Marks Lines Up Spending Cuts

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com
Norwalk Superintendant Susan Marks has created a prioritized list of 30 spending cuts that she would put back into next year's school budget if the Board of Education finds more money. The list of cuts total $4.27 million. See below for the entire list. 

"We are hoping for help from the unions," says Marks who confirmed that the school board is currently talking to "major unions".  Marks, however, would not specify which unions. Marks says that in addition to the hoped-for union concessions, the finance department continues to look for savings related to efficiencies and renegotiated vendor contracts.  In early May, the Board of Estimation & Taxation set the 2011-12 operating budget at $154.8 million.

A revised list of Marks' proposed cuts was presented at the May 5 Board of Education finance committee meeting. It includes a total of 44 positions, including two elementary assistant principals positions, 15 teaching positions, reduction of elementary librarians to 19 hours a week, elementary interventions aides, two central office administrators, the third-grade strings program and Roton Planetarium position.

Elementary schools have taken the biggest hit with $1.8 million of the $4.2 million in cuts. Central office follows with $1.3 million. The middle schools and high schools have a half-million in cuts. "There are more elementary schools, so there's more to work with there in terms of finding cuts," Marks says of the district's 12 elementary schools.

However, elementary schools are also on the top of the list as far as possibly reinstating positions. The top four "put backs" are two elementary assistants, five of the 15 teaching positions, elementary librarian hours and 12 intervention aides. "Elementary is critical," said Marks. "That's why those items will be put back first."

At the district's central office, Marks is cutting two senior administrators positions: grants specialist Italia Negroni, who was hired last year, and a social studies specialist position held by Joan Glass. Currently, Glass is also in charge of the Academically Talented Program.

Marks says that she doesn't yet know which of the 15 teacher positions might be cut. When the school board reconciles the budget, Marks says she'll evaluate factors such as class sizes and teacher retirements.

Steve Colarossi, Board of Education Finance Committee chairman, says he is "frustrated" because he hasn't seen an impact statement from Marks on the cuts. "I have yet to see a comprehensive plan about how the duties of an intervention aide, for example, will be shifted," he says. "I don't the how, why and wherefore of the cuts with clarity."

Marks said her office will provide Colarossi with impact statements. "Basically, other people are going to have to pick up the load," says Marks.

The proposed budget will be discussed at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting. The reconciliation process will go through June, when the school board must adopt its final spending plan for next year.

Superintendent's position priorities to be put back in when money becomes available:

(according to document distributed at May 5 BOE Finance Committee Meeting)

1. Two elementary vice principal positions--$265,720 (includes salary and benefits)

2. Five of 15 teaching positions that were eliminated--$343,420

3. Six elementary librarian positions that were eliminated--$178,200

4. 12 intervention aides--$306,864

5. Two high school secretary positions--$105,798

6. Strings teacher--$86,060

7. Four first grade aides--$114,436

8. Columbus aides' hours--$142,932

9. Two Central Office instructional specialists--$320,024

10. Staff developer--$133,209

11. Five of 15 teaching positions that were eliminated--$343,420

12. Librarian at Brien McMahon High School--$110,344

13. Guitar teacher--$86,060

14. Security positions at Norwalk High School--$65,380

15. Numeracy coaches--$172,120

16. Literacy coaches--$91,950

17. Five of 15 teaching positions that were eliminated--$343,420

18. Middle school guidance counselor--$86,060

19. Finance/HR Department position--$49,760

20. C/I secretary position--$85,795

21. Food service worker--$35,427

22. Custodial vacancy position--$68,760

23. Planetarium position--$95,160

24. Reserve nurse position--$47,380

25. Head of security--$87,900

26. 0.5 technician positions--$29,207

27. Four reserve teachers--$344,240

28. Reserve aide positions--$53,080

29. Police security funds at high school--$52,000

30. Instructional materials--$25,414

Two Dozen Kids Removed From Norwalk School This Year

More than two-dozen students were removed from Norwalk schools this year because they lived in other cities. However, none of the parents in these cases have been arrested, unlike Tanya McDowell, a Bridgeport mother who has been charged with stealing school services.

