BPS Newsletter 2/6/26

Bethel Public Schools Superintendent's Weekly Newsletter February 6, 2026 Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center Bethel Board of Education 1 School Street Bethel, CT 06801 (203) 794-8601 www.bethel.k12.ct.us     Administration Offices Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8601 Business Office Office Hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8604   District Calendars / Schedules   Dr. Carver's Message Christine Carver, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Bethel Public Schools carverc@bethel.k12.ct.us Dear Parents, Staff, and Community Members, I am writing to share an update on the Superintendent’s Proposed Education Budget, which I recently presented with an overall increase of 6.74%. This proposal reflects both the realities we are facing as a district and our continued commitment to meeting the needs of all students. The primary drivers of this year’s budget are largely outside of our direct control. Most notably, health care costs continue to rise at a pace that significantly impacts our operating budget. In addition, we are seeing growing and increasingly complex needs among students with disabilities, including the need for additional specialized staff and supports to ensure student safety, access to learning, and compliance with required services. Contractual obligations and staffing necessary to meet student needs also contribute to the overall increase. Despite these pressures, the goals of the proposed budget remain focused and student-centered. This budget is designed to: Maintain our current academic and extracurricular programs Adjust responsibly to shifting enrollment and demographics Continue progress toward the goals outlined in our district’s strategic plan It is also important to acknowledge the lasting impact of the significant reductions made last year. Those cuts required difficult decisions that affected staffing, programs, and services across the district. While we continue to manage those impacts, this proposed budget seeks to stabilize the system and prevent further erosion of essential supports for students. The Board of Education is actively engaged in a series of budget workshops to thoughtfully review and deliberate this proposal. These discussions are an important part of the public process, and updated information is available on our district dashboard, which will continue to be refreshed as the budget evolves. I strongly encourage parents, staff, and community members to stay involved. Your voice matters. If you are unable to attend meetings in person, please know that all Board of Education meetings and workshops are recorded and available on demand through our district website. Thank you for your continued support of our schools and for your partnership as we work together to balance fiscal responsibility with the needs of our students. Vision of a Learner Over the last several months I have been communicating our district Vision of a Learner which defines the essential skills, behaviors, and mindsets our students need to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Our final competency that I’d like to feature is being an Ethical and Engaged Citizen. This competency focuses on key skills including demonstrating empathy and compassion, being an ethical decision maker, being digitally responsible, engaging respectfully to resolve conflicts, and making positive contributions. On our rubric, you will notice how there are indicators for each key skill that show expectations in the classroom. Over time, we are 2026-2027 Education Budget Process Budget Workshops/Presentations/Deliberations/Town Dates Tuesday, February 10, 2026: BOE Meeting - Budget Workshop - Facilities Tuesday, February 17, 2026: BOE Meeting - Budget Workshop (Deliberations) DATE TBD: BOE Budget Presentation to the Board of Finance/Board of Selectmen  DATE TBD - Public Hearing  DATE TBD - Annual Town Meeting  DATE TBD - Town Referendum  BPS District Dashboard Upcoming Calendar Events February 13 & 16 - Presidents' Day Recess - Schools Closed February 17 - Professional Learning Day - No School K-12 News & Reminders 2026-2027 Kindergarten Registration Attention Families!!! Do you have children who will be 5 on or before September 1, 2026, and ready to join the Bethel Public Schools family?     If the answer is yes, please complete the registration process for your child to attend kindergarten in the fall.  Please see the info below for our process.  Kindergarten Registration for the 2026-2027 school year is open! To access the kindergarten registration site, go to our district website, www.bethel.k12.ct.us, scroll down, and click on the “Registration Information & Procedures” quicklink in the center of the page (in the blue box). Click on the link BPS Pre-Registration Form K-12. There you will fill out and submit a short form to begin the online process to formally register your child for kindergarten. Please be sure to choose the 2026-2027 school year. At the completion of your online registration, an email will be sent to confirm that the parent portal account has been created AND all of the online enrollment forms have been filled out. At this time, we anticipate that in-person appointments will take place in March & April (no registration appointments will take place until all of the online registration is complete). This appointment will take approximately 15 minutes as long as all of the required paperwork is provided. Students do not need to attend this appointment with their parents. Parents/guardians will be contacted using the email provided during online registration to make a kindergarten screening appointment, which usually takes place at the end of May. More information will follow on this step of the process. If you are a parent of a current Circle of Friends student, you do not need to complete the online registration. Kindergarten registration instructions will be sent home with your child.  