RPS Update

In sharing these updates, our goal is to keep you informed about what matters most to you and your family. Equally important, we want to shine a light on the strength of our entire school system. We do this not only because we are proud of our schools, but because we believe it is essential for every member of our community to see our shared values in action—across all schools, all grade levels, and every stage of learning. We want you to see what is happening today, understand what lies ahead tomorrow, and envision the future we are building for your child and for all students in Ridgefield.

As we enter the FY27 budget season, those values take concrete form—in dollars, in percentages, and ultimately in a community-wide vote this May. These numbers represent more than figures on a page; they reflect our collective priorities and our commitment to educational excellence.

Like all school districts, we rely on taxpayers to support the continued growth and success of our schools. We recognize the weight of that responsibility and approach it with great care and seriousness. At the same time, we remain deeply committed to ensuring that Ridgefield’s public schools not only endure, but continue to thrive. Balancing these responsibilities is complex work—and it is work we do with intention and transparency.

I strongly encourage you to join our full-day budget meeting tomorrow, January 24, held virtually, beginning at 8:30 a.m., to gain a deeper understanding of the Superintendent’s Recommended FY27 Budget and how it impacts RPS children—now, and in the years to come. View the agenda here. You can also see background information, ask questions, and make comments on the Budget Information Site.

Finally, there seems to be a high level of confidence for Sunday’s storm- it is likely that schools will be closed on Monday. If I am able, I will announce my decision by Sunday. You can learn more about my decision-making process here. If schools are closed on Monday, we will reschedule Monday’s Board of Education meeting to a later date. Also, please save the date of Saturday, February 7, 2026, for the Board of Education Public Hearing at East Ridge Middle School at 10:00 a.m. to receive comments and recommendations regarding the Superintendent’s proposed budget.

Warmly,

Susie

Susie Da Silva, Ed.D

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

—Albert Einstein, from Jennifer Roth's email signature

On today’s episode of Ridgefield Tiger Talk, Cory Gillette joins us for a conversation with a Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) all-star panel featuring Michael McNamara, Shane Peters, Ryan Dunne, Rachael Zumbo-Penney, and Teresa Ringkamp. We dive into the department’s impressive accomplishments and initiatives from the past five years. For more details, please explore our VPA Five-Year Review and visit the RPS budget website.

RPS is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for all students, staff, and visitors. Our efforts are proactive, ongoing, and multi-layered. We follow national best practices in safety strategies and work with local and state first responders.

Last week, RPS Central Office participated in a Reunification walk through during Friday’s early release. Ridgefield Public Schools, in close partnership with the Ridgefield Police and Fire Departments, conducts regular, collaborative training to practice these protocols and ensure a coordinated community response. Families, please remember to regularly visit the Safety and Security Home Page to review your role in an emergency and important reunification information.

This week, an RPS curriculum team gave a presentation on the Math Placement Process. The presentation gives a broad overview of our math pathways at the K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 levels. Please view their presentation on the YouTube link below or here.

Those on the Math Placement Panel included:

• Jeff Corbishley, 6-12 Math and Science Supervisor
• Linda Johnson, Elementary Director
• Meg LiVolsi, RES Math Specialist
• Jamie Palladino, District Elementary Math Coach
• Deidre Savage, ERMS Math Department
• Myra Gercak, SRMS Math Department

For more specific pathways information, families can find recorded presentations on the Stay engagED page of the RPS Curriculum Website. The presentation highlighted the specific data sources and the timeline for Grades 5, 6, and 7, as well as course descriptions for all of our middle school math courses.

The Ridgefield Board of Education is seeking applicants to fill a current vacancy on the Board, term ending Nov 2027. To maintain the current party representation for this seat, the candidate must be a registered Republican and a resident of Ridgefield. Interested individuals are encouraged to submit a letter of interest and resume to the Board of Education Chair, Tina Malhotra, at tmalhotra@ridgefieldps.net by January 28, 2026, and/or notify the Ridgefield Republican Town Committee at info@ridgefieldrtc.org of their interest.

