First Day of School Officially Thursday; Some Bus Routes Are Altered

Wednesday, 3 p.m.
The Board of Education has provided more specific information on bus stops for the first day of school. This is how the buses will pick up students on closed roads. 

1) Codfish Hill Road Extension from Aunt Patty's Lane to Old Dodgingtown Road is inaccessible.  Bus will go to and around Aunt Patty's Lane and exit back out.

2) In the other direction on Codfish Hill Road the bus can go as far as Twin Maple and will back around there.  It cannot travel further on Codfish Hill Road.

3) Wolf Pits Road is closed at Route 302.  Bus will access Wolf Pits Road from Route 58 and travel as far as Buckboard Ridge Road.

4)  Buses will not travel on Sunset Hill due to road closure.  Closest bus stop will be Wolf Pits Road and Sunset Hill.

5) Putnam Park Road from corner of Hoyt's Hill to Route 302 is closed.  Closest bus stop is either end of Putnam Park Road.

6) Whippoorwill Road from Spring Hill Lane to Gretchen Lane is inaccessible to school buses.  Closest bus stop is Whippoorwill Road at Spring Hill Lane.

7) Chestnut Street from Nashville is inaccessible to school buses.  Bus stop will be at corner of Chestnut and Nashville.

8) Taylor Avenue is closed.  Bus stop is at Taylor and Nashville.

9) Nashville Road bus will go as far as Briarcliff Manor.

10) Glenwood Road is inaccessible to school buses.  Stop at either end of Glenwood.

11)  Winesap Run is closed.  Bus will stop at either end.

12)  Nashville Road Extension is closed.  Bus stop will be at Nashville Road and Nashville Road Extension.

These detours will delay the bus routes to some degree. For questions the bus company's phone number is 203-748-8091.

Wednesday, 2 p.m.
It was officially confirmed Wednesday afternoon that power has been restored to all Bethel Public Schools and the first day of school will be tomorrow, Thursday Sept. 1 and will follow an early dismissal schedule. According the Bethel Public Schools website, this means the high school will dismiss at 12:15 p.m., the middle school at 12:56 p.m., the Johnson School at 1 p.m. and the Berry & Rockwell Schools at 1:40 p.m.

The website also said the road closures in town will mean that bus routes in those areas will be altered including:

• Chestnut Ridge at Route 170 (Before the Nashville Extension)
• Codfish Hill Extension at Jacklin Road 
• Nashville Road Extension
• Nashville Road near Nashville Extension 
• Putnam Park Road between Route 302 and Hoyts Hill Road
• Taylor Avenue near the sharp bend in road
• Winesap Run at Route 32
• Glenwood DriveMcNeil Road at Stony Hill Road
• Sunset Hill Road at Jacobs Lane
• Hoyts Hill  by Route 302

The statement continued: "First Student will do their best to maintain planned bus routes; however, if you realize that it is unlikely that a bus can make it to your child's normal pickup spot, they can utilize a nearby bus stop (if they can get to it safely) or please make other arrangements to transport your child. There will be no penalty assessed for non-attendance." 

The Board of Education also said: "Thank you for your patience during this ordeal. We have worked with the First Selectmen, his staff and CL&P representatives to make the schools safe and operational. It has also taken time to make a full assessment of current road closures so that we can provide accurate information."

Any parents who need additional information are ecouraged to call the Board of Education office at 203-794-8601. 

Wednesday
Bethel parents should know for sure when their students will begin the 2011-12 school year by Wednesday night.

Post-Irene, the first day of school was postponed from Tuesday, Aug. 30 to tentatively Thursday, Sept. 1, a date chosen based on CL&P's estimates of when Bethel would have power restored.

Parents reportedly received a phone call that the Board of Education will make its final decision tonight.

Patch will update this story once the first day of school is confirmed

Monday, 12:15 p.m.
According to Superintendent Dr. Gary Chesley, Bethel's first day of school has been tentatively moved to Thursday, Sept. 1 and will follow the normal half-day, first day schedule.

The professional development day for teachers has been tentatively been moved to Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Chesley said the decision was made based on CL&P's schedule for restoring power in Bethel post-Irene. The dates may change if power is restored earlier/later than expected (though Tuesday will not be the first day of school). 

St. Mary's School will also start on Thursday, Sept. 1 and will be a half day. School was originally suppose to start on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

Original Post:
Bethel students head back to school tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 30, though the outages and road closures in town may make the Board of Education postpone it to later this week.

No matter the day, within this article are PDFs of bus routes for all of Bethel Public Schools, St. Mary's School and Abbot Tech. There is also a PDF of the 2011-12 academic calendar. 

For more information, visit the Bethel Schools website, bethel.k12.ct.us. To sign up for e-mail/text alerts of school delays and cancellations, visit this link.