If you have any questions about the process or need help, please contact the District Registrar at (203) 830-7355. 2026-2027 How to Register for Kindergarten   Call for Volunteers: Post-Prom Planning Committee We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make Post-Prom 2026 a safe, fun, and memorable event for our students! Prom is May 8, and planning is already underway—we’d love your help in the weeks and months leading up to the event. Post-Prom is a long-standing and much-loved tradition, but it can only continue with the support of parent and community volunteers. Having enough volunteers is essential in order to plan, prepare, and run the event successfully—we truly can’t do it without you. We are especially seeking volunteers to serve on the Post-Prom Planning Committee in the following areas: Fundraising – helping plan and run fundraising efforts Raffles – securing and organizing donations; and/or assembling and wrapping prizes for presentation Decorating – planning and setting up décor for the event Committee members will be involved between now and prom, attending meetings and taking an active role in the planning and preparation of Post-Prom. No experience is necessary—just a willingness to help and be part of a great team! This is also a wonderful opportunity for junior parents to get involved, gain experience, and learn the ropes before their students attend prom next year. Interested? Please complete the volunteer interest form below: https://forms.gle/zuaUTPYaEaa2McRL9 Thank you for supporting our students and helping make Post-Prom a success!     Updated Charge Policy for School Meals CHARGE POLICY FOR SCHOOL MEALS We recognize the fact that things happen, lunches or lunch money get left behind, parents get busy and forget to replenish the money in their child’s account. All sorts of things can and do happen that result in a child needing to charge a meal and we allow for that in our policy. No child will be publicly identified or shamed for any unpaid meal charges, including, but not limited to, delaying or refusing to serve a meal to such child, designating a specific meal option for such child, or otherwise taking any disciplinary action against such child. Each child has the right to obtain one breakfast and one lunch each school day. To facilitate payment in advance for school meals, the District uses the My School Bucks program located at www.myschoolbucks.com, an automated prepayment system which allows parents/guardians to make deposits to their student’s meal account, view their student’s meal account balance and purchases, and receive low balance notifications. Automated payments may take up to 24 hours to post to your student’s account. Payment by cash or check may also be made to each school’s Food Service staff. The following applies to students with a zero or negative balance in their food service account: Elementary Students: For 2025-2026, a charged meal will accrue to the student’s meal account at the cost of a regular meal, $2.50 breakfast / $3.40 lunch. Students approved for reduced price meals will accrue charged meals at a cost of $0.00 breakfast/$0.00 lunch for school year 2025-2026. Middle and High School Students: A charged meal will accrue to the student’s meal account at the cost of a regular meal, $2.50 breakfast / $3.75 lunch for 2025-2026. Students approved for reduced price meals will accrue charged meals at a cost of $0.00 breakfast/$0.00 lunch for school year 2025-2026. Unfortunately, children charging meals without restriction can become a serious problem. Large individual negative balances can be created, and the State Department of Education requires that these balances be settled. In an effort to curb this issue, the following restrictions apply: Snacks, drinks and other a la carte items: Children are never allowed to charge snacks, drinks or other a la carte items. Those items must either be paid for in cash or applied against a child’s account that has money on it. A child will not be allowed to charge those items to an account with a zero or negative balance. Weekly emails will be sent to parents or legal guardians of students with a negative balance in their food service account requesting reimbursement for these charged meals. Prompt repayment is expected. If a student’s unpaid meal charges equal or exceed the cost of 30 meals, the parent or guardian will be referred to the District’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Liaison. We understand that these are challenging economic times and if you are experiencing financial difficulties, there are applications for Free & Reduced meals as well as information regarding the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) available at the Bethel Board of Education Office, One School Street, Bethel, CT 06801 and on our website Foods & Nutrition - Bethel Public Schools . Also, there are Social Services personnel available in each school. The End Hunger CT! organization provides a SNAP outreach call center at 866-974-7627 to assist families in applying for as well as maintaining eligibility for SNAP benefits. Also, the Town of Bethel Social Services can be reached at (203)794-8537. Information regarding available social services including local food pantries can also be found on the Bethel Social Services website at www.bethel-ct.gov/social-services.   BPS Instagram BPS Facebook   Schools & Community Bethel Public Schools Flyers Bethel Community Flyers   Non-Discrimination Statement

