Norwalk School District lays out 2025 extended school year schedule, eligibility and sites

Norwalk School District administrators presented details of the district’s 2025 Extended School Year (ESY) program at the special education curriculum subcommittee meeting on March 18, describing who is eligible, how eligibility is determined, daily schedules and site assignments, and the registration and staffing timeline.

Veronica Lenzen, one of two education administrators for specialized learning and student services, said ESY is “special education or related services that are provided to a student with an IEP when school or preschool programs are not in session over the summer,” adding the program’s “primary purpose … is to prevent loss of skills.” Hannah Cohen, special education administrator for related services, said related services (speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling and behavioral instruction) are reviewed using the same criteria when teams determine ESY eligibility.

The subcommittee was given the district’s eligibility considerations, which staff said focus on whether a student will lose skills or behaviors tied to IEP goals, how long it would take to recoup losses, whether a break would substantially reduce the student’s chance of learning a critical skill, and whether the student is at a critical age for mastering independence or self-sufficiency. Staff described a target group that includes students with severe disabilities (for example, autism, intellectual disability, degenerative impairments or multiple disabilities), while stressing that all students are considered individually.

For 2025 the district announced ESY will run June 30 through July 31, Monday through Thursday. Administrators presented site assignments and daily schedules for different grade bands: pre-K students recommended for ESY are scheduled to remain in their usual pre-K settings (NECC or their regular elementary building) with hours listed as 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. K–5 Summer Academy sites were reduced to five locations this year with most K–4 sessions running roughly 8 a.m.–12 p.m.; some sites and classes have 9 a.m.–1 p.m. schedules. Middle school (grades 6–8) ESY programs run on a four-hour day focused on academic and life-skills blocks; high school (rising grades 9–11) programming includes transition and vocational practice and has a longer day at some sites to accommodate travel and job-site experiences. Park Street will house the district’s transition program with a 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. day, staff said.

Administrators walked the committee through a sample K–4 schedule (90-minute instructional blocks with pull-outs for specialized instruction), a separate K–5 specialized schedule for some classes, and a middle- and high-school schedule that includes social-emotional learning, writing prompts, math, weekly life-skills activities and (for high school) mock interviews, job applications and work in the district’s pays lab. Veronica Lenzen described the PACE lab (named in the meeting as “Practical Assessment Exploration System”) as a task-card vocational training environment for upper‑grade students.

Staff said ESY eligibility is finalized at Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meetings, typically at the annual review, with mid‑May as the district’s target for completing eligibility determinations. Registration forms will be sent to families of eligible students so the district can confirm attendance, transportation needs and staffing; class lists and bus runs are created in early June, supplies are ordered in late June, and professional learning for summer staff is scheduled in late June. Administrators emphasized ESY is voluntary: families may decline enrollment (for example for travel), and staff will offer suggestions to support students whose families opt out.

Committee members asked about whether general education students attend summer programs alongside ESY students; administrators said many general education students (primarily K–3) attend Summer Academy at lower grades, while ESY remains a separate, individualized program. The committee also asked about fees: staff said ESY has no fee; credit-recovery summer school (a separate program) may have different rules that were not detailed by the presenters.

The meeting record shows the subcommittee approved the committee minutes from April, October and December as a single motion with abstentions recorded for the April minutes. The meeting adjourned after the ESY presentation and questions.

Next steps listed by administrators: finalize ESY eligibility at PPTs by mid‑May, send registration forms to eligible families, produce class lists and transportation plans in early June, deliver supplies in late June and hold staff training before the program starts.