Administrators File Grievance Over Appointment of Dir. of Elementary Ed

The Norwalk Association of School Administrators (NASA) filed a grievance on December 18, against the BOE due to the process used in hiring Carol Marinaccio, the new Director of Elementary Education.  NASA wants the position re-posted and the hiring process to begin anew.

Documents obtained by NorwalkNet show that NASA filed a grievance during the hiring process and revised it after the BOE voted to hire Ms. Marinaccio. NASA contends that the BOE violated its contract with the Administrators’ union because present administrators are supposed to be given a preference for promotions.  According the grievance during the Central Office’s screening process a current employee, with the highest qualification, was eliminated from consideration.

Additionally, NASA contends that the BOE also violated its own Diversity Employment Plan and Commitment to Affirmative Action because the committee that was formed to interview the candidates for the position is not identified in the contract as being part of the process.  (Two Elementary Principals, an Assistant Principal and an Instructional Specialist interviewed candidates for the Director of Elementary School position).

Finally, the grievance states that Ms. Marinaccio was hired without any parent involvement, which the Board had deemed an essential part of the process the last time this position was filled.

NASA President Tony Ditrio, who is also the principal of Kendall school, filed the grievance on behalf of the Administrator's union.

Board Chairman, Glenn Iannacone said in a phone call that the grievance must follow a "chain of command” before it is addressed by the Board.   It must be brought first to the assistant superintendent and then to the superintendent, according to Mr. Iannacone.

Mr. Ditrio could not be reached for comment and Fay Ruotolo, Director of Human Resources, and Assistant Superintendent Tony Daddona are on vacation.

Ms. Marinaccio was voted in as Director of Elementary Education at the December 15th BOE meeting.  The Board voted 7-2 in favor of Ms. Marinaccio, with Steve Colarossi and Sue Haynie voting against her appointment. 

Ms. Marinaccio, who is scheduled to start her new position on Jan. 11, has been the grants coordinator for the BOE for the past five years.  Prior to that, she was a school administrator for the Naugatuck Public Schools.  According to an October story in the Hour, Ms. Marinaccio is pursuing a doctorate in education and is completing her dissertation on: "Creating a mentoring program for school superintendents."

Draft Budget Online & Important Dates

A draft of the Norwalk Public School 2010-2011 Operating Budget request is now available on the NPS website.

The $155 million budget recommended by the superintendent reflects a 3.4% increase over last year's budget.

"This budget does not reduce any programs and there will be no new ones unless required by law given the financial climate," said Dr. Papallo in an email to NorwalkNet.  The only new program required by law is an in-school suspension program that will require additional staff in the high schools. 

"This is only the beginning of the process, thus there will be more opportunities for public comment once the BOE knows what the City allocation will be.  All comments will be recorded and reviewed at reallocation time," said Dr. Papallo.

Dr. Cook, Interim CFO echoed the superintendent's remarks. "It's like running a race.  The budget start gun has been shot.  For the next four months there will be deliberations on the budget until it is set."

There will be several meetings in January for public input before the proposed budget has to be approved by the BOE and sent to the City by January 15th.

Steve Colarossi, Chair of the BOE Finance Committee said: "I am having a finance committee meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7 at which I intend to devote significant time to the budget. Unless all of my questions are answered fully on Jan. 4 and Jan. 5, I will be moving to send it to Committee."

In addition, there will be several public meetings held with the Board of Estimation and Taxation until the operating budget is adopted in early May.  Please see a previous post, the ABCs of BOE Budgeting, for more details.

Here are some important dates and public budget-related meetings in January:

January 4th, 7pm:   BET meeting regarding City Budget, BOE Finance Commitee invited to attend

January 4th, 7:45pm:  Special BOE Meeting, the superintendent will present his proposed operating budget, City Hall A300

January 5th, 7:45pm:   Regularly scheduled BOE Meeing, City Hall A 300

January 7th, 7:30pm: BOE Finance Committee Meeting to discuss proposed budget, City Hall

January 15th:  Proposed budget submitted to City Finance Department.

I will be reviewing the budget over the holiday break and will post more detailed comments later.

ConnCAN grades CT Schools; Lackluster grades for Norwalk

The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) today released its 2009-2010 School Report Cards, assigning letter grades to over 1,000 Connecticut public schools and 160 school districts based on their students’ academic performance in four categories.  The grades are based on the 2009 CMT and CAPT scores.  Click here to read about the Methodology of ConnCAN’s School and District Report Cards.

Here is how Norwalk scored:
Elementary Schools
Performance Gain:  B
Overall Student Performance: C
Student Subgroup Performance: D+
Achievement Gap:  D

Middle Schools
Performance Gain: C
Overall Student Performance: C
Student Subgroup Performance: D
Achievement Gap: F

High Schools:
Overall Student Performance: D
Student Subgroup Performance: F
Achievement Gap: F


Click here to view the School Report Cards at www.ctreportcards.org.

Using the data from the School Report Cards, ConnCAN also released the Top 10 Connecticut public schools in Performance Gains, Low-Income Student Performance, African American Student Performance, Hispanic Student Performance and Improvement. Each category is scored separately for elementary, middle and high schools.

Click here to download the Top 10 Connecticut Public Schools.

The only Norwalk Schools to appear on these top 10 lists are Jefferson Elementary for Improvement and Hispanic Student Performance and Nathan Hale Middle School for Hispanic Student Performance. (Nathan Hale has made the top 10 list three times)

“The report cards are designed to help Connecticut parents serve as effective advocates for their children,” said Alex Johnston, ConnCAN Chief Executive Officer. “Parents deserve to know how well their child’s public school is meeting the needs of all of its students.”

ConnCAN is an advocacy organization that believes in "fixing poverty by fixing schools." This is ConnCAN's fourth year of publishing School Report Cards. More than 60,000 people access the School Report Cards online each year.  According to web research firm Alexa.com, more Connecticut parents get their school information from ConnCAN’s School Report Cards than from the state’s official websites, cmtreports.com and captreports.com.

Statewide, the ConnCAN press release reports that a few trends stand out among the Top 10 lists:

• Of the four years ConnCAN has produced Top 10 public school lists, 15 schools have made the lists three or more times: High Horizons, Multicultural Magnet, Park City Magnet, and Winthrop School in Bridgeport; Amistad Academy and Elm City College Prep Middle in New Haven; Rogers School and Westover School in Stamford; Jumoke Academy in Hartford; Second Hill Lane School in Stratford; JP Vincent in Bloomfield; Nathan Hale Middle in Norwalk; Irving Robbins in Farmington; Broadview Middle in Danbury; and Bethel Middle in Bethel.

• The Achievement First network of charter schools showed a very strong performance. For example, three of the top ten middle schools for African American performance were Achievement First schools. Achievement First Bridgeport Academy was also number one for middle school performance gains.

• For the first time, Waterbury public schools had a notable presence in the Top 10 lists, with seven schools cracking the fourteen Top 10 lists.

TTYL: Is Young Adult Novel Too "Adult"?

During the public comments section of last week's BOE Meeting, a Ponus Ridge parent Matthew Surapine read racy passages aloud from a novel, TTLY,  that his daughter had checked out of her school library.  Those of us present at the meeting squirmed uncomfortably in our seats while we listened to some pretty sexually graphic content.

TTLY, a young adult novel by Lauren Myracle, was published in 2004 and gained attention for being the first-ever novel written entirely in the style of instant messaging.  It contains strong language, sexual content, teen drinking and an improper student-teacher relationship.  The novel was a New York Times bestseller and has had two sequels, ttfn and  l8r, g8r.  Some critics have hailed Ms. Myracle's approach as "creative" and "unusually candid". 