NOTE: The Budget Workshop is this Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The BOE meeting on Monday is likely to be rescheduled due to weather.

Will Dr. Liz Hannaway take home the trophy with her RHS dance team partners at the first-ever Dancing With the Ridgefield Stars event? We think yes! Find out for yourself this Saturday, January 24. at 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM) at the Boys and Girls Club of Ridgefield.

RPS Music Festivals are special evenings that give students in the fifth and eighth grades opportunities to sing and perform together and with RHS students. First is the Choral Festival on January 27 at 7 pm. Don't miss these wonderful evenings, showcasing RPS music at each level and together.

The week before the February recess (2/9-13) is We LOVE RPS week—an opportunity for our faculty and staff to share their big appreciation for each other in small ways. Stay tuned for more information on discounts at local businesses and restaurants, as well as other ways to show We Love RPS.

Please help RPS go green by checking your students' e-Backpack weekly for important information. Organizations that meet the RPS policy may submit their request for inclusion to cmelagrano@ridgefieldps.net. See new flyers from CT Pride in this week's eBackpack.

Jennifer Roth's East Ridge sixth-grade science students explored the fascinating intersection of art and science. They learned about artist and scientist Jill Pelto, who blends watercolor painting with real scientific data to raise awareness about environmental issues such as climate change.

Students made their own illustrated graphs to highlight an important real-world issue. Inspired by Ms. Pelto, students transformed the graph into a unique piece of art and wrote an artist’s statement explaining how their illustration connects to the science behind it. View some of their incredible work in these photos.

Thanks to the Ridgebury Elementary PTA, RES had a special visitor in January: Newbery Award Honoree, author Rajani LaRocca! Born in India and raised in Kentucky, Dr. LaRocca went to Harvard Medical School and worked nearly twenty years as a family physician before her first children's book was published in 2019. In just six years, Dr. LaRocca has published twenty picture and chapter books, which weave together themes of family, cultural traditions, science, and sometimes even Shakespeare! Students grades K-5 gathered for sessions with Dr. LaRocca to learn about her craft and pepper her with questions about her books, like Summer is For Cousins, Masala Chai, Fast and Slow, and Bracelets for Bina's Brothers. One curious kiddo, remembering the author's background as a doctor, even asked, 'Why do shots hurt?"

In December, RPS Update reported on a Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center program for RPS fifth and eighth graders to commemorate America's 250th by considering the Declaration of Independence. Last week, fifth graders started pulling on white gloves to handle KTM&HC artifacts from the eighteenth century to learn more about life in Ridgefield at the time of the signing. Working in groups, students guessed what tools might be used for. They looked at ledgers from Timothy Keeler's general store to see how their town went from loyal to King George III to Patriots after the Boston Tea Party and the Intolerable Acts, and how that is shown in the source material. They learned that Betty Isaac, an enslaved Black girl, was a member of the Keeler household.

With this historical context, they examined transcripts of the Declaration of Independence to consider the foundational phrases, "Unalienable rights" and "We hold these truths to be self-evident," and discussed the notion that all men were created equal. They considered the signers' perspectives—both revolutionary for their time when royalty was considered better than commoners, and narrow from ours in their exclusion of women and Black and indigenous people. They considered why George Washington might not have been one of the original signers (hint: he was on the battlefield).

This substantive program will continue across fifth-grade classes for the next couple of weeks. Thank you, KTM&HC!

Last week, Scotland Elementary fifth graders held their annual Little Doctors Blood Drive, led by teacher Cheryl Osher. Together, the SES community donated 56 pints of blood. Way to go, Scotland!!!!

The review is in, and the "bakery" in Heather Hearty's Farmingville kindergarten classroom received the highest rating. Kindergarteners across the district are learning through play in this Integrated Studies unit that channels their creativity and industriousness. District kindergarteners write signs, organize bins, use math, and write letters. In the photo on the bottom right of the grid, Library Media Specialist Marisa Sallati holds up a letter she received from a fellow book lover, "I love reading boox so do you." Read more about the program and see photos of Branchville kindergarteners at play in the November 21 issue of RPS Update.

