NPS Hires New Teachers and Administrators

Norwalk public schools have hired about 35 new teachers and several new administrators for the coming school year.


Despite millions of dollars in budget cuts, teaching positions remained largely unaffected and the Board of Education was busy over the summer hiring personnel lost due to retirements and attrition.

“At the end of the day, we had a lot of vacancies to fill,” said Superintendent of School Susan Marks, who presided over an orientation for new teachers last Friday.

Six of the seven assistant principal and high school housemaster positions have been hired. Damon Lewis, a former special education administrator from Stratford, is the new assistant principal at Ponus Ridge Middle School. At Norwalk High, Edward Singleton, who was an assistant principal at Hamden High School, was hired as one of the two new housemasters. A former literacy coach from Dolan Middle School in Stamford, Crystal Perry, is the new assistant principal at West Rocks Middle School.

In accordance with the district’s contract with the Norwalk Association of School Administrator’s, individuals who lost their jobs due to budget cuts were eligible for open administrator positions. Norwalk’s former director of elementary education, Carol Marinaccio, is a new housemaster at Norwalk High. Patti Mattera, most recently a literacy specialist for the district, returns to Columbus Magnet School (she used to be a teacher there) as the new assistant principal. Italia Negroni, former grants specialist, is the new assistant principal at Marvin Elementary School. One assistant principal position remains to be filled at Ponus.

Superintendent Marks says she is pleased with the new staff. “I’m very impressed by the quality of candidates. It was a very strong pool,” says Marks, noting in particular the qualifications of the new high school science teachers.

“We want the best and brightest,” said Bruce Mellion, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers. “We also want people who want to teach in a diverse setting.”

The hiring of new staff has implications for the district’s budget, said Steve Colarossi, chair of the Board of Education’s finance committee. New elementary teachers typically start at a lower salary than a senior teacher, which results in savings. However, high school teachers usually have more experience and have graduate degrees in their area of expertise, so there is less savings with them.

“We’ll need to look at the real numbers versus our projections,” said Colarossi.

Mellion said on Monday that teachers are still in the process of being hired. He is working closely with the school administration to monitor enrollment, which has been in flux throughout the summer, and class sizes. Class size, which determines the number of teachers the district needs, is determined by the teacher’s union contract. In Norwalk, for example, lower elementary classes are limited to 22 students, and upper elementary to 24.

“We’ll be watching the situation very closely over the first five days of school,” said Mellion.

Norwalk Expands Technology in Schools

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A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com

Norwalk students and staff can expect to see more new technology in the classrooms this fall. All fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms are being outfitted with five new computers and new mobile interactive whiteboards called “Mobis” will be installed in 150 classrooms. The district is also finalizing the purchase of a powerful data system that collects student test scores, grades and attendance records.

“We are working to create a 21st-century classroom,” says Robert Polselli, the district’s director of information technology. “One where teachers and students have access to information at their fingertips.”

Polselli’s team is installing 550 computer stations in the districts fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms, which until now had the oldest machines in the district. Instead of buying five separate computers, the district bought one higher quality computer per classroom to serve five virtual desktops — a screen with a keyboard. Polselli says this configuration has many savings: it’s cost effective, energy efficient and saves desk space. Also, fewer computers will need to be wired and serviced. “The amount of energy saved will be huge, and we’ll be able to provide better tech support,” he said. The computers were part of capital budget allocation made a couple of years ago.

Mobis, which will be distributed at all grade levels, are similar to other interactive whiteboards, but teachers are able to walk around the classroom and write on a tablet device instead of an actual whiteboard. The tablet, which is about the size of a notebook, is connected to an LCD projector mounted on the ceiling. They were introduced in the district last year on a small scale. “You can create a lesson with slides, video, websites and then do an assessment to see if students are understanding the concepts,” says Polselli.

The Mobi, with less hardware, is significantly less expensive — $399 versus $1,500 — than a SMARTboard.

This year, every school will get a new set of “clickers." Students can answer multiple choice and short answer questions on these remote control-like tools and teachers get instant results. The Mobi is also integrated with clickers. “The technologies are tied together,” says Polselli.

Brookside third-grade teacher Jeff Beckley considers himself an “early adopter” of technology. For the past year, he has been actively using clickers in his classroom. “We need to know real time what the kids know,” he says.

As part of his lessons, Beckley regularly uses his interactive whiteboard and video, saying classrooms must keep up with the reality of kids’ lives. “Kids are so technology exposed these days.  We can’t have a disconnect between what they do outside of school and inside.” 

Of all the new technologies, Polselli is most excited about the new data portal that will give educators access to a broad range of student data, including standardized test scores, reading scores, grades and attendance. “Every teacher has to use data,” says Polselli. “They can look at which scores are weak and which subject areas individual students need help in.”

Currently, the district has a data portal but it captures only test scores and has limited reporting capability. Polselli says the new system will have more “robust” data that will be useful for teachers, principals and  administrators. Polselli expects the program to be running by January.

Staff training is critical to make the best use of the technology, he says. Training, however, will be more challenging this year because the district lost an IT staff developer and a technician in budget cuts. Polselli says his remaining staff will assist with training, and he’ll also rely on the Norwalk Education Foundation.

This year, the foundation plans to hire, through a grant from JP Morgan Chase, two tech liaisons in each school. The liaisons are staff members who, for a stipend, get training on the new technologies in the school, which they then pass onto others. “Our goal is to build capacity into the schools and free up central office.” 

Beckley says his colleagues have become increasingly interested in learning about how to incorporate technology into the classrooms. “There is more desire now, teachers realize they don’t have a choice.”

Comment About Comments

I am very concerned about some of the comments that have been posted in response to my last article.

I started this blog two years ago as an exercise of fostering a discussion about the important issues affecting our children's education, not as a platform for ad homonym attacks. I purposely let comments be anonymous because I recognize that parents, teachers, and administrators sometimes have very good reasons to not identify themselves publicly. This does not mean, however that there is free license to talk about people's personal lives, who they have lunch with or when they're getting married. I am also dismayed by the repetitive attacks commenters are making on each other.

I don't want this blog to turn into a battlefield betweeen various factions of Central Office, and I'm going to be taking a more active role in editing our comments that are not constructive.

Having said that I'm not a PR platform for the public schools. Just because a comment doesn't put a positive spin on the activities of the district and its administrators doesn't mean it's not valuable. There are very real educational issues that need to be dealt with and we have to have a frank discussion about them.

Nevertheless, one of the impediments to creating a good school system in Norwalk is the rancor that infects Central Office. The pettiness, the backbiting, the distrust of colleagues seems to permeate the organization. One may argue that it's only a couple of disgruntled people venting on this blog, but what then what do we make of the leaks to The Hour of food receipts? Collectively, they are a sign of an unhealthy environment and it's hard to see how these people can work together on the needs of our children when they're at each others throats. As she searches for the new Director position Susan Marks needs to address the problems within her Central Office staff. Denying that they exist or ignoring them won't make them go away.

BOE Extends Marks' Contract, New Director Position Approved

The Norwalk Board of Education voted to extend Superintendent Susan Marks’s contract at Tuesday evening’s meeting. She received more good news at the meeting when the board finally voted to create the position of Director of Grants, Enrollment, Academically Talented and Operational Projects, a position she has been proposing, in one form or another, for the past two months.


With a 7-1-1 vote -- Migdalia Rivas voted against and Steve Colarossi abstained -- a year was added to Marks's contract, extending it to June 30, 2014. Her annual salary of $200,000 with an annuity of $30,000, remains the same with no raises. Colarossi explained that his abstention was not a vote against a person, but rather a vote against the Connecticut practice of automatically extending contracts one year to maintain three year contracts.

