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Superintendent's Weekly Update- November 16, 2025
Dear BPS Community,
This past Thursday, November 13th, Bristol Public Schools celebrated our Annual Friendship Feast/Celebration of Family Day by serving a home-cooked meal for staff and students. I had the pleasure of attending the feast at Bristol Central High School along with members of the Bristol Police Department. Thank you to Director David Foulds and the entire Food Services staff for your hard work in making this a memorable event for all. Thank you as well to all the volunteers who helped serve the meals.
Our BPS spirit of generosity continues this month. On November 14th, we hosted a District-Wide Food Drive to support local families in need. All donated items will be sent to food banks that directly assist Bristol families. Thank you to Erika Treannie for organizing this effort and to all who donated.
Additionally, our Student-Athlete Leadership Council is proud to present its annual Thanksgiving Day Food Drive.
On Thursday, November 27th, 2025, at the Thanksgiving Day Battle of the Bell football game, our student-athletes will be stationed at each side of the Muzzy Field entrance collecting canned goods. Kickoff is at 10:30 a.m., and our leadership council will be ready for donations beginning at 8:30 a.m. that morning. Please bring a donation, no matter how big or small, to support our local food pantries. We are proud of our students for once again leading the way in supporting worthy causes in our community.
In partnership,
Iris White
Superintendent of Schools
Reminders / Upcoming Holidays:
- Wednesday, November 26th – Shortened Day (Thanksgiving Recess)
- Thursday, November 27th & Friday, November 28th – Thanksgiving Recess
Personnel Updates:
It is my pleasure to announce that at a Special Meeting last Wednesday night, the Board of Education appointed two new supervisors in the Curriculum and Instructional Services Office.Zachary Maher – Elementary (K–5) Humanities Supervisor
Mr. Zachary Maher currently serves as Principal of Huntington Elementary School in Norwich, where he leads turnaround efforts for a school serving approximately 400 PK–5 students, including a substantially separate program for students with Autism. Under his leadership, the school implemented a comprehensive strategic plan for reading instruction, resulting in increased student performance on the Smarter Balanced Assessment in Grades 3–5 from 2023–24 to 2024–25.Mr. Maher holds advanced degrees in Educational Leadership (092) and Curriculum & Instruction, and he recently completed his Superintendent of Schools (093) certification at Sacred Heart University. His academic excellence and demonstrated success in improving teaching and learning make him an outstanding choice to lead our PK–5 Humanities program.
In his new role, Mr. Maher will oversee PK–5 ELA, social studies, multilingual curriculum, and related assessments. He will lead professional learning, coordinate Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) testing, and manage budgets, grants, and district committees connected to literacy, readiness, and summer programming.
Deborah Vitale – Instructional Supervisor of Math, Science, and Information Technology
Mrs. Deborah Vitale brings more than two decades of experience in mathematics education, curriculum design, and instructional leadership. Since 2009, she has served Bristol Public Schools as a Mathematics Coach (Grades K–5) and Technology Coordinator, leading professional learning, curriculum alignment, and technology integration. She currently serves as a 4th-grade teacher at West Bristol.Mrs. Vitale holds a B.A. in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Mathematics from the University of Puget Sound (Washington), an M.A. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Gifted Education, and an Administrator Certificate from Towson University in Maryland.
In her new role, Mrs. Vitale will lead PK–5 math, science, and PK–12 library curriculum; oversee professional learning and instructional support; manage core instructional resources; oversee the citywide library budget and software; support grants; and participate in district and regional curriculum committees.
Civics Class at BEHS:
Thank you to Mr. John Stavens and Principal Mike Higgins for inviting Food Services Director David Foulds, Assistant Director Cheryl Pellerin, and me to a follow-up discussion with the Bristol Eastern HS civics class regarding school lunch. The students initially reached out to Chair Pons by emailing their questions and concerns. Chair Pons, Vice Chair Simmons, and I then visited the class to meet with the students in person.David is preparing some new menu items for a student focus group to taste in the near future, and it has been energizing for students to see their advocacy taken seriously. We are grateful for Mr. Foulds’s openness to the students' advocacy and for his clear explanations of budget and dietary restrictions, which helped everyone better understand how school lunch is selected and prepared.
RAPID-CT Survey:
Your voice matters! The RAPID-CT Survey is available to parents with children aged six and under. A collaboration between the Connecticut Project, CT Data Collaborative, and Stanford University, this is the 7th of an 8-survey series, and the link will be live through December 8th. This survey will focus on parent and child well-being and basic needs: https://tinyurl.com/rapid-cnec.
To learn how information collected from these surveys is used to inform the state, please review the following:
Over half of CT parents struggle to afford basic needs, survey finds - CT Insider, Sept. 12, 2025
CT researchers: over half of parents with young children struggle to afford basics | fox61.com - Fox 61, Sept. 18, 2025