The Talent Management & Development team is committed to supporting the staff in the MPS from recruitment through their entire employee experience in the Milford Public Schools.
People are our purpose.
The purpose of this newsletter is to foster connectedness and belonging throughout our organization. Our motto is "Putting People First" and YOU are our people.

Join us on Saturday, March 1, for a Community Conversation, involving small group breakouts, as the Board of Education narrows down its options for its Long Range Facilities Plan.
Your feedback is crucial in shaping the future of our schools!
Please sign up to attend here!

Additionally, the Board of Education is looking for a few more MPS teachers to facilitate the small group breakout sessions. There will be a short facilitator training. (Compensation for training and facilitation will follow the MEA contract.) 
If you are interested, please complete this form.

Recently, changes to educator certifications were announced.
All changes are effective July 1, 2025.

The main changes are:

1. Initial Certificates will now be valid for 10 years

2. There will only be two tiers of certificates now, Initial and Professional – there will no longer be a Provisional level certificate 

3. There are new requirements that an educator must meet before advancing to the Professional level certificate, which includes 50 months of successful experience, completing TEAM program requirements and holding a masters degree

4. ALL elementary endorsements (including #005, #013, #305) will now authorize the certificate holder to teach in grades PreK to Grade 6

Please see this MEMO for the specific scenarios that may apply to your situation. 

Also, please note that copies of your certificates are never sent to us in TMD, so when you are issued a new certificate, please email a copy to tmd@milforded.org

Celebrating Our Staff!

Brian Adkins, Foran Boys Lacrosse Coach, was inducted into the Connecticut Lacrosse Hall of Fame on January 24th, 2025

Cathleen Steinau, Kindergarten Teacher at Calf Pen Meadow, has been named the
Grand Marshal of the 2025 Greater New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Please join us on Saturday, March 15th for Milford’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, as well! Milford’s parade will step off at 1 pm. Please visit here for more information. 

Special Offers!

Tech Tip...

Google Meet's real-time captioning feature is a great tool, especially for accessibility and creating a more inclusive environment for both students and staff. Here's how it works and why it’s so useful:

What is Real-Time Captioning in Google Meet?

Google Meet’s real-time captioning automatically generates subtitles for spoken dialogue during a live video call. It uses speech recognition to display the text in real time, so participants can read along with what's being said.

How to Use Real-Time Captioning in Google Meet:

1. Start or Join a Google Meet Call – Open Google Meet and either create a new meeting or join an existing one.

2. Turn on Captions – Once you're in the meeting, click on the three dots in the lower-right corner of the screen (More options), then select Turn on captions.

3. Automatic Display of Captions – The captions will now appear at the bottom of the screen in real time as people speak. They will update dynamically, making it easy for everyone to follow along.

4. Language Support – As of now, real-time captions are available in English, but Google is working to expand this feature to include additional languages.

Why It's Useful:

• Accessibility: It’s especially helpful for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, allowing them to follow the conversation in real time.

• English Language Learners (ELL): Captions help ELL students better understand what’s being said and improve language acquisition.

• Focus and Clarity: Captions can help anyone who might struggle with comprehension, whether due to background noise, accent differences, or distractions.

• Recording and Reference: Though captions don’t get saved when recording the meeting, they can still serve as a useful reference during the live session to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Additional Notes:

• Accuracy: The captions’ accuracy depends on factors like the speaker's clarity and background noise. The better the audio quality, the more accurate the captions.

• Languages: Currently, the captions are available in English, but there are future plans to support additional languages.

This feature can make meetings and classroom discussions more inclusive and help people follow along more easily, especially in large meetings or classrooms where it’s harder to hear everything clearly.

Trivia Contest

We want to know who YOU believe has the best pizza in Connecticut?!
Vote to see who's the leading choice within our MPS Community!

What else belongs in this newsletter?

To submit suggestions, feedback, requests, good news or ideas for content for this newsletter,
click here.

Do you know a staff member with recent accomplishments that deserve to be highlighted?
Do you know a business that may want to be highlighted with a perk?
Please let us know here!

Welcome New Staff!

Welcome New Substitutes!

Michael Colandrea - Temporary Custodian
 Alyssa Fameli - Teacher Substitute
Taylor Negast - Teacher Substitute 
 Patrick Oliver - Substitute Bus Paraprofessional 
Nariman Otani - Food Services Substitute
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