Friday, Feb 06 2026

BPS Newsletter 1/30/2026

Bethel Public Schools Superintendent's Weekly Newsletter January 30, 2026 Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center Bethel Board of Education 1 School Street Bethel, CT 06801 (203) 794-8601 www.bethel.k12.ct.us     Administration Offices Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8601 Business Office Office Hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8604   District Calendars / Schedules   Dr. Carver's Message Christine Carver, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Bethel Public Schools carverc@bethel.k12.ct.us Dear BPS Families, As we move forward with our AI Literacy work, our goal is to help students use AI as a tool—not a shortcut. Students will continue to do their own thinking and produce their own work. AI may support them by helping them brainstorm ideas, check their understanding, organize information, or explore new perspectives. Our approach supports the Strategic Plan by teaching students how their digital actions have long-term impact and how to navigate technology safely and responsibly. It also reinforces Vision of a Learner competencies: Critical Thinkers: questioning information and verifying accuracy Collaborators: communicating clearly and using shared tools responsibly Creative Innovators: designing solutions and thinking in new ways Ethical & Engaged Citizens: making responsible decisions online Instructionally, our work is focused on helping students build the skills they need to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly. This includes teaching students how to ask strong questions, verify information, recognize bias, and understand how AI systems make decisions. We are designing tasks that require original thinking, analysis, and creativity—skills AI cannot replace. These practices strengthen the Vision of a Learner competencies and ensure students are prepared to use AI in ways that support deep learning rather than replace it. We are also piloting tools such as NotebookLM and Brisk Teaching, which help teachers differentiate instruction and free up time for direct student support. Additionally, NotebookLM will be accessible to our Bethel High School students. These pilots allow us to explore benefits while maintaining clear expectations for ethical use. Lastly, you might find it useful to review this document, AI Literacy and Guidelines. More updates will follow as we prepare for the full rollout of our K–12 AI Literacy Curriculum in 2026–2027. BPS District Dashboard Upcoming Calendar Events February 13 & 16 - Presidents' Day Recess - Schools Closed February 17 - Professional Learning Day - No School K-12 Due to the school closures on January 26th & 27th, BPS last day of school is now June 18, 2026. Please see the updated school calendar at this Link. News & Reminders 2026-2027 Kindergarten Registration Attention Families!!! Do you have children who will be 5 on or before September 1, 2026, and ready to join the Bethel Public Schools family?     If the answer is yes, please complete the registration process for your child to attend kindergarten in the fall.  Please see the info below for our process.  Kindergarten Registration for the 2026-2027 school year is open! To access the kindergarten registration site, go to our district website, www.bethel.k12.ct.us, scroll down, and click on the “Registration Information & Procedures” quicklink in the center of the page (in the blue box). Click on the link BPS Pre-Registration Form K-12. There you will fill out and submit a short form to begin the online process to formally register your child for kindergarten. Please be sure to choose the 2026-2027 school year. At the completion of your online registration, an email will be sent to confirm that the parent portal account has been created AND all of the online enrollment forms have been filled out. At this time, we anticipate that in-person appointments will take place in March & April (no registration appointments will take place until all of the online registration is complete). This appointment will take approximately 15 minutes as long as all of the required paperwork is provided. Students do not need to attend this appointment with their parents. Parents/guardians will be contacted using the email provided during online registration to make a kindergarten screening appointment, which usually takes place at the end of May. More information will follow on this step of the process. If you are a parent of a current Circle of Friends student, you do not need to complete the online registration. Kindergarten registration instructions will be sent home with your child.  If you have any questions about the process or need help, please contact the District Registrar at (203) 830-7355. 2026-2027 How to Register for Kindergarten     Call for Volunteers: Post-Prom Planning Committee We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make Post-Prom 2026 a safe, fun, and memorable event for our students! Prom is May 8, and planning is already underway—we’d love your help in the weeks and months leading up to the event. Post-Prom is a long-standing and much-loved tradition, but it can only continue with the support of parent and community volunteers. Having enough volunteers is essential in order to plan, prepare, and run the event successfully—we truly can’t do it without you. We are especially seeking volunteers to serve on the Post-Prom Planning Committee in the following areas: Fundraising – helping plan and run fundraising efforts Raffles – securing and organizing donations; and/or assembling and wrapping prizes for presentation Decorating – planning and setting up décor for the event Committee members will be involved between now and prom, attending meetings and taking an active role in the planning and preparation of Post-Prom. No experience is necessary—just a willingness to help and be part of a great team! This is also a wonderful opportunity for junior parents to get involved, gain experience, and learn the ropes before their students attend prom next year. Interested? Please complete the volunteer interest form below: https://forms.gle/zuaUTPYaEaa2McRL9 Thank you for supporting our students and helping make Post-Prom a success!   BPS Instagram BPS Facebook   Schools & Community Bethel Public Schools Flyers Bethel Community Flyers   Non-Discrimination Statement