Mr. Surapine, however, was clearly objecting to what he believes is vulgar and innappropriate material for a middle school age student.   He is not alone is his disapproval of TTLY.  In November 2008, TTLY was pulled off shelves in middle schools in Round Rock, Texas and Pflugerville, a neighboring town.

KXAN, a NBC News affiliate in Austin, TX had the story:

After months of debate, Round Rock Independent School District superintendent has decided to pull the racy, controversial book "TTYL" from the middle school libraries. The battle has been brewing between parents and the school board because many parents said "TTYL" is too vulgar for middle school students. The fight to get the book in a special section of Ridgeview Middle School started when the Jennings' sixth-grade daughter brought it home and Wes and Sherry Jennings started looking through it. What they found was, "TTYL" discusses sex, pornography, drinking and in inappropriate student-teacher relationship.

 The Jennings brought the book to the attention of the Ridgefield Middle School librarian and principal, and were displeased with the reaction they received. Next, they teamed up with several other parents and started the school districts' appeals process to get the book moved into a "mature" section of the library. However, the school district is strictly prohibited from allowing only certain students to read isolated sections of materials. Instead, the school superintendent chose to remove "TTYL" from all Round Rock middle school libraries.

The Jennings said that people think it is acceptable to censor Websites, but the thought of removing a book from a middle school shelf makes many uncomfortable.  "We do not want to ban or censor books, we just want it to be age appropriate where it was intended," said Sherry Jennings.

Another Round Rock  parent wants to make sure that schools and libraries are "safe" for children.

While the Jennings started the fight to clean up Round Rock's middle school libraries, there are many other parents are on the same page. "Children have neither the emotional or intellectual ability to deal with this kind of content," said Karen Withers, Round Rock Parent and Teacher. After learning there are several books with similar "content" that her son could check out, Karen Withers would like to see the type of rating system used for movies, music and video games for books as well. Withers said the issue is not about just "TTYL" and the Round Rock school district, but about numerous books in libraries across the country. "We want to trust our schools are safe for our children," said Withers.

In an interview with KXAN, Lauren Myracle defended herself and her book. Ms. Myracle said that she wrote the book for high schoolers.  "It is a story about real life girls struggling with real problems,"  In the interview, she pointed out that the very week the book was banned from Round Rock middle schools,  a Round Rock High School coach was accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.  "It does suggest yeah these things happen," she said. 

Have your children read Lauren Myracle's novels?  Do you think that some books are too advanced for middle schoolers?  Should they be pulled off library shelves?  

Updated: New IT Director Lands in Norwalk

Norwalk’s newly hired IT Director isn’t just parachuting into a new position, he’ll actually be flying to work every day.

Robert Polselli Jr., the new Director of IT, has an extensive background in education and technology, but he lives in Charlton, MA.  A commercial pilot, he plans to fly his plane to Bridgeport and drive to work from there.

In an interview with NorwalkNet this morning, Mr. Polselli said that he was attracted to the position in Norwalk because he is “up for the challenge” and that he thinks he can have a “wonderful impact” on the school system.

Dr. Polselli, 36, has been the IT Director of the Middletown Public Schools for the past eight years and before that he held the same position in Killingly Public Schools in upstate Connecticut.  Before his move to the Central Office, Dr. Polselli was an English and Computer teacher for high school and middle school students.  He also has taught Computer Sciences on a college level.

Dr. Polselli has an education doctorate in Computing in Education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, as well a Masters in English/Secondary Education from Worcester State and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell.  He wrote his doctorate on "Combining Web-Based Training and Mentorship to Improve Technology Integration in the K-12 Classroom."

Mr. Polselli, who is starting the new job on January 11th, said he has two priorities upon arriving in Norwalk—data and communication.

“My priority is to create systems that allow teachers, administrators and the IT department to use data effectively to make good decisions,” he said.  “We need to use data constantly and it should be easy for everyone to use.”

Mr. Polselli thinks that technology plays a key role in implementing “common formative assessments" that measure student progress. 

In addition, he wants to introduce technology tools into classrooms to help teachers get instant feedback.

“There are tools, like clickers, that help teachers know instantly whether kids are grasping concepts,” he said noting that Middletown has used tools like this for the past four years to great success.  “This allows teachers to change their instruction daily spending more time on certain things and less on others.”

With regards to communication, Mr. Polselli intends to revamp the NPS website and allow for teachers and administrators throughout the district to interact with the site easily, posting their own documents. 

Dr. Polselli believes his background in the classroom is invaluable.

“I really understand the day to day in a classroom and what can help to make the classroom better,” he said.  “Something that works in the business world is not necessarily what can help teachers and students.”

“My goal is to improve the lives of children.  Central office is secondary,” he said. 

“Bob is a visionary leader,” said Craig Creller, a consultant for CREC and the former K-12 Math Supervisor in Middletown. “He created and improved upon the data collection systems in Middletown.”

“He is a teacher trainer and leader and has built capacity among the teachers.  He’s very hands on and leads by example.  Middletown has a 21st century school system because of him,” said Mr. Creller. 

Kathleen Bengtson, Dr. Polselli's administrative assistant, is sad her boss is leaving Middletown.  "He has been an inspiration.  He has a passion for technology and how it can really benefit kids."

Dr. Polselli flies to his current job in Middletown which he said has been "fantastic".  He expects that his daily commute to Norwalk will be just over one hour.

When asked how his commute will be affected by bad weather and late nights at the office, Dr. Polselli said that he actually trains other pilots to fly in bad weather and does not foresee many days when the weather will be bad enough to ground his flights.  He is planning to purchase a small condo in the area to give him flexibility.  Further, he added that he does not think of his job as 9-5 and he often logs into work remotely on nights and weekends. 

Outside of work, Dr. Polselli volunteers for Angel Flight Northeast, a non-profit organization that provides free flights to people requiring medical care, and coaches his children’s soccer games.

Communications Committee Formed and Two Central Office Positions Hired

At Tuesday night’s  BOE meeting the Republican-endorsed Parents Not Politicians board members fulfilled one of their main campaign promises and pushed the BOE to create a Communications Committee.  The resolution establishing the new committee passed unanimously but not without Democrat members voicing concerns about the committee's purpose, composition and outreach to non-English speaking parents.

In addition, the Board approved the hiring of two key central office positions.  Robert Polselli has been hired as Director of Technology. He is currently the IT Director for the Middletown Public Schools. Carol Marinaccio is the new Director of Elementary Education.  Ms Marinaccio has been  NPS’ grants coordinator for the past five years. 

(I will do a more in depth story about the two new hires shortly)

There were several remarks during the public comments section regarding the establishment of the Communications Committee.

Emily Aguilar of the PTOC asked that the Board materials be translated into Spanish and said that translation software is not always reliable. She asked that the newly formed committee use “cultural sensitivity” in its approach.

Kerry O’Neill, president of the Silvermine PTO, said that Communications Committee should consider the work the already established parent groups which also focus on district wide communication.

Bruce Mellion, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, said that the new committee should address issues of  communications between the Board and the NPS staff and suggested that the language of the motion include more specifically teachers. 

Steve Colarossi put forth the motion to set up the Committee in order to discuss better ways to communicate with parents, teachers, and other community members.  Before the unanimous vote, Ms. Rivas had several questions and concerns about the Committee: 

“How will you decide who is going to be on the committee?”  she asked.  “How will you reach out?”

