Teachers and parents urge fixes to Canvas grading integration and demand playground at Leviton

Multiple public commenters used the board’s public-comment period to press district leaders on classroom- and school-level concerns.

Shannon McLeod (vice president of high schools for the PTU) told the board that the district’s switch to Canvas as the primary LMS and gradebook has produced mismatches with Skyward that leave teachers reconciling two systems and can produce cumulative-year grades that do not reflect later improvements. "Canvas and Skyward don't talk to each other very well," McLeod said, detailing a process where teachers must change grades in Canvas and then manually request updates in Skyward.

Carol Pagan, an instructional coach and parent representing Leviton Dual Language School, urged the board to move a long-promised playground project forward. She told the board Leviton is the only elementary school in the district without access to a city park or playground, described unsafe recess conditions on asphalt and traffic on Greenwich Avenue, and said "We are respectfully we respectfully urge the board to give us, this matter attention."

Other commenters—teachers and counselors—asked the board to revisit the frequency of mandated district assessments and described student stress tied to cumulative grading policies and required testing. Counselors reported that students who start the year poorly and improve still face low year averages, which affects middle-school applicants and student motivation.

Board members and district staff acknowledged the concerns; staff invited teachers to meet about Canvas problems, signaled they will correct slide errors in the midyear presentation and said playground and project prioritization could be elevated to the building committee and the superintendent’s office for follow-up.