Friday, Jan 30 2026

Update from Morning Message

Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff, This email is a follow-up to our previous communication regarding snow removal on campus. We are actively in the process of clearing snow from all school campuses. While this work is ongoing, roadways throughout the campus remain narrow. To ensure the safe movement of school buses at dismissal,  no parents will be permitted to line up on campus prior to the designated dismissal times . This policy will be strictly enforced by the Bethel Police Department. Parents of students attending Bethel Middle School, Johnson School and Rockwell School will not be allowed to line up early . If parents arrive before the designated time, they will be required to leave campus. Parents who have multiple children at different schools will have to leave campus and re-enter at the appropriate pick-up time. We will have additional police presence tomorrow to ensure traffic is flowing safely and that directions are being followed. To reiterate, no parents   will be allowed on campus for pickup until the following times: Bethel High School: Wed1/28-11:40 AM  All other days-2:10 PM Bethel Middle School: 2:55 PM Johnson, Rockwell, and Berry Schools: 3:30 PM Please also be aware that, due to narrowed roadways,  bus delays are likely  for both drop-off and pick-up during this time. For  this week only , we will allow  Bethel Middle School families to drop off students beginning at 7:30 AM  to help reduce congestion and difficulties with morning traffic. We anticipate an on-time schedule tomorrow.   We appreciate your patience, cooperation, and understanding as we work to keep our students and staff safe. Christine Carver 

Tuesday, Jan 27 2026

Updated School Schedule Today

Dear Parents, Guardians and Staff, We apologize for the change from a delayed opening to a full school closure today and for any inconvenience this may have caused families. After further assessment of campus conditions this morning, it became clear that a closure was the safest option. Significant snow accumulation on school grounds has created multiple choke points where buses are unable to pass safely. In order to address this, we need to bring in bucket loaders and additional equipment to remove large snow piles and create safer travel paths. Even with ongoing snow removal, we anticipate the need to adjust traffic patterns across campus due to the massive piles of snow. These changes are necessary to ensure the safety of our buses, students, staff, and families. We will communicate updated traffic patterns by the end of the day, as we will be meeting at 9:00 AM with the administrators and police, and we ask that you please check your email later today for those details. Compounding the issue, we do not expect significant melting due to frigid temperatures, and there is potential for additional snowfall this weekend. Given these conditions, a school closure was the only safe way to manage the situation responsibly. In an attempt to work on this issue, any student activities ON CAMPUS today are cancelled.   Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through these challenges. Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your continued support. Sincerely, Christine Carver

