Check out the new Region 20 Newsletter!

Posted on
May 22, 2023
by
First Selectman
Region 20 School Board Updates
Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Future.

Home of The Bobcats!!

Hello Region 20 Community! I am so excited to be able to keep you informed of all things Region 20 through this monthly article. Thanks so much for giving us this platform to keep you up to date with all the great things we’re working on for our students, schools and community. 

First I’d like to thank you for all of your enthusiastic participation with helping us choose our new mascot and school colors. It was such a fun way to get the community involved, and it was so inspiring to see your passion about the future of our schools! I would love to encourage you to keep it up. Community participation is vital in making sure our schools are the best they can be, and we can’t do it without you. Up next is naming our new middle and high schools, so be on the lookout for that communication coming soon. 

Another way to get involved is to come to our very entertaining board meetings. We hold Region 20 board meetings twice a month and encourage you to attend either in person or virtually. They are a great way to stay connected to our schools and learn about how things work behind the scenes. Board meeting information and minutes from past meetings are posted on our website for your convenience. https://www.townoflitchfield.org/entities/region-20-board-of-education

Secondly, I’d like to introduce myself and our board members. If this is your first time meeting us, hello! If not, it’s great to see you again! I’m Krista Rizzo, and I represent Goshen. I’m also the Communications Committee Chair, so you’ll be hearing a lot from me and the team not only here in this paper, but on all of our social media channels.Follow our pages to stay in the know! You can find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Region20CT and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/region20_ct/.  

Our Region 20 Board Members are: from Goshen: Emily Cole, Janelle Carroll and Krista Rizzo. From Litchfield: Bill Davenport, John Morosani, and Joanne Moore. From Morris: Jennifer Munson, Christine Laurentano, and Andrew Tita. From Warren: Rob DeLayo, Tiffany Parkhouse and Alexandra Papp. We are a dynamic group with a common goal that is at the forefront when we are discussing and making decisions on behalf of our students. We do not take this responsibility lightly, and are humbled to have this opportunity. Thank you for trusting us.

From day one, the board has been working on a lot of things including touring facilities, building curriculum, creating and approving policy, and so much more. There’s a lot to do over the next year, and we are committed to making it happen as smoothly as possible. 

If you haven’t heard the fantastic news, let me be the first to tell you! The current formation of the Arethusa Farm Foundation, made possible by a gift from Mr. Tony Yurgaitis, brings tears to my eyes every time I talk about it. The Foundation will make Arethusa Farm available to the Regional School District No. 6 (Region 6) for its Agriscience programs, and the Litchfield Public Schools, which as of 2024-2025 will be the new Regional School District No. 20 (Region 20).Through their generosity, our students will have an unprecedented opportunity for educational, agricultural, environmental and scientific endeavors. We cannot thank them enough and we cannot wait to see all of the wonderful things this opportunity brings for our students and community. 

As the end of our school year rapidly approaches, we would like to offer congratulations to our graduating students from all of our schools. We are so proud of your accomplishments, and look forward to following your journeys beyond our classrooms. Best wishes as you begin your next chapter!

That’s our first update. I know it was a long one, but there’s a lot we want you to know. Please feel free to reach out should you have anything to share, we are always here to listen and understand the thoughts of our community. We appreciate you. See you next month!