The vote happened without much discussion. During public comments, however, Bruce Mellion president of the teacher’s union, suggested Marks's contract was being extended without following prescribed evaluation procedures and timeline. He added that the evaluation had not yet been made available to the public . “Not one word has become public,” he said.

Also at the meeting, the board voted 7-1-1 to renew the contract of Assistant Superintendent Anthony Daddona. Sue Haynie voted against the renewal and again Colarossi abstained. This year, Dadonna will make $192,151, which includes a deferred 2.5 percent raise to be taken in the form of furlough days and a $5,000 annuity.

After a lengthy discussion, the board voted 6-2-1 in favor of creating the Director of Grants, Enrollment, Academically Talented and Operational Projects. Board members Rosa Murray and Migdalia Rivas voting against the position and Jodi-Bishop Pullan abstained.

Marks described the position as “urgent”, because several administrative positions were lost due to budget cuts, especially the oversight of grants. “How are we going to meet the needs of students and staff? We need this position to pick up key work,” she said.

Marks called the position a “bridge to a future reorganization of central office.” She also said that she scaled back the position’s responsibilities based on the board's recent comments. “After each meeting, I tried to listen and be responsive to feedback from the board so we have common goal.”

Bishop-Pullan and Murray asked if the position could be a lower paying specialist position. Colarossi wondered if it could be an executive assistant.

Marks emphasized that she needed a qualified 12 month position and that the difference between a director level position and an instructional specialist position (a 10 month position) was only $4,000. “This position requires at least a master’s and a broad knowledge of school systems,” she said. Board member Glenn Iannaccone spoke in favor of the position. “We already put back positions into the schools like housemasters and assistant principals. Now it’s time to put back one into central office.”

I'll post later today on the public comments about Briggs and the district's response. 

New Law Pushes Back on School Bullies

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwak.com

Schools across the state are taking steps to tackle bullying in schools, on buses and online. A revised law signed last month by Gov. Dannel Malloy requires that every member of the school staff, from the principal to the cafeteria worker, immediately report any instance of bullying.


“Creating a safe school environment is critical for kids to learn,” says state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, a member of the Education Committee that introduced the bill.

A 2009 state report found that one in four high school students had been bullied on school property. For freshmen, that figure was one in three students.

The law, which was originally passed in 2002 and revised twice, was updated this time to specifically include “cyberbullying” through text messages, email, Facebook and other social media. “Whatever bullying does happen here, happens mainly online,” says John Dodig, principal of Staples High School in Westport.

“The impact of cyberbullying is broader and does more damage,” says Boucher, who also represents parts of New Canaan, Weston and Westport. “This stuff goes viral.”

As part of the law, the entire school staff must receive annual training on bullying. “The staff need to have guidance about this issue and how to discuss it with kids. It will be good to have various adults supervising,” says Boucher. She credits high school students with casting a light on the seriousness of bullying. “They brought the issue to me,” she says. Boucher singled out Brien McMahon’s Center for Youth Leadership and students at Staples High School.

The Center for Youth Leadership adopted bullying as a major issue in 2008, according to Director Bob Kocienda. A delegation of students went to Hartford in the spring and testified on behalf of the bill. They put special emphasis on the link between bullying and dating violence at the high school level.

In December, two-dozen Staples students hosted a discussion on cyberbullying and Internet safety. Westport middle school student Alye Pollack helped shine a national spotlight on the when posted a powerful anti-bullying video in March on YouTube.

The law also requires that, by next year, each school district appoint a safe school climate coordinator and each school have a school climate committee to implement and monitor anti-bullying efforts.

On Monday, Norwalk Superintendent Susan Marks held a meeting with administrators to examine bullying policies. “We certainly will be getting information out to parents and students as soon as we can,” she said. “It is also important to provide training to staff as well.”

Staples principal John Dodig said he has reviewed the new legislation and produced a brochure of its important points that will be passed out on the first day of school. He says, however, that nothing in the legislation is new to Staples. “We already talk about it all the time, so its redundant to what we’ve been doing.”

The Briggs Non-Story

Where's the beef? That's the question readers of The Hour should be asking themselves after reading Danielle Capalbo's series of stories this weekend about a supposed "audit" being performed of finances at Briggs High school.

Three articles later I'm still left wondering what improprieties are causing this hullaballoo?

On Friday, Capalbo kicked off the topic by writing that an investigation was launched on whether grant money was misused during the term of recently retired principal Alaine Lane.

"Details remain vague about the potential mishandling of funds but sources said there was no evidence to suggest that money was used for personal gain," she wrote.

Wow. The Hour raises the issue that funds are being potentially misused and then in the same breath says it's all very "vague." It turns out that the District regularly reviews a school's accounts when a new principal is appointed.

In Monday's The Hour Capalbo tries show some smoke by highlighting some food expenses: $96 for pizza purchased for a meeting with parents and $215 for what sounds like a staff Christmas party.

Maybe I'm missing the point and there is something more significant that will be revealed but if this is it, then come on! Given Briggs' overall grants budget of $423,000 these sundry expenses amount to little more than rounding errors.

Obviously school officials need to be held accountable for the money they spend, but is it constructive for administrators to explain their lunch bills? We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. When so much attention is focused on trivialities there's a significant risk that no one will care when real misuses of funds occur.

Marks Proposes New Administrator

Staffing at Norwalk schools’ central office continues to the be a hot topic at the city’s Board of Education meetings. This week, for the second meeting in a row, Superintendent Susan Marks pushed for a new position that would take over the functions of several eliminated positions. 
“There were five positions cut, I’m asking for one back,” she said.  

The Norwalk central office administration lost the director of elementary education, instructional specialist for grants, instructional specialist for academically talented/social studies, IT staff and secretarial staff. At the close of budget season in June, the Board of Education agreed to let Marks reorganize and add central office staff with funds that were unallocated.

“The position is to support curriculum and instruction,” said Marks. The primary functions would be overseeing grants, academically talented education, and afterschool and other programs. 

"It’s a big job with supervisory responsibilities,” said Marks, explaining why she made the job a director level job with a salary of approximately $150,000. Marks said she and Assistant Superintendent Tony Daddona will still be solely responsible for evaluating principals. 

Board members appeared divided about the proposed position. Sue Haynie, Glenn Iannaccone and Heidi Keyes spoke in favor of the position. But the idea met resistance from Board member Steve Colarossi, who questioned whether Marks could create a less senior position. He also questioned why the position reported to the COO as opposed to the assistant superintendent. 

During public comments, teachers union president Bruce Mellion said that job was too broad in scope. “It’s not a position for one person. It’s not doable in its current format.”

The board did not decide on the position but Marks also outlined how the central office could be reorganized. The proposed plan included a department of school performance -- not tied to the administrators union -- that would evaluate the district’s principals. She also proposed year-round instructional specialists, an expanded role for teachers to work on district projects, and more resources for human resources, community outreach and public relations. 

Summer School Trains Teachers in Reading

The children in Scott Santinella’s summer school class spent a lot of time on their feet. These struggling readers swayed and stretched as they sounded out words. Standing up, Santinella showed the kids a picture of a drum. DR—the kids touched their head, U—next their waist and M- their toes. Next was FR-O-G.


During the summer program at Brookside Elementary school, Santinella was one of eight teachers who received several sessions of reading instruction from Margie Gillis, a reading expert from Haskins Laboratory at Yale University and president of Literacy How, a non-profit that specializes in reading research and teacher training.

As a result, Santinella incorporated new reading strategies like “Say it, move it” that he had learned into his lessons. He also intends to bring these lessons back to his third grade Naramake classroom in the fall. “They were really helpful. I plan to use them,” he said.

Norwalk schools are hopeful this type of on-the-ground teacher training in early literacy can be made available to all of the district’s elementary schools. On Tuesday, Norwalk submitted a $3 million federal grant called “Investing in Innovation”, which is part of President Obama’s stimulus program and education reform initiative.