Since September, outreach workers for Norwalk Public Schools have conducted 58 investigations, according to Bruce Morris, human relations officer for the Norwalk schools. Investigators found that in 24 cases, the students were valid Norwalk residents. In 26 instances, the children did not live in Norwalk and were disenrolled. Eight cases remain under investigation. The district has said repeatedly it "did not initiate" the criminal proceedings against McDowell. The Housing Authority and the Norwalk police initiated the arrest. 

Morris would not comment on which schools the 26 students attended or which cities or towns they were from. He said 16 of the 26 were elementary school students.

Morris said school administrators have some “flags” that a student might be out of district, including poor attendance, returned mail and unreturned phone calls. Currently, the district has two outreach workers that go to homes to confirm Norwalk residency, based on calls from school administrators.

The review confirms there are out-of-district students attending Norwalk school, says Morris. The information also implies, however, that the “larger public perception of hundreds of out-of-districts students is probably inaccurate." He also points out that half of the investigations were unfounded.

School board Chairman Jack Chiaramonte said there should be a monetary penalty for illegally attending an out-of-district school. “Right now, there is no disincentive to attend our schools. An education is not free. It comes from taxpayers' money,” he says. “Norwalk is having a hard enough time taking care of its own.”

Chiaramonte plans to put the out-of-district policy on the agenda for the next Board of Education meeting. “If you lie on a government form, there has to be a penalty. Right now, what's the worst that can happen? You just get sent back. It's all bark and no bite.”

Yale Expert to Share Reading Strategies in Norwalk

Is your child a struggling reader?  Are you a teacher who wants to learn more about reading pedagogy? Reading expert Margie Gillis will discuss the latest in reading research Wednesday night. Gillis’ presentation, “From Brain Scan to Lesson Plan: Reading Research Informing Instruction,” is scheduled for 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. at City Hall.

“Our brains are hard wired to speak but they are not wired neurologically to read,” said Gillis, who is a researcher at Haskins Laboratory at Yale University, a language research institute.  “For many children reading does not happen easily.”

In Norwalk, for example, 51 percent of third grade students read at grade level or "at goal" based on the  results of last year's Connecticut Mastery Test.  Statewide that number is 57 percent.  “We should be very, very concerned,” Gillis said.

For years there has been a philosophical debate about reading referred to as the “reading wars”.  Experts continue to debate the importance of “phonics,” which focuses on breaking apart sounds, against “whole language,” which emphasizes context and comprehension.

But Gillis thinks reading instruction is not an “either or” exercise.  “One size teaching doesn’t fit all in reading.  The weight of the different components are different for each child,” she said. In particular, she said children who grow up in high poverty areas have limited language exposure during their early years, putting them at a disadvantage in the classroom.

Gillis sees her role as bridging theory with practice. In addition to her role as a researcher, she’s the president of Literacy How, Inc. a non-profit organization that focuses on professional development.

“Teachers need a deep level of understanding of what it takes to read,” she said.  “They are so desperate for information and activities.” Gillis worked with Kendall, Jefferson, Wolfpit and Tracey elementary schools from 2002-2006 as part of a statewide reading initiative. That program has since lost its funding.

This free event is co-sponsored by Norwalk Public Schools, SPED*NET Wilton, Smart Kids w/Learning Disabilities- www.smartkidswithld.org - and CACLD- www.cacld.org and takes place at Norwalk City Hall.  For more information please call (203) 854-4126.  Registration is highly recommended: rsvp@spednetwilton.org

Magnet School Attract Students Across Borders

Bridgeport resident Shaqille Simpson travels an hour a day on two buses and a train to make his way to CGS — the Center for Global Studies — a high school in Norwalk. At the same time, students from Norwalk make their way nearly an hour to attend AITE — the Academy for Information, Technology & Engineering — a high school in Stamford.