Tuesday, Jan 27 2026

BPS Newsletter 1/23/26

Bethel Public Schools Superintendent's Weekly Newsletter January 23, 2026 Clifford J. Hurgin Municipal Center Bethel Board of Education 1 School Street Bethel, CT 06801 (203) 794-8601 www.bethel.k12.ct.us     Administration Offices Office Hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8601 Business Office Office Hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (203) 794-8604  District Calendars / Schedules  Dr. Carver's Message Christine Carver, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Bethel Public Schools carverc@bethel.k12.ct.us Dear Parents, Guardians, and Staff, We invite you to attend an important Board of Education meeting on Thursday, January 29 at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Center. During this meeting, the Board will present the proposed 2026–2027 school year budget. This presentation is a key opportunity for our school community to learn about priorities, planned investments, and the financial decisions that directly impact our students, staff, and programs. Staying informed and involved in the budget process helps ensure transparency and allows community voices to be part of the conversation. We strongly encourage parents, guardians, and staff members to attend, ask questions, and remain engaged as this process moves forward. Your participation plays an important role in supporting our schools and shaping their future. We hope to see you there and appreciate your continued involvement and support. I am sure you are aware of the upcoming winter storm forecasted for this weekend. Current projections are predicting up to a foot of snowfall. As is often the case with storms several days out, the exact timing and total accumulation remain uncertain, as forecasting is not an exact science. For planning purposes, please be aware that I will likely send a text/email communication on Sunday regarding the schedule for Monday. At this time it looks very likely that we will not have school on Monday. I also want to share that based on past experiences with storms of this magnitude, there may be a need to adjust the schedule on Tuesday as well. Depending on when the snowfall ends, campus cleanup and snow removal efforts could require a delayed start or other schedule modification. We will let you know as soon as possible. Upcoming Calendar Events BPS District Dashboard February 13 & 16 - Presidents' Day Recess - Schools Closed February 17 - Professional Learning Day - No School K-12 News & Reminders Bethel Superintendent Search: Survey & Focus Groups The Bethel Superintendent Search Committee invites you to participate in a Survey and/or a Focus Group CABE Search Consultants working with the Bethel Superintendent Search Committee, is conducting focus groups and an anonymous survey in mid-late January. The purpose is to gauge the community’s perspectives on the qualities, experiences, and characteristics desired in a new superintendent. We encourage students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents, town officials, community organization representatives, and community members to participate. Survey: An anonymous survey will be available at this site until February 6th: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BethelSuptSearch Focus Group Schedule: Bethel Teacher: Tuesday, January 27 4:30 pm ZOOM Bethel Teacher: Thursday, January 29 6:30 pm ZOOM Non-Certified Staff: Tuesday, January 27 5:30 pm ZOOM Parent/Guardian: Tuesday, January 27 6:30 pm ZOOM Parent/Guardian: Thursday, January 29 5:30 pm ZOOM Community Member: Thursday, January 29 7:30 pm ZOOM Bethel Administrator: Friday, January 30 9:30 am Central Office Bethel High School Student: Friday, January 30 11:00 am Bethel High School  Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4381110381 Feedback from the survey and focus group data will be incorporated into a leadership profile that will guide the Bethel Board of Education in identifying high-quality candidates who best fit the needs of the Bethel Public Schools. "We encourage the community to be a part of this important process and look forward to incorporating the results of their participation into the Board's work,” said Scott Clayton, Chair of the Bethel Board of Education Superintendent Search Committee.   Teacher of the Year Nominations Open! The Teacher of the Year nomination process is open. The criteria for selecting the nominee is as follows: The nominee must have taught in the Bethel Public Schools a minimum of 5 years. The nominee should possess a superior ability to inspire learning in students. The nominee must be a CT certified teacher who has achieved tenure in Bethel and is in good standing.  The nominee must teach children at least 50% of the time. Please click on the appropriate school and complete the questionnaire to nominate a deserving teacher for this honor. You can also find the questionnaire on the BPS Teacher of the Year website. Nominations are due by January 30, 2026. Thank you for recognizing our deserving teachers. Bethel High School - 2026 Bethel Middle School - 2026 R.M.T. Johnson School - 2026 Anna H. Rockwell School - 2026 Frank A. Berry School - 2026   2026-2027 Kindergarten Registration Attention Families!!! Do you have children who will be 5 on or before September 1, 2026, and ready to join the Bethel Public Schools family?     If the answer is yes, please complete the registration process for your child to attend kindergarten in the fall.  Please see the info below for our process.  Kindergarten Registration for the 2026-2027 school year is open! To access the kindergarten registration site, go to our district website, www.bethel.k12.ct.us, scroll down, and click on the “Registration Information & Procedures” quicklink in the center of the page (in the blue box). Click on the link BPS Pre-Registration Form K-12. There you will fill out and submit a short form to begin the online process to formally register your child for kindergarten. Please be sure to choose the 2026-2027 school year. At the completion of your online registration, an email will be sent to confirm that the parent portal account has been created AND all of the online enrollment forms have been filled out. At this time, we anticipate that in-person appointments will take place in March & April (no registration appointments will take place until all of the online registration is complete). This appointment will take approximately 15 minutes as long as all of the required paperwork is provided. Students do not need to attend this appointment with their parents. Parents/guardians will be contacted using the email provided during online registration to make a kindergarten screening appointment, which usually takes place at the end of May. More information will follow on this step of the process. If you are a parent of a current Circle of Friends student, you do not need to complete the online registration. Kindergarten registration instructions will be sent home with your child.  If you have any questions about the process or need help, please contact the District Registrar at (203) 830-7355. 2026-2027 How to Register for Kindergarten      BPS InstagramBPS Facebook  Schools & Community Bethel Public Schools FlyersBethel Community Flyers  Non-Discrimination Statement

Friday, Jan 23 2026