NORWALK, Conn. – The beginning of the school year went well, but there were glitches related to a delay in implementing new software, which hid a “fairly significant” jump in student enrollment and the need for more teachers, Norwalk Superintendent Manny Rivera said Tuesday.
The increase in students includes 43 minors who came over the United States southern border and are here with family members, Deputy Superintendent Tony Daddona said. The number of English Language Learners (ELL) has jumped, Rivera said.
There are 11,350 students enrolled in Norwalk Public Schools, which is 138 more than projected, Rivera said. “That’s a fairly significant number,” he said. The number may drop because the process of eliminating students who haven’t shown up hasn’t been done yet, he said. Accurate information will be available by Oct. 1.
The schools have shifted from the Genesis student information system to the PowerSchool student information system, he said, calling it a “major transition.”
“Typically the system gets shut down for a couple of weeks,” Rivera said. “As a result of that, there were some delays that were created, delays in our ability to get updated information on the number of students that had actually registered. That compounded with the fact that we had a significant increase in students … created the need for us to make some staffing adjustments. They were not as timely as we would have liked.”
There’s going to be a “major debriefing,” he said, to “make sure that we are taking steps down the road to complete staffing as early as we possibly can – in the ideal world, by the end of school year – and then make some adjustments. But this was almost a – I don’t like to use the term – perfect storm.”
Rivera said there are 58 new staff members, which he said he thought was more additional staff members than were added a year ago. That includes 23 middle and high school teachers and 29 new elementary certified staff, he said. Rivera plans to hire four more teachers for the Norwalk Early College Academy.
There were 140 ELL pre-K children tested since February at the ELL welcome center, Rivera said.
“Since Aug. 18, mid-August, we have tested 66 more students, of which 43 students have come to us as unaccompanied minors,” Rivera said. “A number of them from Texas and elsewhere. Interestingly enough, especially at the secondary level, there are least 28 children who missed one, or even more than one year of schooling. So we have a challenge, not only to make certain they are getting the proper instruction in terms of English Language development but also meeting their academic needs as well.”
There’s going to be a meeting to discuss what needs to be done, he said.
Board of Education member Mike Barbis asked for information about the 43 minors, and was told by Daddona that they are staying with relatives who are not necessarily legal guardians.
“I believe this is impacting cities across the country,” Rivera said.
That didn’t sit well with Jack Chiaramonte.
“The government is not giving us any dollars for this, are they? The tax burden is on us?” Chiaramonte said.
“It’s our responsibility to educate them as we roll them into our schools,” Rivera said.
“That’s great,” Chiaramonte replied.
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