The grant would set up a “lab” at one of the schools to focus on reading instruction for the district’s elementary school teachers. “Through hands on training and observation, the goal would be to create master teachers in reading,” says Gillis who has been training Norwalk teachers on and off at select schools for several years.

As part of the grant, the district aims to tackle the city’s literacy rate. The 2011 Connecticut Mastery Tests show that only 52 percent of third graders are reading at grade level.

This type of intensive teacher training was piloted at the Brookside summer school in July and attended by 427 elementary students who are “substantially deficient” readers. The program is mandated by the state for designated “priority” school districts. The feedback and results of the 19 day program are being incorporated into the grant application.

Gillis’s training was based on “decoding”, meaning that it was about breaking apart the sounds. “For kids who can’t read, the English language is a mystery,” said Gillis. “For kids who struggle, they need other ways to conquer the sounds and parts of the words. I’m using strategies that are multi-sensory. It’s another hook.”

Italia Negroni, the district’s grants specialist, spearheaded the compiling of the grant. The district also applied last year but was rejected. Recently, the application was modified to include the input of special education, literacy and ELL administrators, as well as from school board member Sue Haynie and Norwalk Education Foundation president Lauren Rosato. The district will learn if they are to receive the grant by the end of the year.

Larry Somma, a second grade teacher at Brookside, also participated in Gillis's training and summed up his resolve. “There’s a reason these kids are here. We have to something to stimulate them in a different way.”

Dems nominate BOE candidates

I am out of town this week and could not attend the Democratic Nominating convention on Monday night.

Here's the list of Democratic BOE candidates as reported by several news outlets:

District A:  Rosa Murray

District B:  Migdalia Rivas

District C:  Kevin Poruban

District D:  Greg Burnett

District E:  Mike Barbis

Republicans Pick BOE Candidates

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com

Classes may be out, but school board elections went into high gear Thursday night. Republicans nominated both familiar and lesser known candidates for Board of Education at their nominating convention at the Norwalk Inn.

Current Board of Education Chairman Jack Chiaramonte, District D (Cranbury,Silvermine, West Rocks), will run for a second term.  Michael Lyons will run representing District C (East Norwalk), taking the seat of Board of Education member Glenn Iannacone who is stepping down this fall.  Robert Mecurio was nominated by District A (Central Norwalk) and Geoff Kieburtz will run representing District E (West Norwalk and Rowayton).  District B (South Norwalk) did not field any candidates for the school board. 

Lyons has been a member of the  Board of Estimation and Taxation for the past six years.  Before that, he sat on the city's Common Council for four years and the Zoning Commission.  

As a Board of Education member, Lyons said he will focus on the fiscal reform and disciple.  "I'm hoping to revamp the financial system.  We need more financial controls, especially in these lean economic times."  In addition, he hopes to improve methods of teaching and curriculum. In the 1990s, Lyons said that he chaired a Marvin Elementary School council- a group of parents, teachers and administrators-- that used a Stanford University based model for accelerated school reform. "With parent and teacher involvement we brainstormed new methods for teaching and wired the school for the Internet," said Lyons noting that test scores improved dramatically because of the program.  

As a BET member, Lyons considers himself a "consensus builder" who has considerable experience working with the city's department heads.   His initial impression of Superintendent is positive.  "She is a breath of fresh air. I can work with her."

Lyons, a corporate attorney for Covidien, is a native Norwalker who went through the Norwalk Public Schools.   He has three children who also attended Norwalk Public Schools--James, 22, graduated from George Washington University in 2010 and is training to become a Navy fighter pilot.  Claire, 19, is studying to become a veterinarian at Johns Hopkins University.  Krystina, 15, is a sophomore at Norwalk High school. 

Neither Chiaramonte nor Mecurio, a supervisor for the Water Dept. and Republican stalwart,  were present at the nominating convention.  

Keiburtz was present at the meeting, but left early.  According to his profile onLinkedIn, Keiburtz is Director of Energy Research at Weeden & Co., a brokerage firm.  Kieburtz holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a Master’s degree in management from the Yale School of Management.  In April, he wrote an article about education on the local blog yourct.com. He writes, "Reform is urgently needed in the way we educate our children, and everyone has a stake in better education."

200 Ineffective Teachers Fired in DC

The Washington DC school district fired 5% of its teachers last Friday for their poor teaching abilities.  The Washington Post--DC Schools Insider blog reports that 206 of the district's 4,100 teachers were let go.  Last year, the district implemented a program called IMPACT, that is being touted by some to be a model for the nation.  The program is a legacy of the controversial former DC superintendent Michelle Rhee.

Bill Turque of the DC Schools Insider writes:

They were dismissed for poor scores on the evaluation system known as IMPACT, which grades teachers on five 30-minute classroom observations and their compliance with nine broad standards. These include ability to express course content clearly, teach students with differing skill levels and manage time effectively. For some teachers, half of their appraisal is contingent on whether students meet predicted growth targets on standardized tests.

Of the 206 fired, officials said 65 were rated ineffective this year and 141 were judged minimally effective for the second consecutive year. Others were let go for licensure problems or other issues.

On the DC school district website, IMPACT is described as measuring teachers according to four key measures:

1.Student Achievement – We believe that a teacher’s most important responsibility is to ensure that her or his students learn and grow. This is why we hold educators accountable for the growth their students make on our state assessment, the DC CAS, or on other assessments if they don’t teach a DC CAS grade or subject.

2.Instructional Expertise – This is assessed through five formal observations each year – three by teachers’ administrators and two by independent, expert practitioners called master educators. Feedback and guidance for growth are provided in five post-observation conferences.

3.Collaboration – Education is very much a team effort, which is why IMPACT also measures the extent to which educators work together on behalf of students.

4.Professionalism – Teachers are also held accountable for key professional requirements, including following all school policies and procedures, and interacting with colleagues, students, families, and community members in a respectful manner.

Teachers are "graded", much like students, on 1-4 scale. 

•Highly Effective: This rating signifies outstanding performance. Under the current Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) contract, WTU members who earn this rating are eligible for additional compensation. These staff members are also recognized in a variety of other ways. 

Highly Effective teachers are eligible for performance bonuses of up to $25,000. Repeat highly effective staff members are eligible for base salary increases of up to $20,000, in addition to the annual bonuses.
•Effective: This rating signifies solid performance. Individuals who receive this rating advance normally on their pay scales.

•Minimally Effective: This rating signifies performance that is below expectations. Individuals who receive this rating are given an additional year to take advantage of the professional development opportunities provided by DCPS. Those who do not improve after two years are subject to separation.

•Ineffective: This rating signifies unacceptable performance. Individuals who receive this rating are subject to separation.

I don't know the details of Norwalk's teacher evaluation program.  I wonder how it compares to IMPACT?  Do you think something like this could/should come to Norwalk?

CMTs Rise Across the Board

The city’s 2011 Connecticut Mastery Test results are full of good news. The test results, which were released Wednesday, show gains over last year — in some cases, jumps of more than 5 percentage points — in math, reading and writing at several grade levels. Since 2006, the test results show double-digit improvements in various subjects and grades.
“I’m encouraged by the CMT results,” says Superintendent Susan Marks. “We are moving in a positive direction.”

Marks points out that this year, one in three elementary school students attained the top level of advanced in math. In middle school, one in four students reached the advanced level in math.

“I’m especially glad that we are moving our students into the advanced category,” she says. Although most of the CMT results focus on proficiency and goal level results, Marks says the district should be aiming for advanced levels.

Marks praised the marked improvement in middle school scores this year, especially in grade 6 and 8. In grade 6, goal math scores jumped to 60.5 percent from 53.3 percent. In eighth grade, that number went to 62.2 percent from 53.9 percent — 8 percentage points higher. In reading, grade 8 students went from 61 percent at goal last year to 66.5 percent this year. Grade 8 writing scores also jumped more than 10 percentage points from last year to 57.1 percent at goal this year.

