AvonPublic Schools

12 August 2022

Summer Greetings Avon Public School Families and Staff,

It is my sincere hope that this email finds you enjoying the summer with your families and friends. Our school and district administrators and support staff have been working hard throughout the summer in preparation for the start of school later this month.

Over the next few weeks, you will begin to receive important information regarding the opening of schools. I want to highlight a few important items briefly for all families:

On August 18, 2022, all student schedules and class assignments will be released to families from your respective schools. This information can be found by accessing the parent portal in Powerschool, the student Powerschool portal for AMS and AHS students, and through direct communication from RBS, PGS, and TBS.

We have received draft bus routes from Speciality Transportation for the upcoming school year. These routes may be adjusted in the coming weeks based on additional student registrations. Please visit the following website to see the draft routes which will be finalized on August 19th. (http://www.infofinderi.com/ifi/?cid=STI4DVDGA581)

We have received updated guidance from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, State Department of Education, and Office of Early Childhood regarding Operational Strategies for the reopening of schools this fall which our district administrative team is reviewing.

We will also consult with the Farmington Valley Health District regarding any requirements and recommendations and will share specific information in a separate communication to all families and staff next week. As of now, the guidance is nearly the same as it was at the end of last school year (masks optional, test kits available, quarantine if ill, etc.).

We recently received updated information from the State Department of Education regarding the free school meals program. Please click on the link below to access a letter from our Director of Nutrition Services, Maggie Dreher, regarding this update for the 2022-2023 school year. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sXWIEvCWcAlYgO8mbOCJIb5JcLA77eBvVyImNJfbSDQ/edit?usp=sharing)

We have completed a number of facility projects, including carpet replacements at TBS and RBS, parking lot paving at PGS, HVAC upgrades at AHS, painting districtwide, and continued making upgrades to building security measures, including additional “lockdown” buttons, rekeying of interior and exterior doors, and adding electronic locks. Likewise, we once again completed a physical threat assessment in partnership with our Avon Police Department at each building and updated our safety/security plans.

We have prepared our brand new Chromebooks for students in grades 2 and 5; set up a new Mac Lab at the high school to enable courses such as Music Technology and Digital Photography; installed access points to increase the connectivity and stability of internet access throughout our buildings and worked through the summer to ensure our students are equipped in an ever-advancing technology society.

We have finalized the hiring of thirteen certified staff members and an additional twelve non-certified staff members. We continue to interview candidates for several certified and non-certified positions and will be commencing the interview processes for our assistant principal vacancies at AHS and AMS next week.

We are working diligently to put the final touches on our facilities and programming for the upcoming school year and look forward to returning to school, reuniting with returning students and families, and welcoming our newest families and students to our school communities.

For the first time since August 2019, I can send you this letter with untempered optimism for a fantastic school year ahead. As much as I am a fan of hot sunny days to steal whatever time I can to be outdoors, I am excited to reopen and start a new leg of our journey together. I look forward to seeing all of our staff return on August 25 and students on August 29.

Happy New Year,
Bridget H. Carnemolla
Bridget Heston Carnemolla, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools