March 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM - Bethel Board of Education Regular Meeting

Rationale:  During the month of March, we would like to take a moment to recognize and thank the members of the Board of Education for their dedicated service to our schools and community. School board members volunteer countless hours to thoughtfully review policies, oversee budgets, and make important decisions that support student learning and district success. Their leadership, commitment, and willingness to serve help ensure that our schools remain focused on providing high-quality educational opportunities for every student. We are grateful for their continued partnership, thoughtful governance, and steadfast support of our students, staff, and families.

Update from our Athletic Director, Mark Caron:

Our boys indoor track team won the SWC championship for the 4th season in a row and won a state championship for the first time since 2010.    The boys program also won the SWC sportsmanship award.

The BBDI hockey team won the division III SWC/SCC league championship and currently is in the 2nd round of the state tournament.  Bethel's Drew Luchsinger was selected as the SWC/SCC tournament's most valuable player.

Our girls basketball team made it to the SWC championship game this year and is playing tonight in the second round of the state tournament.

The boys basketball team earned a SWC and CIAC tournament bid this year and will host a 2nd round state tournament game tonight vs. St Joseph's.  The boys had two players reach the 1000 pt milestone this year ( Victor Oloke and Elliot Hellmann)

Bethel Boys basketball players were recognized  by the league Elliot Hellman, All Colonial, Victor Oloke, All Conference, and Larsen Ackerman, Honorable Mention.  

Bethel Girls basketball players were recognized by the league:
Vivian Stweart - All Conference
Sienna Troetti - Honorable Mention
Kyla Huedepohl & Hayden Chrzescijanke - All Colonial 

Cheerleading competed in SWC's and states this year and won the sportsmanship award for the SWC.


The BHS Debate Team did very well this past weekend. The varsity team of Radha Sinha and Trisha Sharma placed 3rd overall!  They went undefeated for the first time and qualified for the State Championships!  Avni Shah and Peter Gardella came in 8th, Aidan Badia and Seamus Knauff placed 12th, and Max Salvestrini and Shravya Mankala placed 15th.  As individual speakers, Aidan placed 7th, Peter was 12th, Joey Corigliano placed 13th, Seamus was 14th, Trisha was 16th, and Radha was 19th.  In the Novice division, Arnab Karmokar and Pranav Ramanathan placed 20th.  Overall, a great showing!  Bethel will be hosting the State Championship on March 28th.

BHS NJROTC Cadets Adhwaitha Devasani, Akhil Sharma, Joe Sacchinelli, and Luke have won 2^nd place in the BRAIN BRAWL championship for Area One on Mar 7^th(Sat) happened in New London. Congratulations to the Cadets & BHS NJROTC for this significant achievement.
 

Toshan participated in the Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair 2026, held at Quinnipiac University during the week of March 9-14, where he received a few awards, as outlined below.

Project :

Fleet for Localized Atmospheric Research and Environmental Surveillance (FLARES): Autonomous drones and machine learning working for a cleaner environment.

* Infosys Foundation Computer Science Awards --- Senior High Finalist - Medallion

* University of New Haven Scholarship Awards --- $120,000, 4 year scholarship ($30,000 per year) to University of New Haven for exemplary 11th grade project. 

* Air and Waste Management Association, Connecticut Chapter --- $100 Senior, Environmental Research, air pollution

He has also developed an application version of his work and is eager to further his efforts by participating in the Congressional App Challenge 2026, representing District 5.

Wildcats111 - Riley Lambert, Max Salvestrini, and Braydon Capone have advanced to the Final 8 of the Connecticut Personal Finance Challenge in Person State Finals.  

 

Rationale:  The Bethel High School Physical Education department received a donation of 50 ball hockey sticks, 30 ball hockey balls, 4 nets, and 1 equipment bag (total donation: $500).  The donation was made by New York Rangers, LLC. The PE department will use this donation to enhance the indoor floor hockey unit.

Rationale:  Email from Jane Gangi - 2/26/26
Email from Jane Gangi - 3/16/26
Email from Jane Gangi - 3/17/26
Letter from CAIR Connecticut - Recongition of Muslim holiday 

Rationale:  (Please note:  The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 2 minutes.  Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them.  The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Bethel Public School System.)

