Board of Ed Approves $111.5 Million Budget, Up Just Over 2%

An announcement from Westport Public Schools:

Last night the Westport Board of Education approved its operating budget for the 2015 – 2016 school year, which included several exciting curriculum initiatives, including the addition of a Literacy Coach at each of the five elementary schools and an expansion of the current Literacy Coach position at Staples High School.

The total approved budget was $111,471,756, a 2.08% increase over the 2014 – 2015 budget.

The literary coaches will support our teachers as they implement the new instructional approaches designed to meet the demands of the Common Core Standards and our own Westport 2025 initiative.

Board Chair Michael Gordon said, “This type of job-embedded, ongoing professional learning will ensure that our teachers continue to deliver high quality, differentiated instruction that will increase student achievement.”

The board also approved recently an additional 30 minutes of music instruction in kindergarten so that our youngest students will have more time each week to explore and appreciate music from around the world.

Gordon added, “Now our youngest learners will get even more from Westport’s highly regarded music program. Our approach to music instruction has tremendous cognitive benefits for students, including enhancing their powers of concentration and focus and helping them learn more about themselves.”

Literacy Coaches were not the only initiative implemented by the Board. In its continued efforts to serve the needs of all students at Staples High School, the Board approved recently four new courses to be offered at the high school beginning next year: Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, Animal Behavior, Zoology, and Lifeguarding.

Board Vice Chair Jeannie Smith said, “AP Computer Science Principles represents another step in the district’s expansion of STEM offerings to students at both the middle and high schools, requiring students to become critical problem solvers and creative thinkers while, in this case, becoming adept at computer science and coding.”

Both the Animal Behavior and Zoology courses serve students who are experiential, naturalistic and interpersonal learners, while fostering both integrity and empathy. The Lifeguarding course will be offered next year in response to an increase in student interest.

This course also aligns with state and national standards and, upon completion of the course, will give students additional employment opportunities.

The Board has also supported the expansion of Reading and Writing Workshop into the middle schools in partnership with Teachers’ College, Columbia University.

This widely respected program will help our students to become skilled readers and writers and inquirers who will enjoy reading and writing throughout their adult lives and prepare them more fully to be successful in the exciting curriculum offerings at Staples.