“We weren’t talking so positively about the middle school scores last year,” says Marks. “There have been a lot of focused strategies on literacy and math in the middle schools.”

Diane Filardo, Norwalk schools’ testing specialist, says the gap between Norwalk and the state’s scores is closing. “In some areas, Norwalk surpasses the state proficiency levels.” In third grade math, for example, there is less than a point difference between goal levels between Norwalk and the state

Filardo, who is just beginning to disaggregate the data by ethnicity and special needs students, says that that she is seeing positive results from the city's Hispanic and free and reduced lunch population. "Hispanic students are meeting proficiency at higher levels and outperforming their peers in the state."

The results of the CAPT – the Connecticut Academic Performance Test — taken by high school sophomores are less impressive than the CMT scores. “They were more flat than we would have liked,” says Marks noting that the high schools need more support.

The CMT and CAPT are administered annually in March to students across Connecticut. They test math, reading and writing. Grades 5, 8 and 10 are also tested in science. The test was taken by 250,000 children statewide and has five levels of performance for each content area: below basic, basic, proficient, goal and advanced. The federal government uses the CMT and CAPT to measure yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind law.

CMT, percentage of students at or above goal:  2006, 2010, 2011

Grade 3

Math, 47.4, 64, 62.5

Reading, 45.7, 51.4, 51.9

Writing 52.8, 56.3, 56.4

Grade 4

Math, 43.6, 62.3, 66

Reading, 45.6, 53.6, 54.9

Writing, 51.7, 59.2, 62.3

Grade 5

Math, 51.3, 68.1, 70.9

Reading, 53.1, 54.8, 57.4

Writing, 60.2, 65.1, 65.1

Grade 6

Math, 47, 53.3, 60.5

Reading, 57.2, 66, 67.8

Writing, 55.6, 50.7, 54.1

Grade 7

Math, 40.1, 63.3, 62.5

Reading, 56.5, 70.8, 74

Writing, 46.3, 48.9, 50.1

Grade 8

Math, 42.4, 53.9, 62.7

Reading, 57.4, 60.9, 66.5

Writing, 54.4, 45.4, 57.1

CAPT Results Show Minor Gains

Norwalk tenth graders posted minor gains in the 2011 Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), according to the State Department of Education which  released the standardized test scores on Tuesday morning.


According to the results, math scores increased by 4 percent to 35.2 percent "at goal" and reading scores increased by 3 percent to 39.6 percent "at goal".   Since 2008, the district has shown some overall progress in reading and writing.  More than half of tenth graders performed "at goal" in writing.

However, Norwalk continues to lag behind the state average by 10 to 15 percentage points in math, science and writing.  In reading, however, the gap is narrowing to 5 percentage points between Norwalk and the rest of the state.

The achievement gap between Norwalk's white and minority students remains significant.  For example, 9.7 percent of Black students scored “at goal” in math versus 58.2 percent of white students.  In reading, 12.3 percent of Black students scored “at goal” versus 50 percent of White students.   The scores for Black students “at goal” dropped in all subject areas.

Hispanic students also scored behind their White peers, but made “at goal” improvement in every subject area this year.  For example, 26.5 percent of Hispanic students scored “at goal” in math; that’s up from 19.5 percent last year.  In reading, their "at goal" score went from 20.1 percent last year to 25.5 percent this year.

The city's two high schools, Norwalk High and Brien McMahon, had similar results overall in math and science.   However, Norwalk High scored higher in reading with 42.5 percent at goal versus 39.5 percent at McMahon. In writing,  58 percent of Norwalk High students "at goal"  versus 46.5 percent at McMahon.

The CAPT is administered annually in March to high school sophomores across Connecticut. It tests math, reading, writing and science and is used by the federal government to measure yearly progress through the No Child Left Behind law. The CAPT has five levels of performance for each content area: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Goal and Advanced.

I've contacted school official for their comments and will be updating this story soon. 

Percent of students at/above “Goal”

                                Norwalk         State
Grade 10
Math 2008                    38              50.2
Math 2009                    37              48
Math 2010                    31.2           48.9
Math 2011                    35.2           49.6

Science 2008               32.7             46.5
Science 2009               32.3             43
Science 2010               33.5             45.5
Science 2011               32.9             47.2

Reading 2008               31.0             45.5
Reading 2009               36 .1            47.5
Reading 2010               36.7             45.9
Reading 2011               39.6             44.8

Writing 2008                47.9             57.9
Writing 2009                39.6             55
Writing 2010                51.1             59.6
Writing 2011                51.1             61.3

Haynie: Board Made Budget Cuts Without Plan

Here's an op-ed by Board of Education Member Sue Haynie:

I like plans. I think parents and staff and taxpayers like plans. And, especially when making large financial decisions of a personal nature or as an acting Norwalk Board of Ed (BOE) member, I like plans.  The Norwalk BOE reconciled the 2011/12 Operating Budget on June 14^th  by making $4.1 million of reductions and we did so without a plan.     We didn’t use  Superintendent Marks reconciled Budget as a guide even though it was an articulated  plan containing  thoughtful and meticulous suggestions based on 6 months of stakeholder discussion of how best to make $4.6 million dollars of painful cuts.  We didn’t use Superintendent Marks reconciled Budget as a guide even though, because of union concessions and internal adjustments made since her original May 2011 reconciliation, $723,000 could be put back at the get-go and even though she had provided prioritized suggestions for position reinstatement. 

Instead, BOE Finance Chair Mr. Colarassi orchestrated a presentation whereby we used as a template the budget recommendations of two committees:  his 3-member BOE Finance Committee and that of the Budget Committee with its strong Union voice. Neither of these two committees had reconciled their Budgets, nor had made all the necessary painful decisions, so both were short over $1 Million dollars. Both of these two committees violated elements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by their lack of recorded votes, a Connecticut act that is in large part about transparency of government. Neither of these two committees presented anyone an articulated plan that this Board member is aware of.  Additionally, we as a full 9-member Board did not meet prior to June 14^th to fully review either the BOE Finance or the Budget Committee plans. We as a 9-member Board did not have our own plan either.

So, on June 14^th the Norwalk BOE had to make over $4.1 million in cuts. The dire economy and the core mission of educating our youth demanded that we make fiscally conservative and highly targeted, goal-centered decisions. We didn’t do that. We winged it.  We went down the list as suggested by the BOE Finance Chair, keeping some and throwing other positions and functions off the bus, each decision based on our own agendas, opinions, and emotions; data and due diligence be hanged.

This is clearly not the way to protect our children’s educational needs, instill confidence with the city taxpayers or run a $154 million dollar business.  The sole purpose of public schools is to educate all our children well. We hired a Superintendent with the expertise and track record to do this and it requires change and new ways of thinking. This is making some people very uncomfortable. It is time for the political and personal agendas of the adults in this City to get out of the way; our children our waiting.

Don't Know Much About History

A blog reader pointed me in the direction of a Wall Street Journal interview of  Pulitzer Prize winning historian David McCullough about students' lack of knowledge about U.S.  history. "We're raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate,"  he says in the interview.  

Last week, the U.S Department of Education released the results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment in U.S. History.   It found that only 12% of high-school seniors scored proficient or "have a firm grasp of our nation's history." 20 percent of fourth graders and 17 percent of eighth graders tested proficient. 

Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." Slowly, he shakes his head in dismay. "It's shocking."

McCullough points to a few factors that he believes are part of the problem, including the background of history teachers.

One problem is personnel. "People who come out of college with a degree in education and not a degree in a subject are severely handicapped in their capacity to teach effectively," Mr. McCullough argues. "Because they're often assigned to teach subjects about which they know little or nothing." The great teachers love what they're teaching, he says, and "you can't love something you don't know anymore than you can love someone you don't know."