Eighteen outstanding music students from East Ridge Middle School and Scotts Ridge Middle School have earned spots in the highly competitive Middle School Western Region Music Festival.

The Western Region Music Festival is an audition-based festival open to all middle school band, choir, and orchestra students in the western region of Connecticut, which includes 23 different school districts. Participation is an honor as the audition is extremely rigorous, representing the highest standard of middle school musical achievement in the area.

Selected students will have the unique opportunity to perform challenging and exciting repertoire under the baton of noted guest conductors. This year’s festival performance will take place on March 7 at Sacred Heart University.

We are proud to announce that the following students successfully passed the rigorous audition process and will represent Ridgefield at the festival:

• Victoria Cheng (ERMS Orchestra)

• Shae Goldstein (ERMS Band)

• Akane Gurusinghe (ERMS Choir)

• Harper Hanover (ERMS Choir)

• Hannah Hsu (SRMS Band)

• Stella Kowalski (ERMS Band)

• Katherine Kuo (ERMS Choir)

• Lena Park (ERMS Orchestra)

• Yashvi Patel (ERMS Choir)

• Natalie Pierz (SRMS Band)

• Micah Schecter (SRMS Band)

• April Steixner (ERMS Orchestra)

• Mia Steixner (ERMS Orchestra)

• Lucas Tejada (ERMS Orchestra)

• Tessie Tomforde (ERMS Choir)

• Peyton Weber (ERMS Orchestra)

• Evelyn Young (ERMS Orchestra)

• Catherine Zhuang (ERMS Orchestra)

Please join us in congratulating these dedicated young musicians on their impressive accomplishment!

On Wednesday, RHS Athletic Director Dane Street welcomed 30 coaches for an important three-hour course on Mental Health. Using the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Mental Health in Athletes module, Mr. Street led an interactive tutorial that helped coaches from fencing to football, cheer to ice hockey, track to tennis, rugby to unified sports—understand the myriad of resources available to them and their student-athletes. RHS athletics, counseling, a nutritionist, and the Whole Athlete—a mental health sports expert based at UMass Amherst, which the district has hired to consult—are just some of the many members of “Team RHS Student-Athlete”.

Mr. Street and the coaches talked about ways they help students manage stress and performance anxiety. They also touched on internal pressure, how students put stress on themselves, and external pressure, how parents, coaches, and teammates can add pressure and conflict. They discussed how sports can be a student's identity, and what might happen when a student is injured, sick, or cut from a team. They discussed recognizing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse, as well as suicide prevention. "You might be the adult who knows the student best," reminds Mr. Street. "You are not mental health experts, so always reach out if you are concerned about a student."

This Mental Health instruction, mandatory for RHS coaches this year, reflects the district's commitment to the well-being of all our students. Let the players play, coaches coach, referees ref, and enjoy high school sports, and let's go, Tigers! Many resources for athletes and families can be found on the RHS Athletics website.

Last weekend, Justin Kim, a tenth grader at RHS, and Jayden Kim, a seventh grader at East Ridge MS, played Carnegie Hall for the fourth time for their winners' recital. The brothers earned this prestigious honor by winning the Elite International Music Competition in both their solo and their duet performances. Many Congratulations!

The photo on the right shows workers at the Prospect Ridge campus site. Thank you to our town partners for all their work on this. Progress!

Holly, the ROAR-trained therapy dog, was busy this week, spreading smiles and fur throughout the district. She was an attentive listener at Barlow Mountain Elementary and a wonderful break from the stress of midterms at RHS. Midterms wrapped up this week, and the second semester is off and running. Good girl, Holly! Thank you, ROAR!

When temps dip to frigid, RPS elementary students find ways to have recess fun inside, but don't forget to pack snow gear as we go out when weather permits.

We would love to hear from you! Families and staff can submit stories, comments, or corrections to RPS Communications. Please follow us on Social Media with links below.