She also thought the committee should have non-board members on it.  “How will we ensure that the committee is diverse?”

Board Chairman  Glenn Iannacone assured her that this committee would function like all the other committees and information would be brought forth before the entire board.

(Committee members were appointed subsequent to the meeting. They are:  Erin Halsey, Chair, Heidi Keyes, Sue Haynie and Migdalia Rivas)

In addition, a motion was put forth to put non-confidential BOE documents of the website. 

Ms. Bishop-Pullan questioned whether this motion was necessary since documents have begun appearing on the website.

“I think it’s important for the public that we take this direction,” said Mr. Collarossi.  “It had not been done for so long.”

Ms. Rivas said that we need to make sure that documents are available in other languages like Spanish and French-Creole.

This comment irked Board Member Jack Chiramonte who exclaimed passionately that the BOE cannot translate documents in to every language.

“I can understand Spanish, but why French Creole? What about the Koreans?” he said.  “This is America.  We can’t bend over for everyone.  They need to make an effort.”

Also during the public comments section, Matthew Surapine, a parent of a Ponus Middle School student read several sexually graphic pages of "TTLY" a  young adult novel by Lauren Myraclet hat his daughter took out from her school library. 

“Is this what kids are reading in middle school?” he said  “Shouldn’t they be reading Ernest Hemmingway?”

A draft calendar for the 2010-2011 school year was presented to the Board.  Several Board members asked that the second day of Rosh Hashana (Sept 10th) be reinserted into the calendar.  Ms. Haynie commented that several of the neighboring towns do not take the second day of Rosh Hashana off. 

Ms. Haynie suggested that the Board solicit the input of parents about the calendar by reconvening the PTO Council calendar committee that was established last year. 

“Let’s make parents part of the process,” said Ms. Haynie.

Other members thought that this process would be time-consuming and said that the calendar was similar to this year’s and it should be voted on as an action item at the next meeting.

(I will post the draft calendar shortly)

Dr. Papallo and Board Member Sue Haynie briefed the Board on Race to the Top, $4 billion federal grant for which states have to compete.  Norwalk is one of 18 districts targeted by the State for funding, although it is not one of the five cities that the Commissioner called to lead the work on the application. Ms. Haynie said that this funding could potentially mean $1.5 million additional funds for NPS.

“Local district buy-in is a important piece in receiving funding,” said Ms. Haynie. 

Assistant Superintendent Tony Daddona, NFT President Bruce Mellion,  and Board Chair Glenn Iannacone will attend a meeting this Friday held by Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan about Connecticut’s application.

Earlier in the meeting, Superintendent Papallo gave an update on the budget and said that a draft budget will be ready by Friday for internal distribution and will be released to the public on Monday.  It must be submitted to the city by January 15.   He said that he will also try and have it uploaded to the NPS website.  A meeting is scheduled for January 4, to solicit public comment on the proposed budget.

Dr. Papallo also stated that he plans to stay on as Interim Superintendent until the middle of February. The state law allows him to work at 45% of the compensation of the full-time position and he will stretch his time out by taking furlough days.  

During the approval of field trip section of the meeting, Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she has been hearing concerns from parents about the value of some of the field trips, as well as the cost and ability of some children to participate in them.  She said she would like to be presented follow-up reports after the field trip in order to evaluate their usefulness.

Mr. Iannacone said that he has engaged a committee of business and community leaders to review the compensation of the new superintendent. Committee members include Joe Mann director of the NEON Center, Tony Lopez a benefits expert and Michael Lyons, an attorney.

BOE Agenda and Race to the Top

One of the topics on tonight's BOE agenda is Race to the Top Funding, the Obama Admistration's $4.35 billion investment in school reform that requires states to compete for grants.  The grants place a strong emphasis on effective teachers and principals.

Connecticut Public Radio did a story on Race to the Top funding on Saturday in which State Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan says he’s “guardedly optimistic” about Connecticut’s prospects.

Reading Rewires Brain Function

Over the last few days, there has been a lot of interesting discussion about the role of the literacy specialist in the Norwalk Public Schools.

Our focus on literacy, especially for elementary age students, underlies the obvious assumption that reading is important.  However, after listening to a National Public Radio report last week, I learned that reading is important for more than accumulating knowledge.  The mere act of regular reading improves our brain.

According to a study published in the journal Neuron, "intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself, creating new white matter that improves communication within the brain."

Finance Commitee Reviews Staffing Needs and Central Office Vacancies

The Finance Committee of the Board of Education began a review of staffing needs for the 2010-2011 Norwalk Public School budget at their meeting last night.  Two programs on the agenda were Early Childhood and Literacy Services.  The Committee also performed an inventory of all interim, vacant and soon to be vacant positions. 

Early in the meeting, Finance Committee Chair Steve Colarossi and Dan Cook, Interim Chief Financial officer said that a RFP will be drafted for "negotiations of legal services".  The BOE will look for a firm with the most competitive legal fees. This move is the a result of a review of Legal Services which occurred at the last Finance Committee meeting. 

Recycling and BOE Finance Committee Agenda

I read an interesting article in The Hour yesterday about recycling in Norwalk Schools. The Joint Services Committee of the Board of Estimation and Taxation (BET) and the Board of Education met last Thursday and discussed saving money through recycling.

At issue is saving money. The city currently gets paid $17.50 for each ton of recyclables hauled away by City Carting & Recycling, the Stamford firm that handles recycling in Norwalk. At the same time, the city must pay $75 for each ton of trashed hauled away, according to public works officials.

In particular, some schools have started to recycle plastic lunch trays and other plastic materials in the lunchroom. This recycling program has been implemented in seven of the 19 schools, one of which is Norwalk High School, and is in the process of being rolled out to other schools soon.

Teacher Gifts

The annual holiday gift collection letter arrived in my son's backpack today.  The room parents are asking for a small cash contribution for a gift for his teacher.

My children's teachers are on our family's holiday gift giving list every year.  We usually contribute to whatever the room parents have in mind.  Most years, the class gives a gift card.  One year, parents coordinated the purchase of monogrammed beach bag. Another year, parents chipped in for a souped-up electronic pencil sharpener for the classroom, at the request of the teacher. 

In addition to the classroom gift, I know some families who give their own personalized gift--a tin of cookies, a craft or a handwritten note.

Papallo Staying Until End of Feb; Another Interim?

I learned last week that Interim Superintendent Bill Papallo will be employed by Norwalk Public Schools until at least the end of February. 

As we know Dr. Papallo was hired by the BOE at the beginning of August. According to State law as a retired administrator Dr. Papallo can work for just over 5 months. As such Dr. Papallo's contact would allow him to work only until mid January.  However, Dr. Papallo told me in an e-mail that he will be taking "furlough days" to extend his contract out into February.

More on Board Communication

At the recent BOE meeting this week, communication was a major topic of discussion.  There was considerable back and forth about Steve Colarossi's draft motion to create a communications committee and put Board documents on the NPS website.  A couple of the Board members clearly thought the committee would be a forum for the public to air their grievences as opposed to a group that would devise strategies for the Board to improve communication with the public.

I spoke with Robert Rader, executive director of CABE (Connecticut Association of Boards of Education), this morning and he said that "many districts have had communications committees at one point or another."

The purpose of a communications committee can be manyfold according to Mr. Rader.  "The purpose of the committee depends on the priorities of the district.  It could be a committee to reach out to parents or the business community or the broader community, since many people in cities don't have children in the schools," he said.

In his experience, Mr. Rader has seen committees comprised of the Board only and committees with members of the public, especially those that have a Public Relations background. 

