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Published – January 2025

In December 2024, students in Westport Public Schools (WPS) were temporarily locked down after a threat was made against the district. CT Insider reported:

“A threat that put Greens Farms Elementary School under a shelter-in-place order Friday afternoon turned out to be a swatting incident, according to police. Westport police said officers responded to the school after receiving a report of a threatening text through the Veterans Suicide Hotline that targeted the elementary schools.”

The source said WPS was one of multiple threats across the state of Connecticut. Authorities investigated the threat against Greens Farms Elementary School and found it was not credible. Police response was not large scale but officers remained stationed on campus until the end of the school day.

In unrelated news, some WPS officials were accused of permitting racism after residents and a member of the NAACP confronted the district about bullying in schools.

The Westport Journal said school board members had to “abruptly adjourn” a meeting in April 2024 after several speakers commandeered the microphone during public comment. Westport wrote, “In February, a black couple…came forward to describe a series of racial slurs directed at their daughter…and their inability to get officials to effectively address the problem.”

The alleged incidents occurred at Staples High School with classmates calling the girl a “monkey” and using the n-word when she walked through the hallways. The victim’s parents also claimed that their second child experienced verbal assaults on school grounds.

Another WPS family pulled their son out of Coleytown Middle School after they said he was victimized by antisemitic bullying. Still, another student claimed they had experienced “microaggressions from her peers.” The district responded by holding a forum to address the issues.

During the same timeframe, in April 2024 about 30 parents and residents staged a protest demanding the WPS Board of Education take action against racial bullying in schools. Superintendent Thomas Scarice maintained that the district does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of race and that WPS would continue to “fight against it.”

In response to the protest, Scarice was quoted as stating:

“The district has been committed to improving our school cultures and working to prevent misconduct such as racism, antisemitism, homophobia and any other misconduct directed at groups of students. The overall strategy in confronting these matters is to build a strong program of prevention, and to ensure that when misconduct occurs, it is thoroughly addressed.”

The district’s official “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” statement includes, but is not limited to, the following definitions:

• “By Diversity, we mean…embracing, honoring and celebrating the wide array of differences…race, age, sex, body type, gender expression, gender identity, color…”
• “By Equity, we mean…ensuring fairness within our educational community and addressing the inequalities that may exist within our historically marginalized communities.”
• “By Inclusion, we mean…sustaining a true sense of belonging and empowerment for each and every member of our educational community.”

The School Board Watchlist will continue monitoring issues in Westport Public Schools. Please send tips and updates to [email protected]. 

Published – January 27, 2022

Westport Public Schools and the Board of Education created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The committee meets to discuss issues “facing the Westport schools” surrounding DE&I. On the committee agendas, it simply says “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion discussion.”

The district also has a program called “RULER.” RULER stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, and Regulating emotion. This is the district’s approach to integrating social and emotional learning into schools. This follows a set of guidelines put forward by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. According to the district, RULER applies “hard science” to the teaching of what have historically been called “soft skills.” Social and Emotional Learning tends to focus on issues such as gender identity, transgender issues, and more.

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Westport Public Schools has 5,387 students enrolled in Pre-K through 12 across eight schools.