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CT private school goes co-ed for first time, opening to girls. ‘The time seems right.’

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CT private school goes co-ed for first time, opening to girls. ‘The time seems right.’


Falling student enrollment over recent years created the opportunity for a Connecticut Catholic School to go co-ed in the fall of 2025.

After a five-month review, Notre Dame High School West Haven Board of Corporate Members accepted the unanimous recommendation of Notre Dame’s Board of Directors to go co-ed.

“We were looking for viable options for the school moving forward,” Notre Dame President Robert F. Curis said. “We’ve seen this in schools all across the state — enrollment is shrinking and is in constant decline. You need to evaluate how you are going to position yourself.”

“But this isn’t all about enrollment,” he said. “We are an amazing school with a Holy Cross education. The time seems right to open up to girls.”

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Notre Dame is one of 22 congregations of Holy Cross-sponsored secondary and post-secondary academic institutions in the country. After the fall of 2025, 20 of the 22 will be co-ed. Notre Dame West Haven was founded in 1946.

“In prior years, the thought was to stay the course,” Curis said. “I’ve been here for 10 years, and we’ve worked hard to make this a special place. We’ve been here 83 years and have incredible academics and 13,000 alumni and we want this school to be here for many years to come.”

“We were able to continue a single-gender school up until today because there was enough of a demand for what we were offering,” he said.

Falling student enrollment over recent years created the opportunity for Notre Dame-West Haven to go co-ed in the fall of 2025.

Curis said Notre Dame is using Holy Cross in Flushing, N.Y. as a model. That school went co-ed in the 2018-19 school year.

Notre Dame West Haven currently has 478 boys enrolled. The total was closer to 600 when Curis came into his role a decade ago. During that time, other Catholic schools in the state including Trinity Catholic in Stamford and Sacred Heart in Waterbury closed their doors.

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“For me, this is exciting news, and we need to be able to pivot to be here for many more years,” Curis said. “Seeing those other schools close are important indicators to make sure we are doing what’s best.”

Female students will start at the school in the fall of 2025 as freshmen and transferring sophomores. Outside of the classroom, athletics are expected to start as soon as possible for female students.

With more students enrolled, in theory, that should help with cost.

“The cost of an education has increased and has made it harder for the families we want to serve harder,” Curis said. “Having a more robust population makes it easier. We want to serve the working families. As we have gotten smaller it’s gotten harder to serve those families.”

Ruben Valencia, vice president of Academic Affairs at the school, said “bringing in female students give us the best sustainability long term.”

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“I felt strongly this was the best decision for us. I’m excited,” Valencia said. “This is going to bring us a lot to our school. Extending our mission to girls will be very positive.”

“I think it’s going to be a seamless transition,” he said. “We have put a lot of thought into this, and we feel very prepared for what is coming next.”

Valencia said 25 to 35 female students in freshman and sophomore classes at Notre Dame would be a good start in the fall of 2025.

“The truth is if the demographics weren’t what they were we would still be single gender school,” Valencia said. “We are going to be in good company though. We wish the schools that remain single gender the best of luck. This is certainly not us jumping on a bandwagon.”

Xavier High School in Middletown and Fairfield Prep remain two of the last remaining all-boys schools in the state and Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden remains an all girls school.

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“We support President Robert Curis and the NDWH school community as they embark on this strategic decision to become co-educational, which will continue to foster Catholic high school opportunities for students in Connecticut,” Fairfield Prep said in a statement.

“At Fairfield Prep, our Jesuit mission as an all-boys school continues to be our focus, academically, athletically, and spiritually. Our traditional Jesuit educational model is designed to specialize in the learning development of young men during a highly transformative period in their lives. Prep’s current enrollment forecast is strong, with an upward admissions trend over the last five years, and a waiting list for Prep’s incoming Class of 2028 in the fall.”

Prep President Christian Cashman stated that Fairfield Prep strives to be a strong Catholic partner across our region.

“We are proud of our service partnerships in the wider Catholic elementary market and with Catholic Charities, our thousands of graduates serving the communities of Connecticut, and our longstanding relationships with our Catholic brother and sister schools,” Cashman said. “Prep is committed to our Jesuit mission to be men for others. Strengthening Catholic education in our region makes us all stronger.”

Sacred Heart Academy President Sheila O’Neil released an email to the Sacred Heart Academy community.

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“Sacred Heart Academy’s all-boys counterpart, Notre Dame High School of West Haven, has recently announced their plan to welcome young women as students in the beginning of fall 2025. This new and significant shift in Notre Dame’s vision puts an end to the longstanding relationship between SHA and ND as brother and sister schools,” the statement said.

“Sacred Heart Academy remains to our mission of creating and environment that is girl-focused so that our students can continue to reap the benefits of an all-girls education: higher academic achievement, stronger self-confidence and resilience and more success on the job market,” the statement said.

“SHA is committed to providing our students with the best high school experience possible, including their social experience, which is undoubtedly important to teenagers,” the statement concluded. “As we navigate this change, we explore new opportunities for our students to expand their horizons, meet new people and socialize in new meaningful ways.”



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Connecticut Regulates AI in Employment Decision Making » CBIA

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Connecticut Regulates AI in Employment Decision Making » CBIA


The following article was submitted by Brody and Associates, LLCIt is posted here with permission. 


The Connecticut legislature passed broad artificial intelligence legislation May 11, 2026 that includes a new framework governing the use of AI in employment-related decisions.

The bill, known as SB 5, is awaiting Gov. Ned Lamont’s signature, which is expected shortly.