Take a look at the Stamford Public School website.  Stamford has an ad hoc "Public Engagement" committee and it also has a very informative website.  Like ours, it includes BOE meeting agendas and minutes.  Unlike ours, it includes superintendent reports and presentations, BOE meeting background information, BOE policies and bylaws and the budget.  It translates documents into nearly 50 languages.

I understand that the Web is not the only way to communicate with our parents and community, but it is an important one.  So much so, that the state requires important documents to be publicly available on the website.  In fact, I am waiting for Norwalk to put the Grant Application for the ARRA Special Education Funds online which is State requirement. 

We expect our children to have a 21st century education and skills.  Shouldn't we lead by example?

Communication was a defining issue of the BOE elections last month and arguably one of the primary reasons that the incumbents were not reelected.  It must be addressed by this Board.

Updated: Sup Search and Communication Discussed at BOE Meeting (including CABE Report)

At the BOE meeting last night, CABE Search Services, the search firm retained by the Norwalk Board of Education, presented a summary of their findings from community forums and surveys that were conducted last month.  According to CABE, approximately 198 individuals filled in the leadership assessment profiles that were distributed by the firm. (See below for report)

The surveys indicated, according to CABE, that Norwalkers believe that there is a “void in leadership and little long term visioning” in Norwalk Schools.  Survey respondents also expressed their concern about outdated systems and “perception of inequity” in the school system. 

The CABE consultants told the BOE that the community is “looking for direction”.  Norwalkers indicated in the surveys and forums that they want a new superintendent who knows how to partner with different groups, including the business community, and manage finances.

Arne Duncan: Not all Teaching Jobs are Equal

Education Secretary Arne Duncan told an audience Monday at the Aspen Institute's Innovation Economy Conference that America has fallen behind in education. "We've lost our way in education in this country," he said. "In the most recent study of 15 year old’s math performance we were 31st internationally. That’s not who we think we are but that’s the reality."

Interviewed by journalist Gwen Ifel of PBS' NewsHour program, Secretary Duncan said that what's needed is "transformational change not just incremental change."

The ABCs of BOE Budgeting

As the Board of Education begins the process of setting its budget for next year (2010-2011), I thought it would be useful to learn more about how the budget actually gets determined.

The following is a guest post by Fred Wilms, Chairman of the Norwalk Board of Estimate & Taxation.

The City's Operating Budget process can come across as confusing and sometimes perhaps frustrating.  In this posting, I outline the process in three parts: the budget time line, some background on the key budget players, plus answers to a few frequently asked questions.

Operating Budget Time Line:

The City fiscal year begins July 1. Norwalk shares this fiscal year cycle with other Connecticut towns along with the State of Connecticut. To be ready for July 1, the City starts the Operating Budget process the prior October. The Director of Finance requests all departments to submit their proposed budgets by the end of November. The Board of Education (BoE) submits theirs the beginning of January. The Director then collects these requests, and after receiving overall direction from the Mayor, prepares a recommended budget.

Tidbits: BOE Committee Assignments, Mylo Leaves The Hour, and Breaktime

The 2009-2010 Board of Education Committees were announced today.  According to BOE Chair Glenn Iannacone, it is the Chairman's role to assign committees.  However, he did consider requests made my certain members.  Both the Chairman and committee assignments are for one year.

For the first time, the Committees have been posted on the Norwalk Public School website.

2009-2010 Board of Education Committees
Finance Steve Colarossi, Chair Jack Chiaramonte Glenn Iannaccone Susan Hamilton	Negotiations Jack Chiaramonte, Chair Jody Bishop-Pullan Sue Haynie	Policy Steve Colarossi, Chair Erin Halsey Migdalia Rivas Susan Hamilton
Curriculum Sue Haynie, Chair Erin Halsey Migdalia Rivas Heidi Keyes	CES Representatives Sue Hamilton Migdalia Rivas	Adult Education Representative Migdalia Rivas
Norwalk Facilities Commission Glenn Iannaccone	Mentoring Liaison (Human Services Council) Erin Halsey	Joint Consolidating Committee Glen Iannaccone Jody Bishop-Pullan
NEF Representative TBA	Norwalk ACTS TBA

In other news, Lauren Mylo, education reporter at The Hour, is resigning for personal reasons and her last day is this Friday.  Ms. Mylo has been at The Hour for one and a half years and covered education in Norwalk for less than a year.

According to Jerrod Ferrari, Managing Editor at The Hour, the newspaper is interviewing for her replacement.  In the interim, The Hour will use a combination of freelance and staff writers to cover education stories.

"Education is the most important beat in Norwalk, outside of City Hall," said Mr. Ferrari.  "It's important for us hire the right person and not rush."

"Lauren did a terrific job," said Mr. Ferrari, "She's the kind of reporter that every editor wants."

On a personal note, I've always liked reading her stories. Lauren was really on top of her beat. I was envious when she got to interview Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. What a scoop!

I'm taking a blogging break over the long weekend.   Happy Thanksgiving everyone

BOE Finance Commitee Gets Briefed on Stimulus Funding and Questions Legal Fees

Updated with background documents.  See below.

Nearly 37% of Norwalk students receive free and reduced lunch according to information presented at the Board of Education’s Finance Committee meeting held Monday night.

Dr. Dan Cook, interim CFO for the district, told the committee that the central office had made a big push to sign up as many eligible households as possible before the state’s October 1 deadline. The figure is up 3 percentage points from last year.

The number of students receiving free and reduced lunches affects how much funding a school receives from the Federal Government under Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

Full Agenda for BOE Finance Committee Meeting

A meeting of the Finance Committee of the Board of Education will take place tonight at 7pm at City Hall, A300.  The agenda includes many important items such as outside legal services, stimulus funding and the 2010-11 budget. Newly-elected Board member Steve Colarossi is the new chair of this committee.  NorwalkNet will report on this meeting.   Look for a story tomorrow.

BOE Finance Cmte.112309

BOE Meetings Now "CSPAN" Style

Below is a video of the BOE meeting that was held Tuesday November 17, 2009. The video was taped by the Norwalk Education Foundation.

You can find NorwalkNet's story about the meeting here.


BOARD OF ED NOV 17 2009 - Movie 01 from Norwalk Education Foundation on Vimeo.

Haynie Answers League of Women Voters' Questions

This is guest post by newly elected BOE member Sue Haynie.  

Time ran out at the Board of Education forum in October before all community questions collected by the League of Woman Voters and other sponsors were answered.  The responses below are summaries of my thoughts, only my thoughts and not those of other Board members, on these questions.

Since these were community questions and time and effort was taken to compile them, I wanted to respond. They are not researched to the level they deserve. Their intent is not to please everyone. However, they do give the reader an idea of my thinking, as a newly elected Board of Education member, on issues of importance to our community. Keep in mind, I remain open to good arguments and sound judgment. My hope is that this will be the beginning of many dialogs. 

Suspensions: How will your board membership decrease suspensions and lower the dropout rate?

-         It would be helpful to collect and publish data that details the correlation between the numbers of children who are suspended and their grade level in reading; it would be important to know what part literacy plays in Norwalk’s suspension rate.

-         It would be helpful to track the trajectory of suspensions for students and use that data to look for answers—for instance, does an upward trajectory seem to gain steam at a certain grade level and, if so, can we determine why?

-         Where are we as a district in implementing ‘positive behavior modifications’?

-         For the dropout rate, again, it would be helpful to collect and publish the data that details the correlation between dropouts and grade level in reading—what part does literacy play in drop out rates in Norwalk?

-          What is our drop out rate and let’s look at that closely.