Rationale: 

1. Legislative Updates — Education bills to support and to be concerned with. Please see attached.  
2. K-Waiver & Communication 
3. Voluntary Parent Reading Survey 
4. Workspace Furniture 
5. Federal Updates - CAPSS 
6. Electric Bus Meeting with First Student 
7. OG training for elementary staff 
8. Action by Board of Finance 
9. Important dates moving forward Public Hearing 3/24/2026 & Town Meeting 4/7/2026
10. Spring Musical (Chicago) is the weekend of March 20, 21 and 22nd  
11. STEAM Expo 4/22/2026 (Earth Day)
12. Connecticut Workforce Summit: Career Pathways April 2nd (taking team)
13. Representing CAPSS  Professional Learning Cycles April 9, 10 and 11.  All expenses paid by CAPSS.  
14. Leading Transformational Learning Conference CAPSS - March 19th
15. Annual Parent and Educator Survey, April 2026
16. State Department of Education Memo on SB 298 (see attached) 
17. Health Insurance Update
18. Webinar - A Seismic Shift: How Enrollment Declines & Spikes in Property Wealth are Impacting ECS Grants:

• Webinar Recording

• Webinar Slides

• Spreadsheet Breaking Down Change in Town ECS Grants

• Comparison of HB 5002 and SB 7, Including Town ECS Grants

• One-Pager on ECS Data Changes & District Impacts

• Excess Cost Update & Analysis for 2025-26 School Year
  
   

 

Rationale:  Monthly Data  -  We include in the BOE agenda the monthly data as requested by the BOE.  

Rationale: 

• We updated the art curriculum to reflect the 2014 National Core Arts Standards which require students to create, respond, present, and connect to their art.

• The following is the BHS art curricula being brought forward for approval:

  • Art II

  • Drawing I

  • Printmaking

  • Craft Design

 

• Our Vision of a Learner competencies are embedded within the curricula

• We have created enduring understandings and essential questions which address the National Core Arts Standards

• Performance tasks are provided to students which help inform our teaching practices.

Rationale: 

• We are proposing a new book for the AP Art History course at BHS, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, 15th Edition: A Global History by Fred S. Kleiner

• The book is approved by College Board and was chosen for several reasons including:

  • Comprehensive and beautifully illustrated  towards the global perspective and artistic traditions required for the AP exam. 

  • Easy to read and comprehensible toward the covered periods and geographical locations 

  • Incorporates new artists and art forms

  • Includes big picture overviews at the end of each chapter

  • Directly aligns with a set of 4 teacher created study guides that are an integral part of the course.

• Cost breakdown:

 

Quantity	Unit Price	Total
20	$225.75	$4,966.50 (includes shipping)

Rationale: 

• We are bringing forward the Honors Pre Calculus 31 and the College Prep Pre Calculus 42 curricula for approval.

• Both curricula address the same units (Units 1-3), however, the Honors Pre Calculus 31 units address a wider scope, greater depth, more intensive pace, and also includes additional units (Units 4-5): 

  • Unit 1- Polynomial Functions and Rational Functions

  • Unit 2- Exponential Functions and Logarithmic Functions

  • Unit 3- Vectors and Matrices

  • Unit 4-Trigonometry & Polar Equations

  • Unit 5-Introduction to Calculus

• Students use problems-solving and critical-thinking skills that support our Vision of a Learner.

• Our Honors PreCalculus 31 course provides students the opportunity for an Early College Experience (ECE) which earns them 3 credits from WCSU if they enroll and successfully complete the course.

We use the approved textbook, PreCalculus: Graphical, Numerical and Algebraic, to support our curriculum from both courses.

Rationale:  As indicated in my March 8th Update to the Board of Education, attached is an overview of the descriptions of how the DRIP funding works and its intended purpose.  As I stated in my email, the Board needs to either create:

• A formal Board of Education motion approving the projects for the year, or

• Authorization for the Superintendent to use the funds for the intended purposes with an annual reporting procedure (recommended).  
  
   

Rationale:  As indicated in my March 8th Update to the Board of Education, attached is an overview of the descriptions of how the DRIP funding works and its intended purpose.  As I stated in my email, the Board needs to either create:

• A formal Board of Education motion approving the projects for the year, or

• Authorization for the Superintendent to use the funds for the intended purposes with an annual reporting procedure (recommended).