While reviewing its goals for the next two years during its Monday night meeting, the Board of Education spent particular attention to personalization, class sizes and student behavior.

Lynne Shain, the assistant superintendent for curriculum, said the focus groups and surveys created to examine the issue of personalization between students and school personnel needs to continue.

"We need to make sure we're gaining and not slipping in this area," she said. "We want a shared sense that students feel that Staples is a personalized environment."

Board members agreed that it was an issue that should be examined continually through focus groups.

Shain said the focus groups and surveys gave students the feeling that the administration was making a conscious effort to create a personalized atmosphere.

"That's something a lot of schools don't do," she said.

Board member Mark Mathias said a school's program offerings can increase personalization.

"How do we get students involved?" she asked.

However, board member Don O'Day, said perhaps the focus should be on the degree of personalization at the schools instead of on how the school's programs can deliver it.

With respect to class sizes, Super­intendent of Schools

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Elliott Landon said he expects the enrollment to grow at Westport schools due to the number of new homes being built, despite the projections showing a decline.

"I just think we are going to get a bit of an enrollment surge rather than stability or a decline," he said. "We probably offer the best tax value of any community in the entire metropolitan area."

On the issue of student behavior, Landon said the school continues to look at each case individually in an effort to be "fair and consistent" with students. He said one student was expelled, however, for repeatedly engaging in bad behavior after a number of interventions with the student.

"The only appropriate measure in that instance was removal," he said. "It was an important message to send to other students."

In other business, Nancy Harris gave the financial report for the third quarter of the 2007-08 fiscal year. After making adjustments to the budget, she said she expects the district to be $50,257 in the black.

At the beginning of the meeting, the board unanimously approved a motion by Landon to appoint John Bayers, the assistant principal of Coleytown Middle School, to principal of Green's Farms Elementary School to replace retiring principal Dan Sullivan.

Landon said Bayers, who has a master's degree in technology, worked for the Fair­field school system for many years as a teacher and an administrator before coming to Westport in 2006.

"John is a young man whom I believe has all of the attributes that will enable him to be a success at Green's Farms Elementary School," he said. "He has demonstrated excellent ability to work collaboratively with people and being reflective and making really good decisions."

Board Chairman Marge Cion said he is "an incredibly dynamic person" who will be missed by Coleytown's staff and students.

"I know he'll be able to take over for Dan Sullivan, and he will be a great asset to that school," she said.