Another is the method of teaching history:

"History is often taught in categories—women's history, African American history, environmental history—so that many of the students have no sense of chronology. They have no idea what followed what."

In textbooks, McCullough says that minor historical figures have overshadowed the major ones, in part due to political correctness.

many textbooks have become "so politically correct as to be comic. Very minor characters that are currently fashionable are given considerable space, whereas people of major consequence farther back"—such as, say, Thomas Edison—"are given very little space or none at all."

He also says that many history books are boring and not especially well written. McCullough says that he studied writing along with history, which helps him to develop plot and characters.

"You know that the Brooklyn Bridge exists," Mr. McCullough explains, referring to one of his former subjects. "I've got to get you so involved in the story of how it was done that you begin to wonder, 'Oh my God! Are they ever going to be able to do this?'" Thus, via his writing style, he hopes to impart a lesson of history: "There's no such thing as a foreseeable future."

In the end, McCullough thinks parents and grandparents need to share a love of history with children.

It's not their fault our children are ignorant, he says animatedly. "It's our fault," he says, pointing to his chest. "I mean the parents and grandparents of the oncoming generation. We have to talk about history, talk about the books we love, the biographies and histories." He continues, "We should all take our children to historic places. Go to Gettysburg. Go to the Capitol."

What do you think about how history is taught in the Norwalk schools?  Do you think it gets short shrifted compared to the tested subjects--math and English?

BOE Reinstates Housemasters, West Rocks Assistant Principal

Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon High School will each keep all four of their housemasters next year. In addition, West Rocks Middle School will retain its second assistant principal.

The Norwalk Board of Education decided Thursday night to overturn decisions made a week earlier to cut one housemaster position at each school. Also, all of the housemasters, as well as both assistant principals at West Rocks and Ponus Ridge middle schools were made 12-month employees. Last week, those four positions had been cut to 10 months.

“I am so happy for the kids and so proud of our Board of Education,” Brien McMahon principal Suzanne Koroshetz said after the board's unanimous vote. Koroshetz advocated for the restoration of four 12-month housemasters with the help of several Brien McMahon administrators, parents and teachers, who cheered and hugged after the vote.

At the meeting's start, Chief Operating Officer Craig Drezek told the board that $500,000 had become available for next year’s budget after changes in the district’s health insurance projections — mostly because of revised estimates because of employee contract changes.
Another $100,000 became available because of cuts in repairs and maintenances. “We budget some money for a rainy day fund. Well, it’s raining,” said Drezek.

As part of her budget reinstatement plan, Superintendent Susan Marks had initially put forth a proposal to reinstate the Central Office’s grants instructional specialist at $162,000. But school board members Steve Colarossi and Artie Kassimis resisted the proposal. “I suggest this position be a lower-level position,” said Colarossi, who advocated for the reorganizing of the Central Office.

Marks, Board Chairman Jack Chiaramonte and board member Jodi Bishop-Pullan all spoke on behalf of the Central Office. “The Central Office is being devastated In order to improve processes, you need people,” said Marks. Bishop-Pullan spoke about the complexities of federal grants and reporting that required expertise.

After a lengthy conversation, Marks suggested she would take the grants position off the table. She insisted, however, that she be allowed to reorganize the Central Office with the $80,000 budget surplus that remained after the restoration of the high school and middle school administrators, as well as any other funds that become available in the coming months.
“We have to give the superintendent latitude to come up with a plan and not have the board micromanage her,” said board member Glenn Iannacone.

The board also discussed elementary teachers and class sizes. Last week, the board voted to cut nine elementary teachers. That number stands. However, the board decided to add four reserve teachers to next year’s budget. Drezek said the funds budgeted for unemployment benefits would fund the reserve positions because no teachers will be let go. All positions are being eliminated through attrition. One reserve teacher has already been slated for Cranbury Elementary School.

After a review of class sizes by Drezek and Bruce Mellion, president of Norwalk’s teacher union, Drezek said only a few classrooms hovered near the limit of 24 students per class, the teacher’s contractual limit. “We’ll be monitoring the situation very carefully, week by week,” said Marks.

Special BOE Meeting Thursday 6/23: Possible Restoration of Positions

The Board of Education will be meeting tonight, Thursday, at 7:15 p.m. in the Concert Hall at City Hall.  On the agenda is the "Discussion and Possible Action to Reinstate Positions to the 2011-12 Operating Budget and additional reconciliation options."

I expect there to be discussion about the high school housemaster.  Maybe the West Rocks assistant principal.  I wonder what the "additional reconciliation options" means.

Also on the agenda--"authorize superintendent to hire instructional staff over the summer" and discussion about renaming the Center for Global Studies.

For the Finance Departments latest docs on the budget reconciliation, click here.  

School Budget Draws Mixed Reaction

A version of this story appears on TheDailyNorwalk.com

Two days after passing a budget with more than $4 million in cuts, Norwalk school board members and school officials had a range of reactions — from "devastated" to  "less harmful" — about the end result.

The school board worked late into the night Tuesday, debating and voting on the cuts that brought its budget down to $155 million. By the end, 33 positions were eliminated and several nonpersonnel expenditures were reduced. Cuts include 10 teachers, two high school housemasters, West Rocks’ assistant principal, central office administrators and security positions at the high schools. (Click here for the full list.)

“I hated doing it,” board Chairman Jack Chiaramonte said of the cuts. “We tried to keep the cuts away from the kids directly.” The board decided not to cut first grade aides, intervention aides, library aides, or the third grade strings program.

The board’s four Democrats voted against the budget. Jodi Bishop-Pullan, who has been on the board for 12 years, said, “This was the worst budget I’ve gone through. I’m devastated by how much was cut. It just wasn’t enough money. You can blame the city or you can blame the unions. In either case, I just can’t condone this budget.”

Bishop-Pullan is especially worried about the high schools. “I’m concerned about the student-to-teacher-to-administrator ratio if we lose the housemasters,” she says. “A lot of the problems that happen in urban high schools can be avoided with the right staffing.”

Chiaramonte said the cuts will take a toll on Central Office. Three top administrator positions were cut: the director of elementary education, instructional specialist for grants and instructional specialist for social studies/grants. “Jobs at Central Office will be more stressful. People will have to do the jobs of two or three people,” he said.

Superintendent Susan Marks said she is also concerned about the “very, very thin” Central Office. “Successful school system need resources in the schools, and they also need resources to support the schools and be responsive to teachers and parents." She said cuts in Central Office affect curriculum development, professional development and administrator evaluations. Nonetheless, she said, "We don't have a choice. There are things that have to get done."

With 10 teachers cut, Marks says she will be paying close attention to class sizes next year.

Steve Colarossi, chairman of the board’s finance committee, said most cuts have some affect on student achievement, however, he said the board was successful in minimizing the impact of the cuts. “I think these were less harmful types of cuts.” He said he sought to minimize the number of people who would lose their jobs by reducing positions of people who were retiring or leaving the district.

Mayor Richard Moccia was at Tuesday’s meeting until the end. He broke two significant ties voting in favor of two elementary assistant principals and against two high school housemasters.

Like Colarossi, Moccia is a satisfied with the results. “This detailed review by Dr Marks' administration and the Board of Ed members resulted in a collaboration that avoided the dire the predictions that some had made about the future of our system,” he said.

Midway through the meeting, when he heard that the board had $2.1 million remaining to cut, Chiaramonte had an outburst about the lack of union concessions. “I thought to myself: That was the amount we would have had if the teachers took a pay freeze," he said of the moment. “They could have saved their co-workers jobs.”

The teacher’s union retirement play yielded $130,000 in savings instead of the anticipated $350,000 from an early retirement incentive package eventually offered by the teachers' unions.

