UPCOMING DATES

Tuesday, February 13, 2024: Board of Education Meeting (details below)

Monday, February 19, 2024: District Closed in observance of Presidents’ Day

Tuesday, February 20 & Wednesday, February 21, 2024: Winter Recess - No School

Our 2023-2024 school year calendar can always be found here: https://www.middletownschools.org/page/district-calendar

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - IMMEDIATELY

Reminder: Emergency and Weather-Related Messaging

Our mass notification system (Thrillshare) pulls all of the contact information from PowerSchool. If your staff profile doesn’t have a phone number, mobile number, and/or an email address, you won’t receive text messages, phone calls, and/or the emails regarding weather-related closures and/or delays.

If you are not receiving these notifications, please work with your school's secretary to have your contact information updated in PowerSchool. If you work in Central Office, please work with Danielle Gagnon-Smith or Mike Skott to have your information updated.

A good fail-safe method of ensuring that you will receive closing and/or delay messages is to sign up for NBC Winter Weather Alerts. We always post our weather-related closings, delays, and/or early dismissals on NBC first. If you sign up for their Winter Weather Closing Alerts, you will get a simple text message alerting you of the closure or delay. You can sign up here: https://my.textcaster.com/asa/Default.aspx?ID=651c5aed-b306-472c-9b67-8d79ecb9f5dc

ACTION REQUIRED or REQUESTED - ONGOING

New! Who are your superstars? We want to highlight them!

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna

The first part of each BOE meeting we celebrate the extraordinary things happening in our district. We are currently looking for highlights for February and March. We know you have something or someone highlight worthy in your school/office. Complete a proposal (link below) so we can celebrate them!

Proposal for a District Highlight at a BOE Meeting

New! Website Updates

If there are any updates/changes/edits to be made to your school’s website and/or the district’s website, please work with your school’s ETS and/or Danielle Gagnon-Smith. Thank you!

New! Got Good News? Share it!

Tell us something great! We all know that there are amazing things happening each and every day within Middletown Public Schools. We need your help to shine a spotlight on it all. So, when you have good news to share with our community, tell us about it! You can use this link: Share Good News Here! In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see yellow Good News flyers in our schools, around our community, and on social media. We can’t wait to share your good news!

Reminder: 2024 Black History Month - MPS Employee Spotlight

Central Office contact on this matter: Jessie Lavorgna or Dr. Waters

As part of our ongoing efforts to create inclusive schools and offices that celebrate diversity and cultivate a sense of belonging, we are seeking to highlight our employee diversity throughout the school year.

February is Black History Month. During this period of time, we would like to feature our employees who identify as African, African American, AfroLatino, Afro-Caribbean, and/or Black. If you identify as such, please consider completing this form: https://forms.gle/dQPwPrPYkEFC8eFx8

If you agree to participate in this social media feature, please complete the form by Friday, February 9, 2024. This will allow us to feature you within the month of February.

INFORMATION

New! Seed to Spork Newsletter (February Edition)

Central Office contact on this matter: Randall Mel

The Office of Food, Nutrition and Wellness would like to share our February Edition of our Community Newsletter "Seed to Spork" for all families and staff. Link: Seed to Spork: February 2024

New! FYI: Focus Group for our new Strategic Operating Plan

All Parents, Caregivers, and Community members are invited to participate in a one-hour focus group for the new Strategic Operating Plan on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. This is the information that is currently circulating regarding this opportunity: Invitation to Participate in a Focus Group for Strategic Operating Plan | Middletown Public Schools

New! Connecticut Educator Support Funds Initiative

The Connecticut State Department of Education is pleased to announce the launch of the Connecticut Educator Support Funds Initiative: Helping our Teachers with Classroom Expenses. For details about this exciting initiative, please see the full press release: Connecticut Educator Support Funds Initiative: Helping our Teachers with Classroom Expenses and share widely with your educators in accordance with your district policies. Instructions about how to apply can be found at the Connecticut Educator Support Funds Help Center on DonorsChoose.

New! 2024-25 State Board of Education Student Member Search & Application

Since July 1998, two Grade 12 public school students have been seated on the Connecticut State Board of Education. The students, who are appointed by the Governor, serve a one-year term, beginning July 1 of each year. We are now beginning the search process for the 2024-25 student Board members. For additional information regarding the search process and student application, please see Connecticut State Board of Education Student Member Application.

New! Press Release: Governor Lamont Unveils First Legislative Proposal of 2024: Eliminate Licensure Application Fees for Certain Education, Childcare, and Healthcare Workers

Governor Ned Lamont has announced that the fiscal year 2025 budget adjustment proposal that he will present to lawmakers when they meet in February to convene the next legislative session will include a recommendation that licensure application fees required for workers to obtain certain jobs in the education, childcare, and healthcare fields be eliminated. Please see the full press release here: Governor Lamont Proposes Eliminating Licensure Application Fees.

New! CT Education Forum on Literacy: A State & National Conversation

The CT Education Forum on Literacy: A State & National Conversation was held on Thursday, January 25, 2025, at the Legislative Office Building. The forum brought together educators, and state, local, and national leaders, to facilitate a dialogue, share insights, discuss opportunities, and highlight why literacy matters. The full recording of the event can be viewed here: State Department of Education Forum on Literacy.

Reminder: Awareness Days/Weeks and Holidays in February

Some upcoming dates and weeks to be aware of:

February 2024: Black History Month - Have you seen the Black History in Middletown website? (Please be aware that some items are out of date and are in the process of being updated.) https://sites.google.com/mpsct.org/black-history-in-middletown/home
February 2024: Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month
February 5 - 9, 2024: National School Counseling Week
February 10, 2024: Lunar New Year
February 11, 2024: International Day of Women and Girls in Science (More information here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/women-and-girls-in-science-day)
February 14, 2024: Valentine's Day
February 17, 2024: Random Acts of Kindness Day (Random Acts of Kindness Foundation)
February 19, 2024: Presidents' Day

Reminder: Tuesday, February 13, 2023: Middletown Board of Education (BOE) Meeting

The February Board of Education Meeting will be on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM and will be held in the Auditorium of Beman Middle School. When the agenda is available, it will be posted here: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/2423

Reminder: MPS Employee Info Site