Superintendent

The goal of the Westport Community Schools is to provide students, staff and families with a safe learning environment where students can receive the best possible educational experience and develop both the academic and social- emotional learning skills necessary for success in college, career and life.

Dear Friends,

 

I want to welcome you to our 2023 school year. 

 

As your superintendent, I am honored and humbled to lead this amazing school district for another year. When you send your children to our schools, you trust us immensely to do right by your children and our community. You are trusting that we will keep your children safe while providing them with the high-quality education that is a birthright of every child in America. 

 

Rest assured that we accept this expectation with a clear understanding that there can be no deviation or compromise from the standard above.  

 

To this end, we have made physical changes to our building to enhance the security of all school buildings. Working closely with our Westport Police and Fire Departments, we continually seek to improve our emergency operation plans while analyzing our physical plants to prevent safety threats to our school community. Equally important, our School Committee, working collaboratively with our Select Board, town manager, and police chief, set a goal that all schools will be staffed during the 2023 school year with a police officer to enhance our safety while building stronger community connections between town departments, students, staff, and families. Additionally, building leaders continue to work with school staff throughout the year in providing ALICE training and security drills to staff and students alike, as everyone entering our buildings must play a role in keeping our learning environment safe. 

 

Academically, we will continue to focus on critical initiatives to give our students their best chance of success upon graduation. This preparation starts at the early education level, focusing on improving literacy, as the correlation between grade-level literacy and future success is well-established. This focus includes introducing a new reading series at our Macomber and Westport Elementary Schools. The Wonders reading program, purchased by the district in the spring of 2022, is considered one of the best in the country. Additionally, our professional teaching staff has worked this past summer while continuing to collaborate throughout the school year to ensure that the program is being implemented with fidelity to support both vertical and horizontal curriculum alignment, which is required for high-quality teaching and learning. 

 

At the upper levels, the district is committed to providing our students with opportunities to explore technical education in a manner previously not afforded them. As the world of work and school changes, we, too, are preparing to meet these changes. To this end, we are introducing career education to our middle school students with an understanding that the earlier students become aware of the career pathways that are available to them, the more they can plan to meet their educational and career goals effectively. This expansion to our current college and career pathways will also be reinforced at the high school level, with students exploring various trade areas through the use of advanced technology, including augmented reality, to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. As many of these jobs and career pathways have yet to be created or conceptualized, our challenges are daunting. Nonetheless, we are committed to face-front the challenges that keep our students from reaching their full potential. And while the work will be difficult, we gladly accept this challenge.  

 

Finally, your participation in this endeavor is critical as we work through this journey. Please do not hesitate to communicate with our schools early and often, as the collaboration of stakeholders is essential to our mission's success. 

 

As always, thank you for your continuous support!

Regards, 

Thomas F Aubin 

Superintendent of Schools