Once enacted, Connecticut will join a growing list of jurisdictions that are imposing transparency and accountability requirements on employers that use AI tools in recruiting, hiring, promotion, discipline, scheduling, and termination decisions.

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The statute regulates what it calls automated employment-related decision technology.

In general, AEDT refers to technology that processes personal data and generates an output that is a substantial factor in an employment decision.

The definition is broad enough to potentially cover resume-screening software, applicant ranking systems, video-interview analytics, skills assessments, productivity tools, and certain workforce management platforms when those tools materially influence personnel decisions.

What Does the Law Require?

The purpose of the law is to reduce the risk that algorithmic systems will continue or worsen historic discrimination while also giving applicants and employees more visibility into how these systems are used.

One of the most important features of the new law is its notice requirement.

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Beginning Oct. 1, 2027, employers that deploy AEDT intended to interact with applicants or employees must disclose, in plain language, that the individual is interacting with such technology unless it would be obvious to a reasonable person.

When the tool’s output will be used as a substantial factor in making an employment-related decision, the employer must also provide a written notice before the decision is made.

The law does include protection for proprietary or trade secret information.

Notice must identify the purpose of the tool, the categories and sources of personal data being analyzed, how data will be assessed, and contact information for the employer.

If such employment-related decision is “adverse,” employers must provide a high-level statement disclosing the principal reasons for the decision, including “the degree to which, and manner in which” an AEDP output contributed to the decision, the type of data used, and the right to examine or correct such data.

The law does include protection for proprietary or trade secret information, but employers should not assume that vendor confidentiality excuses them from compliance.

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If an employer withholds certain information regarding the AEDP based on a third party’s confidentiality claim, the employer must nevertheless disclose that the information is being withheld and identify the legal basis for the withholding.

As a practical matter, this means employers that rely on outside vendors for screening, testing, or candidate evaluation should begin reviewing vendor contracts now to ensure they can obtain the information needed to satisfy Connecticut’s notice obligations.

Anti-Discrimination and Related Obligations

The law also makes clear employers cannot avoid liability by blaming an algorithm.

Connecticut’s anti-discrimination framework will expressly provide the use of AI or automated systems is not a defense to a discrimination claim.

The employer may still be responsible even if the challenged output came from a third-party platform.

In other words, if an AEDT disproportionately screens out candidates or influences decisions in a way that has an unlawful discriminatory effect, the employer may still be responsible even if the challenged output came from a third-party platform.

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This provision reinforces a principle regulators have increasingly emphasized nationwide: employers remain accountable for employment decisions, whether those decisions are made by people, software, or a combination of both.

What Employers Should Do Now

For employers, the immediate takeaway is AI governance can no longer be treated as an IT issue.

Human resources, legal, compliance, and procurement teams should collaborate to identify all tools used in recruiting or personnel management, assess whether those tools materially affect employment decisions, and determine what disclosures this new law may require.

Even companies that already use AI responsibly may need to formalize review procedures.

Employers should also assess whether internal policies, vendor agreements, and recordkeeping practices are sufficient to support compliance.

Even companies that already use AI responsibly may need to formalize review procedures, conduct bias testing, and create documentation explaining how automated outputs are considered by human decision-makers.

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Connecticut’s new law reflects a broader regulatory trend: employers may continue using AI, but they must do so transparently, carefully, and with meaningful human accountability.


About the authors: Robert Brody is managing partner at Brody and Associates, LLC, which he founded in 1997. Matthew Chiota is a law clerk at Brody and Associates, awaiting admission to the Connecticut and New York Bar associations. Contact them at [email protected] or 203.454.0560.



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Rat snake, grey treefrogs spotted in Connecticut

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Rat snake, grey treefrogs spotted in Connecticut


MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A couple of Connecticut wildlife stories that may give you nightmares. 

A snake was on a roof in Meriden on Wednesday. D&D Wildlife Control ran into the snake, which is a rat snake, that was looking for a crevice or hole to get into the attic. 

Trapper Don Dandelski told News 8 it is quite common for snakes to slither up the side of your house and get inside, but they are harmless.

A snake was on a roof in Meriden on Wednesday. D&D Wildlife Control ran into the snake, which is a rat snake, that was looking for a crevice or hole to get into the attic. (PHOTO: Donald Dandelski)

It is also gray treefrog mating season in Connecticut. 

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News 8’s Dennis House and Ann Nyberg each had encounters with the frogs. Ann shot the video of loud mating calls of these frogs, and a few days later a frog showed up on Dennis’ door and patio and waved and said hi. 

News 8’s Dennis House and Ann Nyberg each had encounters with grey treefrogs.
News 8’s Dennis House and Ann Nyberg each had encounters with grey treefrogs.

According to the Beardsley Zoo, frogs lay up to 2,000 eggs, laid singly or in small groups, and hatch within five days.



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See Where Milford Ranks On Connecticut Home Value Map

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See Where Milford Ranks On Connecticut Home Value Map


MILFORD, CT — The average home value in Milford is $501,368, according to new Zillow data comparing communities across Connecticut.

See how Milford compares to other communities across the state:

The average value of homes near Milford include:

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  • Stratford: $462,162
  • West Haven: $361,523
  • Orange: $628,308

The data comes as Connecticut continues to face rising home prices and limited inventory.

According to Redfin, 8,307 homes were listed for sale statewide in March, down 10.2 percent year over year.

Zillow estimates the average Connecticut home value is now about $441,466, a 4.8 percent increase over the past year.

— Hayleigh Evans, Patch Staff, contributed to this report.





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