Colarossi also took issue with some of the superintendent’s proposed cuts, especially the elementary school-based ones, and advocated for preserving first grade and intervention aides. “Every study I’ve read says the best way to reduce the achievement gap is to promote early childhood learning.”

Moving forward, Marks plans to work with the board on strategic planning. “Our budget decisions must relate to the needs of the school system,” she said. “They should also be tied to accountability, good teaching and consistency from school to school."

Chiaramonte is hopeful the district will be able to restore both housemaster and the West Rocks' assistant principal positions. Marks said the district is negotiating health insurance contracts that will produce savings. At Tuesday’s meeting, the mayor also suggested non-personnel items for possible savings. “We should know about these positions pretty soon,” said Chiaramonte.  

UPDATED: BOE Reconciles Budget

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com

Norwalk elementary schools were largely spared, but the district’s central office staffing took a big hit as the Board of Education passed its reconciled budget on Tuesday night. By 1:30 a.m., after more than 5 hours of public comment, back-and-forths and several tense moments, the school board adopted a budget of $154.8 million with a 5-4 vote, ending the night with a $55,000 surplus.  Democratic Board members Jodi Bishop-Pullan, Heidi Keyes, Migdalia Rivas and Rosa Murray opposed the budget.

For the elementary schools, the board voted to keep the assistant principals, library aides, and the third grade strings program.   Intervention aides, the Roton Planetarium program and first grade aides were also retained.  However, three Columbus Magnet School aide positions were cut, as were nine elementary school teacher positions which will be determined primarily by class sizes next year.

At each of the high schools, one housemaster, and police and security positions were eliminated. One Norwalk High School physical education teacher's position was also eliminated.  One of the two West Rocks assistant principal positions was cut as well.  However, towards the end of the meeting, the superintendent and the board acknowledged that the housemaster and West Rocks assistant principal positions are priorities for restoration.

The ax fell on the Central Office too. Three top administrator positions were cut:  Director of Elementary Education, Instructional Specialist for Grants, and Instructional Specialist for Social Studies/Grants.

“The Central office gave a lot to this budget,” said Superintendent Susan Marks, who had been criticized by some board members for suggesting too many program cuts on the elementary level.

About 150 people, mostly staff and smattering of parents attended the meeting.  Although lists of cuts have been circulating in the public and at finance committee meetings, this was the first time that the entire school board went over, line by line,  the cuts proposed by the superintendent and members of the board.  Over the course of the evening, the Board eliminated $4.16 million from the budget.  That number factored in approximately $600,000 in union concessions from the teachers, administrators and custodial unions combined.  Several of the board members called the $130,000 concession from the teacher's union "disappointing" since it fell far short of the anticipated $350,000.

Procedurally, the meeting got off to a rocky start when board members couldn’t agree on which excel spreadsheet to work off of.  Rivas said that a spreadsheet created by Board Member Sue Haynie that was on the projector should not be used because it was not circulated to the public, “My community has not seen this document,” she said.  Haynie explained she had made it to make the list easier to understand. Murray, who was attending her first meeting after being reappointed after Susan Hamilton resigned, recommended that going forward the district's finance staff should prepare documents and that that they be distributed through the finance committee chair.

Audra Good, Brookside PTO president who is also a first grade aide the school, stayed for almost the entire meeting was also confused throughout the meeting.  “It’s tedious, very confusing and seems disorganized,” she said.  “I’m not sure how well they communicate among themselves and know procedures.” 

First, the board tackled cuts that had the backing in the Finance Committee and Budget Committee.  In support of Superintendent Susan Marks, Sue Haynie stated for the record after each applicable cut, “This cut was recommended by the superintendent.” 

Board member and finance committee chair Steve Colarossi presented his own list of administrative cuts totaling approximately $100,000 to the board  for its consideration.  He proposed reducing items such as legal fees, conferences, travel, advertising, and furniture.  The Board accepted all of the reductions with the exception of their $20,500 membership to the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education.

The board didn’t start addressing the most contentious cuts until after 11 p.m.  On the issue of cutting two house masters at the highschools Bishop-Pullan spoke in favor of keeping the housemasters, “I don’t see how we can lose more adults in the high schools,” she said. Murray, Haynie and Keyes we in agreement, however Colarossi, Kassimis, Chiaramonte and Iannaconne voted in favor of the cut.  Rivas abstained. Mayor Richard Moccia, an ex-officio member of the BOE, used his tie-breaking vote to endorse cutting the house masters .

Moccia also broke the tie on the proposal to cut  two elementary assistant principals.  However, this time he voted to keep them in the budget.  

Several parents and staff spoke against the cut of six library aides during the public comment section of the meeting.  The board voted 7-2, with Colarossi and Haynie in favor of the cut.   The strings teacher was also retained after a 6-3 vote, Colarossi, Kassimis and Haynie voted in favor of the cut. 

While the board voted not to eliminate Ponus’ second assistant principal, the board did vote 5-4 to eliminate the West Rocks assistant principal.  Bishop-Pullan, Murray, Keyes and Rivas voted against the cut.   Colarossi and Haynie stated that West Rocks did not have significantly more students than Nathan Hale, which only has one assistant principal.

The board voted 6-3 to cut the Director of Elementary Education in spite of the superintendent’s arguments to preserve the position. Haynie, Keyes, and Chiaramonte opposed the cut. 

“We need someone to support and evaluate the principals,” Marks said.  Colarossi, however, stated that there aren’t any good principal evaluation tools.  “I don’t think the position works despite the good people who work in it,” he said.  Murray suggested that the Superintendent evaluate the elementary principals directly.  Haynie stated that some of the responsibilities of the eliminated grants and social studies specialist position were supposed to be taken over by the director of elementary education.   

Here is the list of eliminated positions at meeting's end. 

1.     Nine elementary and one high school teaching position; 

2.     Two high school secretary positions

3.     Three Columbus aides

4.     Two Central Office instructional specialists

5.     Director of Elementary Education

6.     IT Staff developer

7.     Librarian at Brien McMahon High School

8.     Guitar teacher

9.     One security position at Norwalk High School

10.    1.5 literacy coaches

11.   One middle school guidance counselor

12.   One finance/HR Department position

13.   One secretary position

14.   One Food service worker

15.   Custodial vacancy position

16.   0.5 reserve nurse position

17.   Head of security at Brien McMahon

18.   0.5 technician position

19.   Four reserve teachers

20.   Two reserve aide positions

21.   Police security funds at high school

22.  Two high school house masters

23.  One West Rocks assistant principal position

Special Budget Reconciliation Meeting Tuesday

[updated: meeting time is 7:45 not 7 pm]

The Board of Education is holding a special meeting Tuesday at 7:45pm in the City Hall Concert Hall.  After several months of school budget limbo, the BOE is making strides towards a reconciliation.  But where the chips/cuts may fall is still anyone's guess.

BOE chairman Jack Chiaramonte says the purpose of the meeting is for the board to review the budget cuts.  Although the agenda reads "Discussion and Possible Action 2010-11 Budget Reconciliation", Chiramonte says that it unlikely that any vote on the budget will take place on Tuesday. 

The BOE is looking for $4.6 million in cuts to bring its budget to $155 million for next year. 

Finance Committee Chair Steve Colarossi says that he's planning to present an "alternative budget plan" to that of the Superintendent's that "lessens the impact of cuts on elementary schools".  The current proposed budget eliminates intervention aides, some first grade aides, half of the library aides and two elementary assistant principals.   Colarossi says that in his plan the burden "shifts more towards Central Office."

Also on the budget, it seems like the teacher retirement savings plan has attracted fewer teachers than expected.  According to Bruce Mellion, about five teachers have signed on to the plan so far. The deadline for signing onto the plan was Friday.   The $350K in savings from the retirement packages is predicated on 10 teachers taking it.   I haven't confirmed the numbers with Central Office yet.

