It is an absolute privilege and a pleasure to join Hartford Public Schools as your next Superintendent. I am excited for this opportunity to help guide students, teachers, and all Hartford schools to achieve continued improvement, and the leveling up of our young people through education.
My First 100 Days
Today was my 12th day of learning, listening, and sharing ideas with our HPS community. Last week I met with the Capital Preparatory Magnet School community and our central office personnel. This week I am so excited to report that I met with 77 of our new teachers, our community partners, executive assistants and school secretaries, and our teams from Print Shop, Food and Child Nutrition Services, and Buildings and Grounds. Next week, I look forward to meeting with our School Administrators, our Paraeducators and our School Safety Officers. You can learn more about my first 100 Days by visiting this page: come back often!
Thank you for your continued partnership, as we work together to become champions of excellence for your child’s future. Please see some very important updates, below:
Health Records Requirements for SY 2025-2026
If your student is NEW to the district, you MUST submit a physical and immunization record to the school before school starts. If your student is a returning student who is entering Pre-K 4, Kindergarten, 7th, or 11th grade, a physical and updated immunization record is REQUIRED by the school. Please click on this link to the CT Department of Public Health for a list of the immunizations required to attend school: IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS (En español.) If you do not already have a primary care provider for your child, click here to learn about clinics in Hartford.
HPS No-Cost Summer Clinics
HPS School-Based Health Centers are holding no-cost* summer clinics next week for school entry physicals/immunizations, available to any Hartford resident in grades K-12 from August 19 (10:00am-2:00pm) every day through Friday, August 22; and Monday, August 25 from 8:00am to 2:00pm, at the following schools: Weaver High School, Hartford Public High School, and M.D. Fox School. APPOINTMENTS ARE MANDATORY! Appointments for School Entry Physicals and Immunizations must be made by calling (860) 695-8780.
*All HPS Students are welcome regardless of insurance status. Medicaid will be charged if the student is a Medicaid holder.
Back-to-School Tuesday, August 26!
I hope you have had a happy, healthy summer break, and I hope your students were reading, learning, and growing! The first day of the new school year is Tuesday, August 26. We cannot wait to see all of our students back on Day One, and I cannot wait to meet your students as I visit your student’s school during the next few months. Check out our Back-to-School Resources web page for all the information you need! You can view the 2025-2026 District Wide School Year Calendar for more information, available here.
Don’t forget to join us at the 2025-2026 Back-to-School Celebration on Tuesday, August 19 from 10 am to 1 pm at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford. There will be food, activities for all ages, and free backpacks and school supplies. Free shuttles will be available to and from Dunkin’ Park, running every half hour from Trumbull Street and Main to the following schools:
- Martin Luther King Jr Middle School
- Global Communications Academy
- Naylor School
- Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan
There is also free parking at the 275 Windsor Street Lot and Garage! Nursing staff will be on site to review your child’s vaccination and physicals records! Please bring printed copies of your child’s health records.
Summer Programming 2025
After several successful weeks of high quality instruction and enrichment activities, summer programming ended on August 1. Over 2,231 students from PreK to Grade 12 participated this year, and I applaud their commitment to learning and growing during the summer months. I want to thank the dedicated staff members and the 16 community-based organizations supporting 9 sites (Early Start, Rising Stars, and Credit Recovery) who helped our students get back on track academically. These students are now better prepared to succeed in the new school year!
Big congratulations to our 71 new Hartford Public Schools graduates, who walked the stage to receive their diplomas after their hard work this summer. I applaud your hard work and perseverance.
Set the bar. Meet the bar. Exceed the bar. Raise the bar!
Thank you for reading the important reminders above. Together, we will help Hartford Rise. My guiding principle is simple but powerful: ‘Set the bar. Meet the bar. Exceed the bar. Raise the bar!’ Hartford has limitless potential, and I am confident that through our collective dedication and teamwork, we will make this a truly transformational chapter for our schools and community. Thank you in advance for welcoming me into this remarkable district.
Yours in service,
Dr. Andraé Townsel,
Superintendent
Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/smiling-black-schoolboy-near-white-board-in-classroom-5905951/
