Board workshop refines goals; highlights new website, ParentSquare integration and AI in curriculum planning

Board members and district staff used a workshop format to revise the East Haven Board of Education's 2025–26 goals and identify operational priorities for the year, including recognition of retirees and tenure, greater visibility for elementary school programming, refinements to ParentSquare communications, and the public rollout of the district's new website and integrated features.

On staff recognition, multiple board members said the district should formally recognize retirements and long service. One board member suggested bringing retirees into a single year-end board meeting and offering a brief public blurb about their service. Board members also discussed reinstating more frequent school showcase presentations so elementary schools, as well as middle and high, can present in standalone slots at board meetings.

Communications and digital tools featured prominently. Staff described ParentSquare as implemented districtwide but still being refined; the board directed language changes for goals from "full implementation" to "refine ParentSquare" and to treat the website as "maintain and refine." The district launched a new domain, easthavenschools.org, and demonstrated a new SmartSite-based site that integrates calendars, newsletters and ParentSquare feeds. Presenters noted the site is mobile-responsive, offers automated translation in the top-right language selector, and includes an option to contact staff through a secure form rather than exposing direct email addresses.

District presenters said early metrics show 26,840 hits on the home page since launch. They also showed early integration of the athletics calendar with statewide listings and a placeholders for college-and-career pathway pages that will be built out with recommended courses and dual-enrollment information.

Two web developers, Randall Osborne and Jake Longley, showed how ParentSquare posts can populate the site and how smart alerts and banner messages can surface time-sensitive information districtwide. The district also noted a feature to allow staff-only secure logins to house professional-learning pathway materials and archived training resources.

The board and staff discussed a real-time solar monitoring feed for Tuttle Elementary School: presenters said panels were activated in June and the site will show live and cumulative production figures for the district's rooftop installations.

Artificial intelligence and curriculum planning came up across multiple agenda items. Board members suggested keeping AI work under the broader technology objective instead of singling it out, while noting the district has a study group exploring AI and a desire to frame curriculum around "vision of the graduate" attributes that emphasize skills computers cannot replace (complex problem solving, critical thinking and applied skills). Staff proposed adding language to the curriculum objective to emphasize "authentic development and application of vision-of-the-graduate attributes," tying AI planning to curriculum review and professional learning.

Other operational topics discussed included facilities, enrollment projections and building utilization. Board members requested revisiting a population/enrollment study completed about two years earlier (a 20-year projection), and asked staff to compare the study's projections against recent housing approvals and actual enrollment data. The board also discussed custodian contract constraints that currently require faculty to leave buildings when custodians finish their shift; members noted the constraint arises from the custodial contract and that changing it would affect overtime costs.

Staff committed to circulate revised goal language and one-page summaries for board review prior to the next regular meeting and to bring samples from the AI working group and policy work at the next policy workshop.