Wilton Public Schools Postpone Parent-Teacher Conferences

Two days next week have been changed from half days to full days for Wilton Public Schools, as officials focus on returning to normalcy after Hurricane Sandy caused six days of school cancellations.

"Monday, Nov. 19 and Tuesday, Nov. 20 will now be full instructional days for students," Dr. Gary Richards, superintendent of schools, wrote in a message posted on the district website. "Originally these days were to be shortened days with parent-teacher conferences scheduled for the afternoon. The decision to conduct full school days on Nov. 19 and 20 was made in an effort to reduce disruption to the school calendar that resulted from the cancellation of six days of school from Oct. 29 through Nov. 5."

Richards said that the three remaining conference days this week will still allow teachers to hold two-thirds of the scheduled parent-teacher conferences, and the remaining parents whose conferences were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of next week will be allowed to reschedule them in the coming weeks.

According to the announcement, the teachers of students in pre-school, Cider Mill and Miller-Driscoll will contact parents directly to reschedule. Middlebrook parents are encourage to contact their child's guidance counselor to reschedule.

"We greatly appreciate the professionalism of our teachers in working with us to make the adjustments to our calendar in response to the weather-related school closures," Richards wrote. "These past few weeks have been difficult ones for everyone and we greatly appreciate your patience and support as we all deal with the challenges we have experienced as a result of the storm." 

Patch columnist Heather Borden Herve addressed this issue last week in her "From the Driver's Seat" column where she strongly encouraged the district to reschedule parent-teacher conferences as a way to allow students and teachers to make up for instructional time lost due to Sandy.