Community Corner

Daily Five: Evaluating The Board of Education

Five Things To Know For Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012

1. Today should be mostly sunny, with a high around 83, according to the National Weather Service. Tonight should be partly cloudy, with a low around 63, according to the service.

2. Tonight, the Waterford Board of Education meets at 6 in Old Lyme to evaluate itself and also to set its goals for the upcoming school year.

The board does this every year, before the start of every school year. Last year, the board met in July, and board members set several goals for the 2011-12 school year. The following is a list of the goals, and a brief summary on the execution:

Find out what's happening in Waterfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

-Create a finance board: The Board of Education did create a finance board. Member Sheri Cote spearheaded the idea.

-Strengthen the Learning Through Service program: The board had to cut from the LTS program in 2011 facing . It has since reinstated the original funding to the LTS program for this school year.

Find out what's happening in Waterfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

-Corporate sponsorships: The board did loosen up its policies regarding , although the board has yet to receive any money through corporate sponsorships.

-Develop a goal around measuring the success of program implementation and identifying metrics: This was a goal set forth by board member John Taglianetti at the July 2011 meeting.

-Exploring ways to look at school climate: Former board member Donald Blevins discussed this goal in July of 2011. There were several forums dedicated to this goal throughout the school year, particularly at Clark Lane Middle School, which held an anti-bullying forum and a forum

-Enhancing communication from the board to the public: Board member Jody Nazarchyk set this goal forth. The board, using new technology, films each of its meetings, and posts it on the district's website. The board also held a much more in-depth budget review this year that spanned two meetings.

The board’s budget hearings brought out many members from other town boards, especially members from the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting. Attendance from the general public was sparse.

Also at the July 2011 meeting, the board said it would like to schedule meetings at each of the town's five schools in the 2011-12 school year, although every meeting during the school year was held in Town Hall.

3. An application has been received by the Planning and Zoning Commission to turn 26 Norwich Road into a Henny Penny, according to Town Planning Director Tom Wagner.

The spot was previously a gas station, and the developer is planning to turn it into a Henny Penny store and gas station, according to a report by Town Planner Mark Wujtewicz said. The applicant has an application in to the planning commission to allow for a 43 square-foot sign at the facility, as now only a 23 square-foot sign would be permitted, according to Wujtewicz's report.

4. There are two events coming up in neighboring East Lyme for all the athletic folk out there, and both events raise money for great causes.

On September 7, East Lyme Youth Services is sponsoring the Jeffrey's Rainbow Run, a 5k walk, run or stroll, and people can register now. The event starts at the McCook Point Park entrance and ends at the beach, but when it's over you can rest assured that all the money will go to benefit the Jeffrey Bourgeois Family Fund. 

Feeling even more athletic? You might want to consider entering the Niantic Bay Half Marathon and 5K Road Race. The event, sponsored by the , will be held on September 23 at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic. Money raised from the 5K walk will go to benefit the Chamber's nonprofit foundation to enrich and promote educational and economic opportunities. Register now and you'll receive a free t-shirt if you're among the first 1,000 to sign up.

5. On this date in 2011, longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown from power during the 2011 Libyan Civil War. And on this date in 1996, Osama bin Laden issued a message outlining his plans for Jihad against the United States.

Quote of the Day

“I owe it all to little chocolate donuts.”

-John Belushi

Trivia of the Day

What is the name of the syndrome hostages exhibit when they begin to sympathize with their captors (hint: it is named after a European city)?

Yesterday’s Answer: In the 1968 movie The Odd Couple, Jack Lemmon played Felix and Walter Matthau played Oscar.


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