DTC Picks Murray for School Board

Rosa Murray is back on the Norwalk Board of Education. Murray, a District A Democrat, was selected unanimously Wednesday evening by the Norwalk Democratic Town Committee to replace departing school board member Susan Hamilton.

"I am very excited to serve the Norwalk community as an experienced and now returning board member," said Murray, a former chair of the Board of Education. "I look forward to establishing relationships with board members and create a culture of working together to respond to the needs of the district."

Murray had served four consecutive four-year terms — that's 16 years — before losing her seat in the 2009 election. In that election, three incumbent Democrats were defeated, shifting the balance of power on the board 5-4 in favor of Republicans. Murray says that she has been attending meetings regularly over the last year and a half "to be knowledgeable about the work at hand."

Murray steps in during the final days of an arduous budget reconciliation. "I've been there before with a tight budget. I plan to work in a bipartisan collaborative way with my fellow board members."

"Rosa’s previous service to the BOE means that there is no need for on the job training," says Democratic Town Chair Marc Bradley. "I look forward to having such a strong Democratic voice back on the board.”

"Rosa has a sense of history with the community," says Jodi-Bishop Pullan, senior Board of Education member. "She also knows the process. That experience is useful since there is a lot of new staff and we are short-staffed." Norwalk's Superintendent Susan Marks and Chief Operating Officer Craig Drezek have been at their jobs less than a year.

Murray has two daughters who have graduated from Norwalk High Schools. She is a past president of Parents for Norwalk High. Currently, she is the guardian and active grandmother of two children who attend Norwalk schools. 

Hamilton is leaving her school board position after 7 1/2 years because she is moving to Westport. Last month, Republican Artie Kassimis replaced Erin Halsey, who also left the school board to take a job as city clerk.

Two Norwalk Assistant Principals Take Stamford Jobs

Two Norwalk assistant principals are taking the top jobs at Stamford elementary schools. Michael Pisseri is leaving Ponus Ridge Middle School at the end of the school year to become principal at Davenport Ridge Elementary School. His colleague Mark Bonasera, an assistant principal at West Rocks for the past two years, was named principal at Julia A. Stark Elementary School on May 24.
"The fact that Mike Pisseri and Mark Bonasera are becoming principals in Stamford speaks for the caliber of our administrators in Norwalk," said Superintendent Susan Marks in an email. "I know that Mike and Mark will be strong principals who will do the best on behalf of their new school communities."

According to an article in the Stamford Advocate, Bonasera and Pisseri were picked from a candidate pool of 57 people, including 14 internal and 43 external applicants. Neither Pisseri nor Bonasera could be reached for comment.

In addition to Pisseri and Bonasera, several other administrator positions will be open at the end of school year. Marie Allen, the other assistant principal at Ponus, will vacate her position at the end of the school year and become principal of Briggs High School. Two Norwalk High Housemaster positions will be open — Gwendolyn Young is retiring and one position has been vacant since Kevin Walston left earlier this school year to become principal of Harding High in Bridgeport.

In the elementary schools, Columbus' longtime Assistant Principal Herman Davenport is retiring, and Marvin has had an interim assistant principal since Kristen DiPalma left in December. 

As a result of this year's tight budget, Ponus' and West Rocks' second assistant principal jobs, as well as housemasters and elementary principals, have been considered for elimination. As of yet, no decision has been made by the Board of Education on the future of these positions.

Norwalk School Human Resource Director Fay Ruotolo said that despite the uncertainty about the positions, they have been advertised. "We have posted these positions now to attract the strongest candidates. Although we may not be able to fund every position, when the board does reconcile the budget, we will be prepared with a slate of candidates to interview for the positions that survive."

Super Tuesday in Norwalk: Budgets and Sharpton

As if $4 million in budget cuts didn't create enough drama in Norwalk...  Yesterday, we learned that Al Sharpton will be attending the NAACP rally decrying the arrest of Tanya McDowell for sending her son to a Norwalk school and demanding equal education for all. 

First the BOE:
I was surprised to see that BOE meeting is going to take place in the Concert Hall.  I haven't heard much rallying about getting parents to "come out".  What I have heard is a lot of confusion.

First, there was Marks' initial list (swim, hockey teams, school to career, band transportation).   After the public hearings,  Marks put forth a second list with some items taken off and new items (librarians, planetarium, central office specialists) put on.  Most recently,  the Finance Committee meeting discussed an "uber list " combining both lists.  At this point the unions got involved again adding their input.  It seemed at that meeting that we were starting from the beginning.  The finance committee agreed on about $2 million in cuts (we need $4.6).  Of course, they don't have the final say.

Okay, so now it's June and we're supposed to reconcile this budget by the end of the month presumably.  On Tuesday's agenda it says "Discussion and Possible Action 2011-12 Budget Reconciliation"  and the June 21st meeting may be canceled due to graduation. So are we to assume that everything is going to be discussed maybe even voted on Tuesday when there is already a packed agenda?

From Day 1 of the budget process, I have been waiting to hear robust discussion by the ENTIRE board and the superintendent about  budget plans and proposed cuts.  We've had public hearings, slide shows, written question/answers which few people probably read, but I don't recall one meeting when the entire board sat and discussed in depth the proposed budgets cuts. 

Public hearings are good, they allow the public to air their thoughts, but they are not a back and forth. Last year, there were some very useful PTO Parent Budget Workshops for parents to ask Central Office  administrators questions.  The finance committee meetings are open but few parents attend.   They are useful for getting into more detail on budget line items, but they shouldn't replace budget discussions by the entire board as they seem to have this year.   Nothing should replace the work of our elected officials as an entire group reviewing the superintendent's budget and making sure that it  promotes the goals of the district, as best it can. 

Tight budgets and and substantial cuts are anxiety provoking, too be sure, even in best of circumstances.  But unfortunately I don't think they are going away. Good budget processes and predictability can help lessen the anxiety, I think. 

I hope after the budget reconciliation is done, the Board can have a post mortem discussion about the process:  what was done well, and what can be improved.  I think this idea was mentioned by Susan Wallerstein.

Also on the agenda is the hiring of an interim Director of HR, constructions plans for Rowayton and Naramake. Click here for the agenda and actions. 

Here's my post from TheDailyNorwalk.com on Sharpton:

Civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton will attend a rally Tuesday in support of a Bridgeport woman who was arrested for sending her son to a Norwalk elementary school. The rally, organized by the state and Norwalk chapters of the NAACP, will be held at Brookside Elementary School from 6 to 8 p.m.

Also Tuesday, Tanya McDowell is scheduled to appear again in state Superior Court in Norwalk for proceedings related to the larceny charges filed against her in the school case.  As part of her case, McDowell also faces separate narcotics and breach of peace offences. 

A postcard advertising the rally was distributed last week calling for participants to “rally to fix the broken educational system – because no child should live in fear that their parent will be arrested for trying to get them a decent education.”

Organizers are hiring buses to transport participants coming from New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford, Bridgeport, Meriden, New Britain and Stamford.“It’s about equal education,” said Bobbi Brown, youth council president for the NAACP of Bridgeport. “We’re going to get a lot of young people to come out and make some noise. Having Al Sharpton there will shine some light on the situation.”

Early Teacher Retirements Offer Modest Savings

Every little bit helps. That seems to be the consensus of school and union officials about a financial agreement reached between the district and the teachers' union to cut costs. The Norwalk Board of Education voted unanimously last Thursday in favor of an early retirement plan for teachers that could save the district nearly $350,000 next year.

On Tuesday afternoon, 100 teachers met with Bruce Mellion, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers, at West Rocks Middle School Library and also voted unanimously on the deal. “Every dollar is helpful to this budget," says Mellion.

Craig Drezek, chief operating officer of the Norwalk schools, says early retirement incentive plans are common in dealing with budget shortfalls. “It doesn’t cure the budget gap, but at this point every little bit helps,” says Drezek.