Teacher morale: Right now, some feel that teacher morale is at an all-time low. What will you do to change this?

-         For starters, create a sense of inclusion and collaboration with teachers. Hire a superintendent who listens and communicates and provide a Board of Ed that listens and communicates. Figure out better ways to celebrate successes.

Diversity and closing the achievement gap: Please give your definition of a diverse community and what do you feel can be done to close the achievement gap in a diverse classroom?

-         In my mind, a diverse community is Norwalk, a melting pot—a city with a variety of races, ethnicities, religions, languages, and cultures, a microcosm of our country. 

-         The achievement gap is a bigger issue than can be addressed here but, to begin—be sure that the supports are in place to ensure that the vast majority of our children are decoding/reading by the end of 1^st grade and, most certainly, long before they leave the elementary grades; provide language rich curriculums across subject areas; look to schools within the district that are using best practices in making demonstrable, replicable and dramatic gains in achievement; take fuller advantage of the reading research institutions within driving distance of Norwalk;  increase the availability of assistive technology where needed; raise the bar and level of expectations for all kids; ensure that the vertical transitions between elementary to middle school and then to high school are well-planned and fluid.

Standards of promotion: Why are so many children passed from grade to grade and they do not meet the standards for NCLB?

-         New York City began a rigorous restructuring of ‘social promotion’ procedures a couple of years ago under Mayor Bloomberg and Superintendent Klein—it is no longer a given that a child in NYC will be promoted to the next grade. However, there’s an emphasis on early identification and multiple avenues of help before a child is held back.  See this interesting article from Education Week Rand Study, Social Promotion in NYC

Briggs High School: What do you plan to do to improve Briggs High School?

-         While running for the Board of Education, we had the opportunity to tour Briggs High School and meet their dynamic principal, staff and students.

-         Briggs provides a refuge for kids who need an alternative to the rough and tumble of a large high school; it’s about tenacity, hope and new beginnings. Celebrate it, and, rather than marginalize it, expand and enhance the model.

-         It has no library—be sure that at the very least the online library, Bookshare, with it’s 60,000 books, magazines and periodicals, can be accessed at the school;

-         Look into assistive technology applications, fundable under ARRA funds, that can increase access to curriculum for all students, an example is Kurzweil a reading and college prep assistive technology;

-         The school needs a crosswalk—how can Norwalk or the Board help?

Code of Conduct: What will you do to ensure high professional standards of conduct?

-         Much of this issue begins at the top, in the Superintendent’s office and the Board of Education, setting high standards and expectations for everyone, including them.  Include stronger governance as well as training for Board of Education members to be productive members. Provide governance for behavior protocols and ethics so it’s clear what the expectations are and how to enforce them.

Tenure: What is your position regarding tenure as it relates to performance?

-         Collaboration and communication on this issue is important, reaching a common ground and a common understanding with mutual respect, but, ultimately and importantly, doing what’s best for the kids.  Public school districts across the nation are dealing with, talking about, and experimenting with variations of traditional contract arrangements.  Norwalk has time to watch, and listen and learn from this. Since this is potentially a contentious issue, it’s important that communication remains vibrant and minds remain open.

Superintendence: Should Norwalk enact a residency requirement for the superintendent position?

-         It would be convenient but I don’t think it should be required. I believe that the hiring of a Superintendent is one of the most important jobs a Board of Education can do and I’m not convinced that residency and excellence are related. I’m also not aware of residency being a corporate norm. In addition, this is clearly not an ideal time to be buying or selling a home. 

Early Childhood Education: How do you see early education for 3 and 4 year olds fitting in with the overall district improvement plan?:

-         Early childhood education is definitely desirable, directly applicable to the district improvement plan but increasing it from what we are currently doing costs money. We would have to look at what the costs are, what the options are, and what we can afford. Are there outside funding sources that can expand on what is already available in district?  Do we have the space?  This is an important question but, quite frankly, I don’t have enough district or financial information to answer it well.

-        

Diversity training for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender school population? We have a large LGBT population in our schools. How do you feel about the training of diversity in school and how do you feel about support groups for these youths?

-         Norwalk and Brien McMahon High Schools have Gay & Lesbian Alliance Clubs. I’m not sure what Briggs offers. I don’t know what is available at the middle school level. Many kids need support or guidance, regardless of the reason—a question I would ask is what avenues are available for a child who has questions or conflict and, do they know where to turn? Community conversations at the high school level might be an interesting and helpful option.

Curriculum: Should 9^th graders have the opportunity to take advanced placement classes?

-         At first glance, I would say yes. But, more research on the subject would be warranted, and, communication with and the thoughts of teachers and administrators, as well as parents, at the high school level would be highly appropriate.

Overcrowding in schools: Where are you going to put all the students when the thousands of vacant or planned homes, condos and apartments become occupied?

-         An updated facility plan that accounted for the myriad changes that are occurring in Norwalk would certainly be helpful. Portable classrooms, how can that be issue be addressed or planned for?

-         The Avalon apartments on Belden Avenue and the apartments planned for 95/7 on West Avenue are high end and have not necessarily been designed with children in mind—what are the resident child projections for those projects?

-          The South Norwalk Community Charter School has a tentative opening of September 2010; it will begin with 80 children. How will that affect district school population shifts when it is built out to K-5?

-          Norwalk Public Schools had a negative -4.4% 5-year growth rate as of the 2008 State of Connecticut Strategic School Profiles. However, Darien had a  positive  +12.5% 5-year growth rate, New Canaan +4.8%, Westport +10.5% and Wilton a +6.4%.  My question is, why are we losing children when, of all the five towns just mentioned, Norwalk is the ‘starter community’, the most affordable? Is it perception? I think so. How will the hiring of a determined and motivational Superintendent change that and how will that affect our facilities study?

Academically gifted students: Tonight there has been a lot of talk about raising the bar and closing the gap, which are important. However, some parents feel that academically gifted children are being left behind. Can you respond?

-         The Director of Norwalk’s Academically Talented department is doing some fabulous things with Parent Orientations, Parent Coffee Series, notifications of events, seminars, summer opportunities, parent informational series and question and answer sessions.  I have been nothing if not impressed by the Directors work.  I would make my concerns known to the Director and begin a dialog. As part of the Board of Education, I have a strong desire to raise the bar for ALL kids, including this subset of children who may need additional challenges.

[The contents of this article represent the views of the writer, not of NorwalkNet.com.] 

Updated: Rocky Start For New Board

Correction:  A previous version of this story stated that Midgalia Rivas was Chair of the Policy Committee.  In fact, Ms. Rivas was a member of the the policy and curriculum committee. Susan Hamilton was the previous chair of the policy committee.  In addition,  Ms. Hamilton commented on Janie Friedlander's resignation; she did not "announce" it as previously reported.


Community tensions that had been building since the Board of Education’s elections two weeks ago burst into the open as four new BOE members were sworn in at tonight’s meeting. Existing Democrat Board members and newcomers clashed repeatedly over committee assignments and procedural matters. 

About 75 people crammed into a meeting room at Norwalk City Hall. Prominent among the crowd was an organized contingent from the city’s African American community which had lost three of its members from the previous board.

During the public comments section Amanda Brown, who lost a seat herself on the Norwalk Common Council, told the new BOE members that she had concerns about the composition of the board because with the exception of Migdalia Rivas, who is Hispanic, the rest of the board is White.

“Diversity is not being celebrated in Norwalk,” she said. “It’s being used as a weapon to divide us, and what divides us makes us weak.” Ms. Brown recommended that the new board members undergo sensitivity training because she believed that their backgrounds did not prepare them to understand the life-long discrimination experienced by Black people.

