"Applications for Pre-K will be accepted through August 3rd. Please come in and enroll today."

Dr. Verna D. Ruffin is the new Superintendent of Schools for Waterbury. The Board of Education official named Dr. Ruffin at its meeting June 28, 2018. 

Dr. Ruffin comes to Waterbury from a position as a Chief Academic Officer for the Achievement School District in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to that position, she had served as Superintendent of the Jackson-Madison County Schools in Jackson (TN) and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Area Superintendent in Tulsa (OK) Public Schools.

We have several different summer school programs to meet the needs of our students, including some programs that are enrichment programs. Dates, times, and locations vary.

Click here to view a listing of programs or continue reading. 

Video of the Superintendent Candidates Forum held on June 19, 2018 is now available on YouTube. Click here to view. 

The 21^st Annual Back To School Rally will be held on August 22, 2018 at Library Park from 1:00pm-3pm. 

The public is invited to attend a special forum to meet the two candidates for the position of Superintendent of Schools. The forum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19th, at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School. Candidates will be introduced separately to the public, with Pamela Brown, who currently serves as chief of elementary schools in the Fontana Unified School District in California, speaking first at 7:00 p.m. and Verna Ruffin, current chief academic officer for the Achievement School District in Tennessee, speaking second at 8:00 p.m. Those members of the pubic wishing to submit a question must do so in advance prior to the forum between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m.  

Thirty-one teachers, three paraprofessionals, one administrator, and one support staff person of the year will be honored at a ceremony at Crosby High School on Thursday, June 14th, at 4:30 p.m. The Administrator of the Year and the Waterbury Teacher of the Year will be announced at that time. Continue reading this article on the next page to see the list of winners. 

For the past few months, over 2500 students in several Waterbury schools have been running parts of a marathon before or after school. In addition to practicing how to run  efficiently and how to eat healthy foods, students learned about setting and working toward goals.  The experience culminated in a “Final Mile” event held on Wednesday, May 31st. That day students came to Library Park  then paraded to the area on Grand Street between City Hall and the Chase Building, the starting point for a run  through downtown streets that finished back at Library Park.  In all, students ran the full marathon distance over the course of the program. Click here to see more photos from the event. 

Waterbury Public School students displayed their talent on May 18th during the district-wide talent showcase, "Celebrating Community Through the Arts," at the Palace Theater. Please click here to see photos of the event, along with the names of students who participated. 

There is a new Pool Registration Procedure. Every child who is going to use the pool must be registered and then have a photo taken at River Baldwin Recreation Center starting June 4, 2018 Hours for photos are 11:00 a.m. -7:00 p.m.   Monday - Friday and Saturday  10:00 a. m.  - 3:00 p.m.  There is a also a pre-registration process online at www.waterburyparksrec.com. Click on the link to create an account with all the household information.

Information in English / Spanish. 

Fifty one students received recognition during the annual Superintendent's Student Awards Recognition ceremony, held May 10, 2018 at Kennedy High School. Click here for full set of photographs and student bios from that evening. 

the Pre-K registration will continue through June 21^st.  Enrollment and placement will be determined by June 30^th.

*updated 20180517 -SOLD OUT-

Parents and friends are cordially invited to attend an evening presentation at Wilby High School on Wednesday, May 30th from 6:00 – 7:30 pm:

The opioid epidemic is a national crisis that has hit Connecticut hard.  Over 900 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016 in Connecticut and in 2017 the Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office reported a total of 1038 opioid overdoses.  In response, the Waterbury Board of Education, the Waterbury Department of Public Health, the Mayor’s Task Force Against Substance Abuse and the Central Naugatuck Valley Opioid Workgroup have teamed to invite the United States Attorney’s Office to present an educational event for our entire school community offered by the Heroin Education Action Team (H.E.A.T.).

The program will discuss the statistics and the serious problem with abuse of prescription painkillers, which many times leads users to purchase the cheaper alternative, heroin.  However, the heroin seen on the streets now is almost always laced with fentanyl, an even more potent and lethal drug which is prevalent in most overdose deaths.  In response to the spike in the number of overdose deaths in Connecticut, in 2016 the United States Attorney’s Office began prosecuting drug dealers whose drugs contributed to the death of the victim(s). 

Twenty-four Waterbury Public Schools teachers had their Donors Choose projects funded in full recently, through the generosity of Ripple, a San Francisco-based technology company who donated $29 million to DonorsChoose.org., funding every single classroom project request across the U.S. requested at that time. Here in Waterbury, 28 projects were funded, totaling $19,856. Donors Choose allows those who would like to support education on a classroom level to donate funds to projects that interest them.

Three Waterbury Public Schools teachers have been awarded grants for summer projects through Fund for Teachers.  Alison Kirchberger (Hopeville) and Doreen Lawson (Wilby) will travel to Crete, Greece (click here for their blog) to study storytelling and memoir writing, while Matthew Weiner (Enlightenment) will travel to Thailand to study meditation in a Buddhist monastery. The national Fund for Teachers granted awards to 487 teachers this year, with 149 of those teachers being from Connecticut. The Dalio Foundation funds the Connecticut projects. 

Applications are now available for students interested in Waterbury Hospital's Summer Bridge Program. The program runs from June 25 - July 27. A Maximum of 30 students will be accepted. Click here for more information. 

For the past several years, Waterbury students have participated in a district-wide Invention Convention competition as preparation for competing at the Connecticut Invention Convention. This year, 131 students participated in the district competition, with a group of these students going on to compete this Sunday in the Southern Connecticut Regional Competition at Hamden Middle School. Winners at this competition will be selected to compete at the state finals later this year.