By June, the Norwalk Board of Education has to cut $4.6 million to bring the budget down to $154.8 million — the amount that the city allotted to the Board of Education in early May.

“It’s something, but it's surely not enough to prevent layoffs and major cuts,” says Board of Education Chair Jack Chiaramonte. “The unions did not save the day, like they could have.” Chiaramonte has been asking the teachers union for a wage freeze, which would have saved the district nearly $2 million.

The savings from the agreement result from the difference between the salary and benefits of a senior teacher versus that of hiring a new teacher with less experience — about $100,000 versus $50,000. In addition, the district would not have to pay unemployment to these teachers, unlike teachers who are laid off. The district, which self funds its unemployment payments, must pay $29,000 to each laid-off teacher.

As part of the deal, Norwalk teachers will be offered an incentive of $15,000 to retire early. The incentive payment will be deferred until 2012 and paid over two years.

The $350,000 in savings is predicated on 10 teachers accepting the package. “Teachers will have to see where they are on their journey and look at their economic situation,” says Mellion. The deadline for teachers take the incentive package is June 10. After that, the district will know how much was saved as a result of this agreement.

So far this year, Mellion says 14 teachers are expected to retire. He expects the incentive plan will raise that number. Although Superintendent Susan Marks has proposed cutting 15 teacher positions, Mellion believes retirements, attrition and resignations will cover that number. "At the end, no teacher will lose a job," says Mellion.

The school board also accepted an offer by the custodians’ union to freeze their salaries for next year. The current contract, which was up for renegotiation, will be extended another year. Drezek estimates the custodians concessions will save the district $100,000.

The school board is also negotiating with the Norwalk Association of School Administrators, which represents principals and other administrators, but no terms have been agreed upon yet.

Parent Survey Seeks Feedback on Norwalk Schools

Attention Norwalk Public School parents: The district has posted an online survey asking for your feedback on a variety of topics, including student progress, school leadership and atmosphere, safety, technology, facilities, school meals and transportation. The survey will be posted on the district’s website from May 23 to June 6. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes to complete and is anonymous. There is also a Spanish version.

“This is a great opportunity to have your voices heard,” says PTO Council President Lisa Lenskold.

This is the first time that the Norwalk district has launched such a districtwide survey. “The intention of these surveys is to provide feedback that will assist the individual schools and school district in our improvement efforts,” says Superintendent Susan Marks. “We plan to use the data as a baseline for continuous improvement. It is also a tool for more informed decision-making."

Parents are encouraged to fill out one survey per child. The survey will be administered online only, not by paper, in order to facilitate the best data collection. If you don’t have a computer at home or at work, the district suggests using a public computer at a library. Arrangements also have been made for parents to use a public computer on the third floor of City Hall at the district’s human resources office. 

Most of the questions are rated on a 1 to 4 scale of “strongly agree to strongly disagree." A few questions are fill in and open ended. A joint committee of administrators, teachers, community members and parents developed the survey. It also created a staff survey.

The data will be aggregated and analyzed over the summer, and parents can expect to see a summary of their school’s survey results in the fall.

“We are hoping for a lot of participation,” says Bruce Mellion, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teacher and committee member. "The more the better."

Hamilton Resigns

A version of this story appears on TheDailyNorwalk.com

Susan Hamilton announced her resignation from Norwalk's Board of Education at Tuesday's meeting because she is moving to Westport in early June. Hamilton, a Democrat from District A, is stepping down after seven-and-a-half years on the board.

Hamilton is the second Board of Education member to resign in two weeks. At the last school board meeting, Erin Halsey resigned to become city clerk. Artie Kassimis was selected by the Republican Town Committee to complete Halsey's term. He attended his first meeting Tuesday.

During her tenure, Hamilton has worked with four superintendents — Salvatore Corda, Interim Superintendent William Papallo, Interim Superintendent Michael Nast and current Superintendent Susan Marks. Hamilton sat on the board's policy and curriculum committees. She was also the board's representative to Cooperative Educations Services, a Fairfield County educational resource center based in Trumbull.

Last year, Hamilton led the site visit to Montgomery County, Md., to observe Marks, who was then a candidate for superintendent of Norwalk schools. Hamilton considers her work in the hiring of Marks as a "highlight" of her tenure. She also "loved getting into the schools and talking to kids."

Hamilton, a retired special education teacher whose own children went through the city's public schools, plans to be involved in Norwalk schools in the future. "I want to sub in Norwalk." And she will continue to mentor four children and one teacher from the Norwalk schools.

TheDailyNorwalk.com has reached out to Democratic Town Committee Chairman Marc Bradley to find out plans for replacing Hamilton. Check back for more information on this story.

Star Could Go Dark at Roton Planetarium

A version of this story appears on TheDailyNorwalk.com

Students from Brookside Elementary School tilted their head upward toward the dome of the Roton Planetarium and watched a comet fly through the sky and — “BOOM” — hit the earth. The Norwalk students roared with excitement as director Ralph Mackenstein explained the “asteroid theory” for why dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago. (He also talked about volcanoes and disease as possible causes). This, however, could be the last year that Norwalk students get to experience the “boom" because the planetarium might close next year because of budget cuts.

The Robert B. Oliver Planetarium at Roton Middle School, named after a former mayor of Norwalk, was constructed in 1966, the same year the school was built. The 40-seat planetarium is one of six school planetariums in the state.

For the past 17 years, Mackenstein has presented programs for all of Norwalk’s first, second, third and fifth grade classes. He does 150 shows with more than 3,000 students visiting the planetarium each year. He hosts preschoolers and kindergartners, and the wider community for special astromonical events.

In addition to the third grade dinosaur show, Mackenstein has created shows about the day sky, the night sky and sun/earth/moon relationships. Mackenstein follows the planetarium presentations with classroom visits to reinforce his lessons.

“I created these shows. They are directly tied to our curriculum,” says Mackenstein, a certified teacher with master's level coursework in science. “Most elementary teachers are not scientists. I’m here to work with them.”

Mackenstein gave the hourlong multimedia presentation about rocks, fossils and dinosaurs on Friday morning. “I am astronomer, geologist and paleontologist,” he told the students. As he turned on his star projector, he said, “I have been watching the stars since I was 11. I know their names and the names of all the constellations.”

Closing the planetarium would save the district $95,000. Because of the teacher union’s seniority rules, Mackenstein won’t lose his job and will continue as a science teacher. On the superintendent’s proposed “cut list,” the planetarium is No. 23 out of 30, meaning that it’s not listed as a priority for reinstating if funds become available.

Mackenstein advocates for the planetarium program by saying that it is cost effective. “What other program with one teacher has an impact on 3,000 students?”

“It’s enrichment that’s free for our kids,” says Brookside third grade teacher Jeff Beckley. “It provides the kids with a special memory directly related to their lessons.”

Lisa Thomson, the Roton PTO president and founder of Red Apples, a local education reform advocacy group, suggested finding a community partner such as a local university that could make the planetarium a revenue generator. “We should get creative. Look at what is happening in this country, even NASA is being cut.”

In 1994, Roton Principal Joseph Velucci hired Mackenstein to revamp the fledgling planetarium program. “Ralph is a distinguished teacher that makes science come alive for students. The planetarium never made the cut list in previous years.”

“With America falling behind in science, it would be a great step backward if we were to lose this precious resource that inspires and motivates our future thinkers to reach for the stars,” says Daniel Lucia, a fifth grade teacher at Naramake Elementary School.

Roton sixth grader Brendan Murtha spoke to the Board of Education on Tuesday evening against the closing of the planetarium. “We should cherish the planetarium, it's totally unique," said Murtha who had visited the planetarium every year in elementary school. "It’s so much better than a textbook, to learn the wonders of science first hand."