Richard Fuller, a former member of the BOE, also spoke about the lack of diversity on the new board. He told the board that a parent coalition called the “Board Watchers” had been formed.  They would be present at most board meetings and would monitor the board to ensure that the needs of minority students were being met.

Lauren Rosato, Executive Director of the Norwalk Education Foundation also addressed the board and presented a summary report about the Community Conversation held last month at Norwalk Community College.  NEF is also taping BOE meetings and airing them on Channel 78 (I’ll find out the time.)

As a result of the three of the Republican-endorsed Parents Not Politicians candidates being elected, the balance of power on the BOE has shifted. The Republicans used their new majority to select existing board member Glenn Iannaccone as the new Chairman of the BOE and Jack Chiaramonte as Vice-Chair.  Susan Hamilton was voted in as Secretary.

Early in the meeting, Mr. Colarossi questioned a $5,000 budget transfer request from West Rocks Middle School to cover expenses related to the use of paper supplies which he said seemed excessive.   Lynn Moore, Principal of West Rocks and Dan Cook, CFO were asked to clarify the expense. 

Ms. Rivas remarked that questions about the specifics of budget items should be brought up with the Director of Finance before the board meeting.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan added that because of the difficult budget reconciliation the Board should expect additional budget transfers. 

Mr. Colarossi also made a motion to amend the agenda to add a discussion about an e-mail he had circulated to board members in the afternoon.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan, said that unless the issue was time sensitive the general procedure that the board followed was not to introduce items at the meetings because neither the public nor board members would have had time to evaluate the issue. Mr. Colarossi withdrew his motion and said that the Board can revisit the issue at a later meeting.

In the same discussion Ms. Rivas remarked that it was inappropriate for board communications to take place by e-mail and rebuked Mr. Colarossi for his attempt to add an item to the agenda at the last minute.

Prior to the committee reports, Mr. Iannacone announced that the Committee chairs would also be changing. Henceforth the Finance and Policy Committees would be headed by Steve Colarossi, the Negotiating Committee would be led by Jack Chiaramonte, and the Curriculum Committee would be directed by Sue Haynie. Committee members had not been assigned.

The news of the changing roles seemed to catch the Democrats off guard. Ms. Rivas, who had been the on the Policy and Curriculum committees complained that she was being purposely “excluded” and not being “given respect.” She said she was on the Board to represent the needs of District B (South Norwalk), a community about which she said she is "passionate."

“Like you were doing such a great job,” responded Mr. Iannacone who was not aware that Ms. Rivas was on the policy committee.

The repeated back and forth among the BOE members and interruptions from the audience raised the ire of Mr. Chiaramonte who exclaimed,  “The bickering ends here and now.“

The fraught meeting actually started off on a positive note when Dr. Papallo congratulated Jefferson and Silvermine Schools for receiving that Lone Pine Award for Academic Gain.  Principals from both the schools received a standing ovation from the Board. 

Dr. Papallo also gave an update on the superintendent search.  The focus groups conducted by the search firm have concluded although Dr. Papallo suggested that there maybe another one.  He said that the next 3-4 weeks are a waiting time for the consultants to field candidates.  The Board should be ready to interview candidates by mid-December according to Dr. Papallo. 

In other updates, Ms. Hamilton commented on the resignation of Janie Friedlander, Director of Special Education. Ms. Friedlander submitted her resignation in October and will continue to work until April 30th.

Mr. Iannacone said that the $50,000 for the elementary facility/expansion study was approved by the city.

In a final comment, Mr. Chiaramonte said that Board should act as an apolitical body with only the taxpayers and children of Norwalk in mind.  He said he was offended by the “circus” and that he cares about “each and every child in Norwalk.”

CT Applying for $150 million in Race to the Top Funding

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released the final application for Race to the Top Funding last week on November 12th.   Race to the Top is an education initiative by the Obama Administration that will reward some states undertaking bold school improvement initiatives with awards totaling $4.35 billion.  Connecticut will be applying for a $150 million piece of this pie.

Race to the Top funding puts an emphasis on charter schools, using standardized test scores in teacher evaluation and merit pay systems, and encouraging local districts to dismiss staff at failing schools.

The State has been working since August to respond to the  requirements of the grant and has assembled a team of educators, including superintendents and teachers, and business leaders to help put together Connecticut’s proposal for reform.

According to Superintendent Papallo, no Norwalk district officials are involved in helping the State to prepare its application, however once a new superintendent is selected that person may get involved.

"I thought that it would be unfair to commit the new person to this project at this time.  If he or she wishes I am sure that they can become involved in the project," said Dr. Papallo in an email.

According to a press release from the Connecticut State Department of Education:

“This process is designed to have us take a good honest look at our education system and take action — at the state and local levels — to bring our schools into the 21st century and meet our responsibilities to our next generation of workers and citizens,” Commissioner McQuillan said. “We are requesting upwards of $150 million over three years to effect major change in Connecticut’s 1,100 public schools....

“Writing the application is only one part of the work. Essential to our application is the thinking of principals, teachers, university leaders and other policymakers. We’ve asked them to the table to help us build the strategic vision and mission guiding the grant,” Commissioner McQuillan said.

In addition, the Commissioner has invited 18 superintendents from Connecticut’s most disadvantaged communities to form a “virtual” district organized around three major reforms:
• urban school renewal;
• secondary school reform; and
•prekindergarten-Grade 6 academic improvement. 

“These initiatives have been part of the Department’s work with these districts since 2007, but with the prospect of dedicating new dollars to the work, the superintendents have expressed genuine hope that reforms that had once been out of reach — the creation of a longer school days, for example, coupled with major curricular innovations in science, mathematics and technology — may be possible with the funding provided."

Draft guidelines for the fund were released in August and were the subject of considerable criticism from states and educational organizations.  The new final guidelines reflect the feedback.

According the U.S. Dept. of Education press release:

The final application released today includes significant changes to the proposal released by the U.S. Department of Education in July. After reviewing responses to the draft proposals from 1,161 people, who submitted thousands of unique comments, ranging from one paragraph to 67 pages, the U.S. Department of Education restructured the application and changed it to reflect the ideas of the public.

"The public's input on this application was invaluable to us," Duncan said. "The comments helped us clarify that we want states to think through how they will create a comprehensive agenda to drive reform forward."

The final application also clarifies that states should use multiple measures to evaluate teachers and principals, including a strong emphasis on the growth in achievement of their students. But it also reinforces that successful applicants will need to have rigorous teacher and principal evaluation programs and use the results of teacher evaluations to inform what happens in the schools.

States have until mid-January to prepare applications for a first round of the grant competition, and until June for a second round. Applications must describe multiple strategies for change and must be accompanied by statements of support from leaders of local school districts.

Nathan Hale Principal Wins "Local Hero" Award

Bob McCain, the principal of Nathan Hale Middle School, was one of five people selected in Fairfield County as a "Local Hero".  Mr. McCain was presented his award last Thursday evening (Nov. 12) at a ceremony at the Palace Theatre in Stamford. 

The prize is sponsored by the Bank of America as part of its Neighborhood Excellence Initiative program through which the bank is donating $450,000 to Fairfield County non-profits.  The Cardinal Shehan Center and Domus each received $200,000. Each of the Local Heros can direct $5,000 to the charity of their choosing. Mr. McCain seleceted to support the Norwalk Education Foundation. 

In addition, five student leaders were recognized for their contribution to the community, including Jill Daley and Ariel Shachter of Norwalk.

