Dear Learning Community:

The start of the school year brings great expectations! We feel excitement about new opportunities, anticipation about fresh starts, hopefulness for success and positivity for the future. It is with this spirit of jubilance and enthusiasm that I welcome back all of our families, faculty, staff and administration to the 2019-2020 school year.

I believe this year will bring joyful learning experiences, commitment to best practices in all that we do, innovation that meets the unique needs of our children and a relentless focus on success for all of our students. I believe this is possible because of the unwavering dedication that you have demonstrated in ensuring the best opportunities for our children.

On August 29, 2019 the yellow buses will roll, the school bells will ring, and more than 18,500 students in grades 1 through 12 will report to school for the 2019-2020 academic year. The approximate 3,000 Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students will begin their new learning experiences on the following days:

Kindergarten – September 3, 2019
Pre-Kindergarten – September 9, 2019 (full-day)

Our theme for the year is Focusing on the CORE - One New Haven, One Goal - Student Achievement :

Children First, Continuous Learning
One New Haven
Reimagining
Equity, Excellence, and Emotional Intelligence

This year we will continue to build on the achievements that you help accomplish on behalf of our children during the 2018 – 2019 academic year and together we will chart a course towards greater accomplishments at all levels of our school District.

We will continue to focus on our five District’s goals: Student Achievement, Talent Management and Development, Culture and Climate, Organizational Efficiencies and Effectiveness, and Family and Community Empowerment.

We are elated to announce the New Haven Public Schools New Teacher Resource Guide. The Guide is designed to ensure that teachers are equipped with the resources to prepare, plan, and provide welcoming environments, high-quality instruction, and socio-emotional supports for all of our students. We extend an invitation for all staff to view this document at www.nhps.net/TeacherResourceGuide

This year we must work collectively to strengthen our outcomes for student achievement as we are not yet where we want to be as a District. I call upon you to relentlessly support the enhancement of our instructional program, to help unify and develop coherence throughout the organization, and to support the necessary changes needed to refine and improve our systems, structures and practices.

In order to ensure that we are working as OneNewHaven on achieving our District’s goals and priorities, we will finalize our multi-year Strategic Plan, collaboratively co-create our portfolio strategy, and execute the recommendations from the curriculum audit once finalized. Additionally, we must bring to reality in every aspect of our District, a positive school and District climate and culture. We will build upon the strengths of the talent within our Learning Community and forge stronger partnerships with our extended community to continue to support our schools and students as we move New Haven Public Schools on a path of continuous improvement.

As we prepare for the first day of school, we are also mindful of the importance of student safety and the critical role we play to ensure our schools are the safest place for students and staff.

We extend an invitation to our families to continue learning about our progress and receive updates by visiting the District’s. We also encourage parents to connect with us on Facebook at New Haven Public Schools, Instagram @NewHavenSuper, or on Twitter @ NewHavenSuper.

Your Superintendent,
Carol D. Birks, Ed.D.