West Hartford Board of Education members received the district’s 2026-27 student enrollment numbers, discussed achievement gaps and funding concerns, and welcomed a presentation from a Connecticut Kid Governor nominee.

By Mia Jaworski

Enrollment was a major topic at Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, with West Hartford Public Schools Director of Finance and Planning Barbara Rua presenting the district’s enrollment and class size analysis as of Oct. 1, 2026.

Overall, the district had 8,982 students as of Oct. 1, including 8,548 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Actual enrollment figures showed that as of Oct. 5, West Hartford had 108 fewer students than projected, a 1.2% variance. Kindergarten enrollment was 61 students below projections.

At the elementary level, enrollment was 38 students below projections, middle schools had 13 fewer students, and high schools had 57 fewer students. Enrollment projections are a key factor in determining staffing levels and class sizes.

Despite the lower-than-projected numbers, Superintendent Paul Vicinus addressed the reliability of enrollment projections and the district’s ability to anticipate returning students.

“It’s far from an exact science when you’re trying to get that [projection], whereas once I have them here, we have what we call cohort survival ratio,” Vicinus said. “Once I know you’re enrolled in my school, the chance that you’re gonna return from first grade to second grade is well above 99%.”

Charter Oak funding and achievement gaps

During public comment, Colleen Dunlap raised concerns about resource funding at Charter Oak International Academy. She provided board members with packets of data regarding test scores and longstanding achievement gaps across certain elementary schools in West Hartford.

“These schools that have a high density of students of color, a high density of students from low-income families, a high density of high needs students. And what we really want to emphasize is that these students at Charter Oak are just as intelligent and capable as all of the other students at each of the other elementary schools,” Dunlap said. “So these four test scores at Charter Oak are not reflective of a lack of intelligence on the student’s part. It is reflective of a lack of resources from the district and board.”

Vicinus later addressed the achievement gap, emphasizing the importance of looking at the school’s overall student population when evaluating test scores.

“Charter Oak certainly has one of the largest populations of students that are on their way to bilingualism, and are multilingual learners. They have a higher percentage of students with individualized education plans, and they do have, as was referenced, a higher percentage of students with socioeconomic need,” Vicinus said. “And those three factors, which constitute high needs, will typically demonstrate achievement gaps, but, looking at year over year data, it cannot always tell the whole tale.”

The Board also discussed the possibility of holding another meeting to address the topic before budget discussions begin in March. Class size guidelines were also considered and are expected to be revisited before the next school year.

Kid Governor nominee presents kindness initiative

To begin Wednesday night’s meeting, Kid Governor nominee Riley O’Leary, a fifth grader at Wolcott Elementary School, presented his platform and proposed project to the board.

O’Leary shared a video and research on kindness, along with a three-pronged plan to introduce a school-wide kindness initiative called the Helping and Encouraging Learning Program, or H.E.L.P.

After moving to West Hartford from Chicago, O’Leary said he noticed a difference in the community and saw an opportunity to make his new school district an even better place.

“When we came here, I thought, hey, I want to fix that to make this place better,” O’Leary said.

According to the Connecticut Kid Governor program website, the initiative is an award-winning civic education program that teaches fifth grade students about state government, elections and civic participation through a statewide, student-run election. During the one-year program, the Kid Governor promotes their platform, speaks at events, collaborates with adult and youth leaders and participates in a dedicated event at the Capitol.

As part of his presentation, O’Leary shared research on the effects of unkind behavior and bullying.

“One in five kids experience unkind actions just on the East Coast. And sadly, it turns out that 25% to 33% of those kids are going to repeat those behaviors by becoming unkind or mean towards others later in life,” O’Leary said. “This creates a cycle of bullying and unkindness.”

His three-part plan includes electing rotating student representatives to help classmates who are feeling sad or angry and encourage them to get back on track. Those students would also attend kindness workshops to learn how to support and encourage their peers.

Additionally, O’Leary proposed a hypothetical website to promote kindness at home and a fundraiser to help provide materials needed to foster a positive classroom environment.

Board members congratulated O’Leary on his nomination and work, wished him luck in the upcoming Connecticut Kid Governor election on Nov. 16 and asked him to return with an update.

High school and district updates

The student representatives also provided updates from their respective high schools.

At Conard High School, the contemporary journalism class was selected from high school classrooms across the country to participate in an interactive webinar hosted by the National Association for Media Literacy Education. The event took place Friday as part of National Media Literacy Week.

The previous Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal visited Conard to host a roundtable discussion with students about the growing risks of underage gambling and online advertising targeting young people. Conard will also host the SAT on Saturday, Nov. 7, with parent-teacher conferences scheduled for the following week.

At Hall High School, the fall musical, “Alice by Heart,” was such a success during its initial sold-out performances that the production will return for another week. Hall girls soccer coach Zeke Seguro was also inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027.

The district also recognized Bethany Rose, West Hartford Public Schools’ pre-K-12 world languages department supervisor, who received the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers’ Pegasus Pride Award.

The award recognizes dedicated world language teachers across the state for their professionalism, respect for cultural differences, involvement in professional growth within the language field, dedication to students and enthusiasm for languages and teaching.

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