Danbury Superintendent Retires After 50 Years An Educator

Danbury CT

28 June, 2021

1:09 PM

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DANBURY, CT —Sal Pascarella will begin his retirement after 15 years as Danbury School Superintendent on June 30. He called the moment "bittersweet." "Dr. Sal" said his new schedule will enable him to spend more time with his family in Long Island and Connecticut, while still continuing to teach graduate students at nearby Sacred Heart University and Western Connecticut State University. He began his career teaching science and health in elementary school 50 years ago. The Board of Education announced on Wednesday that Assistant Superintendent Kevin Walston will temporarily lead the district until a permanent replacement for Pascarella can be found. Reflecting upon his most recent and most trying year in the business, Pascarella said the biggest curveball thrown his way during the coronavirus pandemic was its length. "I thought we'd be back sooner than we were." That may have just been wishful thinking. The Danbury Public Schools District was upended more than most in southwest Connecticut as it struggled to bring students back into classrooms even under a hybrid model, following a spike in COVID-19 infections that wouldn't subside. "What people don't realize is that instruction was incredibly difficult for my teachers," Pascarella said. "We all thought when we left last year that we would all be back in September." Many residents are also unaware of how vital a link the schools are in the food security for many in the city. There are many students who rely upon them for up to three meals a day. Under Pascarella's direction, the district turned to buses to help in the food delivery. "We kept trying to find creative ways to keep our people intact, hoping we bring everybody back." See Also: Retiring Redding Principal Offers Advice: 'Continue The Fight' The pandemic was especially "tough on families and kids," Pascarella said. The new technical systems that had to be mastered almost immediately were tough on everybody else. "The technology... every day keeping the platforms working... all of that was quite the ordeal," Pascarella remembered. Next year will be different. Students are set to return to school in-person and full-time in September, "and the kids will have their clubs after school," Pascarella said. If the pandemic was good for anything, it was the resources that it brought into the district. Some funding will be used to hire more teachers to accommodate an expanded schedule, as Pascarella had to add another period to the day as a means to cope with a growing student population. He is adamant about keeping class sizes at 24 students or fewer, but knows the geometry is not on his side. During a City Council meeting in April, Pascarella said he anticipates class sizes in the existing school system will continue to grow until the new career academy at the Summit development can take on some students. The school will teach students in grades 6-12, and is likely to open August 2024. The new school "is a wonderful thing," Pascarella said, "but it's going to be a resource challenge." Ultimately the $99 million career academy will educate 1,400 students, and teachers and staff will be phased in as needs merit. Pascarella said that the interim prospect of larger class sizes, and having to scale back on some of the high school's comprehensive course offerings, was "worrisome." "It's easy to cut, but you can't cut your way to success," Pascarella said. But as school budgets in neighboring towns continue to balloon, Danbury has kept its education costs on a tight leash. The superintendent said he has been fortunate to score a number of grants to offset the belt tightening, in order that Danbury schools might "keep moving ahead." See Also: Easton-Redding-Region 9 School Superintendent Resigns Pascarella was particularly proud that Danbury schools have won several "Schools of Distinction" accolades from the state despite budget constraints, an achievement "only rivaled by the Greenwich's of the world." Pascarella said that the internships offered to students attending the career academy will be "the big difference." They will help students focus on what they want to do after high school "get a certificate, go to a 2-year college or attend a 4-year college." The majority of people who leave college after four years are finding they don't have the right skills to succeed, according to the superintendent. They are returning to college to get their masters or some different, more marketable skills. "What I was trying to do is give our kids a head start, based on 'look what's out there, look at the economy.'" Much of the coursework at the school will focus upon industries prevalent in the Danbury area, Pascarella said. The new academy, as well as new career-focused coursework at DHS, will give students a "number of platforms" to approach post-high school life. "We're ahead of the curve on this," he said.