Powerless in Shelton Down to 3 Percent; Message from Schools Chief [Update]

Update 9 a.m. (Sat.)

United Illuminating's latest update places those without power in Shelton at just 3 percent.

This message posted Sept. 3 to Shelton's public schools website by Superintendent of Schools Freeman Burr:

Dear students, staff, parents and community members,

The first day of school will begin on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. We consider ourselves to be very fortunate that we are opening as anticipated in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. We are also fortunate that our back to school meeting with staff on August 30 and our district and school based, professional staff development were completed this week without disruption. We are very encouraged about the upcoming school year and expect that this will be an exciting year for our students.

Shelton Public Schools’ 2011 Summer Learning Program was quite successful with 150 students attending. Our elementary students received instruction in reading and mathematics for 90 minutes each day. Their program of study focused on reading and comprehension skills and math skills, concepts, applications and problem solving. Grade 5-8 students received a similar academic program of study which was enhanced by the teaching of strategies to process and retrieve information as well as to explore and investigate areas of science, social studies and mathematics.

Our overarching district goal this year will focus on increasing student achievement in all core academic areas for all students. To that end, we will undertake additional curriculum revision and development with a special emphasis on grades 7-12. This will extend and build upon the Language Arts' curriculum work done in 2010-11 for grades 1-6. We also added Engineering Is Elementary (EiE) to our existing science curriculum in grades 1-4 that will allow our students to explore math, science and technology and their related applications to engineering.

Each of our schools is involved in the CT Accountability Learning Initiative (CALI). You can find CALI information on the CT State Department of Education website. These powerful teaching practices include Data Driven Decision Making/Data Teams, Effecting Teaching/Differentiation and Common Assessments. Each of our principals and school leaders are working hard to bring the implementation of these practices to scale within their respective schools. The purpose of our CALI Training is to provide our Shelton teachers with expertise in research-based instructional practices that will enhance and improve the learning outcomes for all students.

We will continue our secondary school reform efforts in grades 6-12 by continuing to build upon our Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) initiative. This includes but is not limited to STEM Enrichment Units at and SIS; 8^th Grade Algebra for High School Credit at SIS; and development of our STEM Career/College Pathway at . We are also looking to pilot a similar pathway initiative in the areas of Journalism, Media, Visual, Performing and Fine Arts. To that end we will continue to expand our business and community collaborations and partnerships.

Our collective goal is that the Shelton Public Schools will transform itself into an exemplary learning institution that will address the needs of our students but more importantly provide them with the opportunities to explore subject areas and careers that interest them. We must accomplish this while ensuring that each and every student is well prepared to enter college and post secondary institutions.  

We hope that you will join with your children’s teachers and school leaders as partners to assist us in making these opportunities come to fruition. Please bear in mind that successful learning is a collaborative partnership between our students, parents, teachers and school leaders. I ask you to also reject the notion that an education that was good enough for our students a generation ago is good enough for our current students to compete in the global society of the 21^st Century.  

I bid each of you a wonderful school year and look forward to meeting you at our school sites or in the community.

Sincerely,   

Freeman Burr

Superintendent of Schools

Update 1 p.m.

[Editor's Note: What follows is a press release from United Illuminating. As of 11 a.m., 2,155 Shelton homes—about 12 percent of the utility's customer base—still was without power.]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 — UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UIL), parent of The United Illuminating Company, is pleased to announce $50,000 in relief grants to help local communities meet residents’ needs in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

The Aug. 28 hurricane caused significant damage across UI’s territory and left many of the company’s customers without power for days. UI will work with local partners to ensure the funds are distributed to organizations that are well placed to meet each community’s needs.

“Hurricane Irene has left an unfortunate and lingering legacy across the Northeast,” said James P. Torgerson, chief executive officer of UIL Holdings Corporation. “Even as we intensify our ongoing effort to restore electric service to all of our customers, we have an opportunity now to help provide relief to those customers who have been enduring a variety of hardships since the storm struck.”

The relief grants, paid for by UIL shareholders, will be distributed as follows:

• $5,000 each for Bridgeport and New Haven, the largest communities in UI’s service territory;
• $2,500 for each of the remaining 15 communities UI serves; and
• $2,500 for the Connecticut Red Cross.

The grant program was structured to give local officials input into how the funds should be distributed.

“All of our communities have different people with different needs. So we wanted to make sure that we were working closely with our local partners to ensure that these relief grants have the maximum possible impact,” said Anthony Marone, UIL’s vice president for business services.

UI continued to make headway with storm recovery efforts. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the company was reporting 21,872 customer outages, less than one-sixth the number of outages immediately after the hurricane hit on Sunday. Company officials noted that more than 93 percent of all UI customers had electric service Friday morning, compared with Sunday afternoon, when nearly half of all customers were without electricity.

Update 9 a.m. (Fri)

About 14 percent of Shelton—2,346 homes, according to an update Friday morning from United Illuminating—remain without power.

These messages from the Shelton city website:

UI estimates that 98 percent will be restored by Sunday. Showers are still available at the Community Center, however the food, water, and ice distribution site has been moved to EMS Headquarters a...

For your convenience, we are eaxtending the hours of operation at the Shelton Transfer Station at 866 River Road and the Compost Site on Willoughby Road.

Here's a table that looks at power restoration in Shelton over the past several days as compared to other towns:

Original Story

The following grocery and pharmacy stores are open and operating on normal schedules for those looking for a place to shop in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene:

• on Bridgeport Avenue
• on Bridgeport Avenue
• in White Hills Shopping Plaza
• on Bridgeport Avenue

The Shelton Transfer Station, at 866 River Rd. and the city compost site at will remain open until 5 p.m. to accept brush from residents. The extended hours will last until this Saturday, Sept. 3. Residents are allowed to collect any tree limbs at the transfer station, compost site or left at the curb by city crews for personal use as firewood.

Both and libraries are operating on normal schedules. Additionally, Shelton residents still without power can use the showers and outlet plugs at the to get clean and juice up their electronics.