Superintendent: HALS earns Blue Ribbon; district highlights meals, mental-health supports and enrollment update
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Sanders told the New Britain Board of Education on Nov. 3 that the district has positive school-performance news and ongoing family supports.
Superintendent Dr. Sanders told the New Britain Board of Education on Nov. 3 that the district has positive school-performance news and ongoing family supports.
"We continue to, I believe, rightfully celebrate the blue ribbon status for HALS," Dr. Sanders said, noting that Smalley and Chamberlain School have joined North End in being removed from the state—s turnaround status. He attributed the changes to sustained work by teachers, administrators, paraeducators and central office staff.
Dr. Sanders reminded the board that the district provides free breakfast and lunch every day that a student attends school and urged families to consult district communications for mental-health resources. He reported incremental improvements in transportation and thanked partners at First Student for management changes intended to improve service.
The superintendent said he had just come from the district—s first family field trip hosted by Hartford Hospital/Hospital of Central Connecticut and thanked Gina Cohen, regional president, for the event. The trip was presented to families to highlight local career opportunities beyond clinical roles.
On college access, Dr. Sanders noted New Britain High School—s UConn Early College Experience program: "last year, 560 high school students got some kind of college credit." Board members and staff praised the program as an important student opportunity.
On enrollment, district staff reported the main enrollment figure was down by six students, while pre-K enrollment rose by 66. Dr. Sanders described testing an AI technique for enrollment projection using Google—s Gemini (the —deep research— feature), which produced a projected increase of about 61 students next year; he contrasted that with the typical $8,000 cost for a third-party projection and said he would share the AI results with the board for discussion.
No members of the public registered to speak during the public participation period. The board moved on to routine business after the superintendent—s remarks.