"Bank of America created the Local Hero award to acknowledge and motivate those who show an extraordinary commitment to serving their community.  Bob McCain is an example of what an educator can do for a community by providing confident and effective leadership and always putting youth first," said Bill Tommins, Fairfield County President at Bank of America. "As principal, Bob has motivated students to excel in the classroom and in life, and his tireless dedication has transformed Nathan Hale Middle School into a vibrant learning community."

Many parents and other community leaders are hoping that Mr. McCain applies for the vacant Superintendent of Schools position. In an interview with NorwalkNet on Friday, Mr. McCain said he has not decided whether he will apply.

"The award is very humbling and is the result of a combined effort of our school community," said Mr. McCain.  "This is a great district with some of the hardest working teachers that I've ever met."

In addition to Mr. McCain the following people were also awarded "Local Hero" by Bank of American:  Emilio Funicella, a Stamford resident and founder of Keep Stamford Beautiful, Nancy Kingwood, a Bridgeport resident for her work in HIV/AIDS prevention,  Shalini Madaras, a Wilton resident and founder of Kick for Nick, and  Joe and Gaye Yllanes, Newtown residents and foster parents to 10 children.

Below is copy of the remarks made by Mr. McCain's in speech at banquet held by Bank of America to recognize the recipients:

Everyday across America thousands of teachers and administrators enter their buildings and classrooms to help students achieve because they believe they can make a difference. They believe what they do each and everyday may, one day, change the world.

At NHMS we believe that we have the opportunity to make these changes for our students. I would like to thank the Bank of America for this wonderful honor that they have bestowed on myself and my school. I am truly humbled to be standing here in front of you.

Although this award is being presented to me, I really feel it should go to all the teachers, secretaries, aides, custodians, and parents who have made such a difference in the lives of the children at NHMS.  I am so fortunate to work with such dedicated and enthusiastic people and it is an honor to go to work each day in Norwalk. I would like to thank my wife and children who have come tonight to support me along with my Dad and his wife Sylvia and my Father-in-Law, Eldon.  Without strong family supports, I would not be standing here today. Although my parents never went to college, they instilled in me the importance of education.  Being from a proud Navy family instilled a strong work ethic and gave me values of honesty, integrity and determination. They shaped me to be a good person and gave me confidence to believe in myself. I am so grateful to them.

I came to Norwalk 5 years ago with the vision of turning the least desirable middle school in the district into one in which the community could be proud and where student achievement became a priority.  I came with a vision of how to accomplish this and was blessed with the faculty, staff, parents and students to make it happen.

Nathan Hale Middle School was a diverse school that had been on the decline for years. It was designated, by the State of Connecticut, as a “School in Need of Improvement” before I arrived because it had not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) since the inception of the NCLB Act. It had never even reached the state average on the Connecticut Mastery Test in Math, Reading or Writing at any grade level at any time.

The suspension rate was over 30% and police were regularly involved in the school. Gangs were active and fights occurred frequently. The community called our school “Junior Jail.”   We had bullet holes in windows, graffiti on the walls, broken furniture, and a school in turmoil. After touring the school with my wife for the first time, she got in the car and said, “Is it too late to back out and take the other job?” However, to me Nathan Hale was a diamond in the rough and I was in the place I needed to be.

The very first thing I did was meet with Team Leaders over the summer before school started, and I told them that our three year mission was to be a Connecticut Middle School of Year!  James Collins once said that “Vision isn’t forecasting the future.  It is creating the future by taking action in the present.”  We adopted this belief and started building our future.

We created a three year strategic plan in order to accomplish the mission.  We read many professional leadership books together, debated over our belief statements, researched current trend in education and collected data.  And we collected a lot of data! We adopted my schoolwide BARK philosophy where we modeled and taught all students Belief, Awareness, Respect and Kindness.  We celebrated successes and showed students that we really cared about them. Together, we were building the future and it was an amazing transformation to witness.

Our suspension and retention rates started to drop and the number of students making the honor roll increased.  We held Transition Nights for parents at our school and then brought those presentations on the road to Meadow Gardens, Grace Baptist Church, Roodner Court and the NEON Centers to ensure our entire school community understood our mission.  We needed our entire community to support us!

Within three years, we were named a Connecticut Top Ten School three times for the academic achievement growth of our Black and Hispanic students by the CONNCAN Foundation.  We were removed from the NCLB list and placed in “Safe Harbor” twice for our outstanding academic improvements, and we exceeded the State averages on the CMT in reading, writing and math.  We became the number one school (out of 21 schools) in our District Reference Group established by the State Department of Education in Math, Reading, Writing and Science.  Our scores on the state test have grown each year for students reaching goal level from 37 percent to the present where we are reaching goal in mid to high 70’s.

Our proficiency rates, which is what the Federal government uses to determine successful schools, has now at reached over 90 percent in math and writing. We were one of about 20 schools to be given an “Educational Citizenship Award” by the State of Connecticut for our outstanding work for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finally, we were named a Spotlight School by the New England League of Middle Schools. This three year honor was only given to 5 schools throughout New England and made us not only a Connecticut Middle School of the year but a New England Middle School of the year for the next three years.

This year we have created a new mission and that is to be named a “Blue Ribbon Middle School for the United States” and we have begun to undertake the steps necessary to achieve this honor.  We still have work to do such as reducing our Achievement Gap, forming successful Advisor/Advisee groups, and being permanently removed from the NCLB list. But we are proud of the work we have done.

I would again, like to thank the Bank of America for bestowing upon me this unbelievable honor. I also would like to thank one of our Nathan Hale parents Gloria Falcone for nominating me and writing the application. The $5000 award that the Bank of America is giving me will be donated to the Norwalk Education Foundation so they can continue their hard work with helping the children of Norwalk.

Papallo Apologizes for Not Attending Award Ceremony

Interim Superintendent Bill Papallo sent an e-mail in response to yesterday's story on Jefferson and Silvermine being recognized by the Lone Pine Foundation for improving student achievement.

Papallo wrote:

From my end, I was only made aware of the award ceremony a few days before the event. I know the same was true for others. I knew that the schools were winners some time back as I received a call from the Lone Pine staff but did not know about the date or time of the awards ceremony at that time. It was a miscommunication at this end or theirs, not through anyone’s fault. I sent my apologies to each school for not being there and have talked with each principals to extend my apologies for no one being there and my congratulations to all staff for this exciting achievement. I have also sent along a note of Congratulations to ALL staff. Life is very complex. Bill.

It's a sign of leadership that the Superintendent is acknowledging that a mistake was made.

Jefferson and Silvermine Win Academic Gain Award

Jefferson and Silvermine Elementary Schools are the recipients of the Lone Pine Foundation's Academic Gain Award. The schools took home top prizes at an awards ceremony held on Monday evening at UConn Campus in Stamford. They were selected from 151 schools in Fairfield County as having the greatest improvement in student achievement on the 2009 Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMT).

"This award is incredibly motivating and a tribute to our hard working staff," said Katherine Gallagher, assistant principal of Jefferson School which took home first place.

"We have been making steady gains and this year it really showed," said Ms. Gallagher. "It's great that someone is recognizing us.   I'm so excited for Norwalk and it just goes to show that every child can learn."

According to Ms. Gallagher,  several new teaching techniques have been put into place at Jefferson.  The amount of reading instruction given to students in 2nd and 3rd grades has doubled.  In addition,   students across each grade are regrouped into smaller work groups focusing on specific topics.  The school is building strong grade level teacher teams and allowing teachers to watch each other teach and learn from each other. 

