Wednesday Sept 25, Salisbury Central School, Sharon Center School and North Canaan have changed to an early dismissal day( a half day) to accommodate training of teachers set up by the Assistant Superintendent in conflict with the regular school schedule. Kent Center School and the Housatonic are not participating on that date. In Kent the Kent Board of Education is allowing students to be dismissed for a half-day so teachers can attend professional development but the principal was not sure exactly what day it will be. Principal Florence Budge requested the authorization last 
Thursday for early dismissal for Sept. 20 or Sept. 30. She said she had asked Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves for an alternate date for the presentation on the “student learning objectives,” which are part of the new teacher evaluation system. The rest of the region is training on Sept. 25 and that is not a good date for Kent Center School, Budge said.
See video of the Salisbury Central School Board Of education meeting on the half-day by clicking the link below.
Not sure why this training wasn’t already put into place, maybe during PD days, considering other districts around the state are currently or have already trained their teachers. Why is there already a disruption during the school year? Oh wait-it’s because the administration is too busy licking its wounds to pay attention to what’s really important-quality instruction and student learning.
You watch, the principal in kent will be history soon.
Perhaps the confusion arises because the Assistant Superintendent didn’t plan appropriately and in a timely fashion, let’s say in the late winter or early spring at the latest for this all important training. It probably didn’t help that she was often gone, from what I hear, from the time school got out until just before school started. The cost in money and teacher time away from the classroom for training that she should be doing, at least in part, is enormous and unnecessary if she was approaching her job in the proper manner. Oh, but wait, her previous background, from what I hear, wasn’t focused on curriculum and/or professional development!
But she did make sure to provide, as I understand it, to all those who attended the teacher first day get-together at the high school a tearful tribute to the superintendent for being in the region for 25 years and “arranged” for someone from each school to say kind words about the superintendent!
Exactly what was described to me also.