to contact me at [email protected] if you have questions or concerns and/or would like to schedule an appointment.