At Silvermine, Prinicipal Ivette Ellis said that teachers are meeting every six days by grade level to monitor student progress. 

As winners of the Award every full-time employee at Jefferson Science Magnet School in Norwalk during the 2008-09 academic year will each receive $500. Every full-time employee of the 2nd place winning school, Silvermine Elementary School, will each receive $350.

"Our aim is to reward every single employee in the building, including the cafeterial and custodial staff, " said Lucy Ball, director of The Lone Pine Foundation. "We believe educating our children is a team effort and every single employee plays an important part in creating a learning environment."

According to Ms. Ball,  the Lone Pine Foundation together with Cambridge Education undertook statistical analysis of the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT). The Lone Pine Foundation Advisory Board then selected a short list of the four most improved schools.

A team from the Lone Pine Foundation and Cambridge Education conducted full day site visits at each of the Finalist schools on the short list. The visits included interviews with the principals, students, teachers, and parents, as well as thorough reviews and evaluations of school portfolios – test data, student work samples, school improvement plans, and professional development plans.

"I was very impressed by the process," said Prinicial Ellis. "They took the time to look at the story behind the numbers."

Approximately 40 people attended the awards ceremony,  mainly principals, assistant principals teachers and parents from Jefferson and Silvermine.  No one from Norwalk's central office or any other elected official was present, according to Silvermine's PTO President Kerry O'Neill, which she said was "disappointing and disheartening."

"Mayor Finch of Bridgeport was there to congratulate two Bridgeport schools that received third and fourth place," said Ms. O'Neill.  "We need that kind of support and encouragement in Norwalk."

"One of the messages I took away from previous winners of the award is that we just have to keep working.  Our  families are going to come back when they see improvements like this, " said Ms. O'Neill referring to the fact that  Silvermine's enrollment is down 100 students over the last several years.

The Lone Pine Foundation, is a Connecticut-based private non-profit group funded by the employees of Lone Pine Capital LLC a Greenwich based hedge fund.  The foundation seeks to break the cycle of poverty through education. This is the third year that this award was given.  Last year, Jefferson was third place and Brookside was fourth.  No Norwalk schools were selected in 2007.

One of the goals of the Lone Pine Foundation Award is to collect effective teaching practices used at  winning schools as an example of best practice.  A list of these practices (listed below) was distributed at the awards ceremony.

*****
Effective Practices of the Finalist Schools:

Inspirational and Visionary Leadership: Principals inspire staff, parents and students to commit to their very clear vision for how the school will reach and sustain challenging goals for student academic and personal achievement

Data Analysis and Collaborative Leadership: Administrators and teachers work in collaborative leadership teams to analyze in great detail student assessment data in reading, math, science and writing to drive decisions and accelerate learning at individual, group, grade and school level.

Teacher Collaboration: Regularly scheduled grade and cross-grade meetings of teachers and support staff ensure the alignment of instruction and curriculum to data and enable the sharing and embedding of effective lessons and teaching strategies.

Accountability: Every teacher and specialist accepts accountability for every student's achievement and progress regardless of class or grade and consistently follows research-proven procedures for planning and delivering effective learning.

Use of Formative and Summative Data to Raise Achievement and Accelerate Progress: The whole faculty constantly uses and shares evaluation instruments and data to measure student achievement throughout the year, to target interventions and to drive instruction.

Flexible Targeted Grouping: The leadership team uses formative testing data to implement flexible and constantly changing classroom and cross-grade groupings for reading and math to target student specific academic needs and to ensure differentiated academic challenge. Intervention activities and extra academic time support all students and not just those who are not reaching proficiency levels.

Continuity for Accelerated Progress: Effective transition arrangements ensure that student achievement does not need to be reassessed at the start of each year. This enables teaching and learning to begin immediately. This year’s number one school also runs a summer preschool program to prepare incoming students for curriculum expectations. The full day kindergarten program has academic goals that are pre-tested, taught, and post-tested for mastery.

Self Assessments: Students know in reading and math the level they are working on and with their teachers they set academic goals. They also use rubrics to evaluate their daily work.

Personal and Social Development: There is strong focus on research-proven student learning and creating environments that support personal and emotional development alongside academic achievement.

Parent Involvement: Parents are welcomed as equal partners in their children's education and therefore support the schools in their work. Parents are provided specific information to know the child’s level of achievement and next steps for learning.

Community Partnerships: The support from community groups extends student experiences and enriches the curriculum both on and off-site.

Diversity and Minority Issues Dominate Community Sup Search Forum

Diversity and minority issues dominated the discussion at the Community Forum for the Superintendent search.

Approximately 30 people attended the forum organized by CABE Search Services, the consultants hired by the BOE to find a new chief for Norwalk Schools. About half were the same people that attended the Thursday Parent Forum last week including Board Members Glenn Iannacone, Shirley Mosby, Rosa Murray, Sue Haynie (elect). In addition, principals Lynn Moore of West Rocks, Bob McCain on Nathan Hale, Linda Sumpter of Ponus Ridge were present as well. Bruce Morris, NPS's Human Relations Officer was also at the forum.

When the consultants asked about challenges in Norwalk, one parent spoke about the challenges of the federal No Child Left Behind law and teaching to the test. Another highlighted the lack of attention on identifying early on children who have special needs or reading issues.

Ms. Sumpter said that the next superintendent will have to focus initially on "healing the community" which she feels has suffered rifts. "The new superintendent will have to reach out to everyone," she said. Ms. Sumpter added that Norwalk needs to continue its work in improving student achievement. "Because of the NCLB, we have changed the way we teach children. Evey child is more closely examined. That work needs to continue. It's not one size fits all anymore," she said.

Ms. Sumpter added that the new superintendent will also have to focus on professional development and building relationships with the business and corporate communities.

John Mosby, a leader in Norwalk's Black community, spoke passionately about the need for a leader who will not "sugar coat" issues that are important the black community. He said that he feels that Norwalk has been "selling out" the Black community and that there aren't enough Black and Hispanic administrators and leaders in the school system. "The new superintendent should be ready to treat the black community right,"he said.

Ms. Moore said that there is a suspicion among some people in the district that a the new board has already made its decision about who will be selected as superintendent. "There is scuttlebutt that the decision has already been made," she said.

Mr. Morris told participants that it was unlikely that they were going to find a "superman" who would solve all of the problems of the district. However, he added, "we need to make sure that diversity is not just lipservice," He added that Norwalk needs someone who has a proven track record in an urban district.

Marie Allen, assistant principal at Ponus Ridge Middle School who used to work as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, also commented on the issue of diversity. "I've never seen such inequities in schools as I have in Norwalk," she said. The new superintendent needs to address this problem, she said.

One parent said Norwalk needs to cultivate its own leaders and build leadership from within.

Another parent said that perhaps children do a better job with diversity than adults. "They just see each other as friends and are color-blind," she said.

The consultants said that they have met with Norwalk students in this data gathering phase and one comment from the children that struck them was "unify us".

One parent said that she would like to see a superintendent that thinks like a person in corporate world, one that is focused on results and accomplishments.

Ms.Haynie, who was recently elected to the BOE, said that the good thing about looking at data is that it is objective and not emotional. "It shows the bottom-line results, something everyone is interested in," she said

Another parent said that we need a superintendent with, "a big heart and feeling for the children."

The CABE consultants have been meetings with teachers, students, administrators and parents over the last couple of weeks. Tuesday's meeting was the final public forum. All of the data collected at these various meetings will be synthesized and presented at a BOE meeting on December 1.