The case of Tanya McDowell, the Bridgeport mother who was arrested on charges of sending her 5-year old son to Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, put a spotlight on illegal out-of-district students. But hundreds of children travel in and out of Norwalk to attend inter-district magnet schools such as CGS and AITE.

Both CGS and AITE are inter-district magnet schools, which are funded by the state Department of Education and are required to take a certain percentage of students from outside their home district.
According to Norwalk school’s transportation director Johanna Garcia, 176 Norwalk students go to AITE, which specializes in pre-engineering classes. Three buses paid for by a state transportation grant take the kids to and from Stamford each day.

Roz McCarthy, director of CGS, says 105 students come to the Norwalk school from all over the area. “They come from as close as Darien and as far as Monroe, Milford and Stratford,” says McCarthy, including about 40 students from Bridgeport. Small buses transport students home or to the train station. “People should understand that the inter-district magnet budget is separate from the Board of Education budget,” says McCarthy.

Simpson, a junior who studies Mandarin at CGS, which is located in Brien McMahon High School, said, "I didn't want to go to an average high school. China is becoming a world power in the 21st century. This program is good for my future." In addition to Mandarin, CGS also offers a Japanese and Arabic language program.

AITE students and parents like the school’s small size and technology-related class offerings. “My son wanted to go to a smaller high school,” says AITE parent Marilyn Marino, who lives in East Norwalk. AITE has a capacity of 650 students, less than half the population of Norwalk High School. “The facility is amazing.” The school’s new futuristic facility opened in 2007. AITE does not have a strong music or athletics program, which is a drawback for many who consider applying.

McCarthy says inter-district magnets offer students more choices, and this choice changes the dynamic of the program. “Kids who come here have invested time and effort to be here. They are committed to the philosophy and content of the school.” CGS has an elaborate application process. AITE uses a lottery system.

Rogers International School, another Stamford inter-district K-8 magnet school, has been attracting more and more Norwalk students. This year, about 60 Norwalk students attend the school, which has an International Baccalaureate curriculum.

“I wanted a more rigorous school where my kids are challenged,” says Kate Roller, a parent of two Rogers students. Roller drives her kids from West Norwalk to Stamford every day because there is no transportation agreement with the school. “I wish that Norwalk had a magnet middle school. Everyone keeps saying — the schools in Norwalk are pretty good, but pretty good is not good enough.”

Halsey Resigns from BOE

Norwalk Board of Education member Erin Halsey announced her resignation at Tuesday night’s board meeting. The Republican member said she couldn’t finish her term because she has started a new job with increased responsibilities. “I was offered a new job, and this is what I have to do for my family,” she said.

Halsey was elected in November 2009 as part of the "Parents Not Politicians" slate of candidates that nearly swept the elections that year. In a resignation letter to Town Clerk Andy Garfunkel, Halsey said, “The lessons I have learned will last a lifetime."  She also wrote that she will "continue to be an advocate for Norwalk's children." Halsey had led the communications committee of the board but resigned from that committee last year. 

The Republican Town Committee will select Halsey’s replacement May 10, according to committee Chair Art Scialabba, who attended Tuesday’s board meeting. “It’s disappointing, she was a great asset."

Artie Kassimis, a Republican stalwart who also attended the meeting, is a likely replacement for Halsey, said Scialabba. Halsey also backs Kassimis. “He has my support 100 percent,” she said.

Kassimis ran unsuccessfully last year for state Senate against Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. Kassimis also lost the 2009 Norwalk school board election by a narrow margin. He left a career in corporate business to become the pastor of the Word Alive Bible Church in Norwalk. He has four children.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day, Letter from Duncan

To all the teacher readers on this blog, Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

The National Education Association website give a little history on the day:

The origins of National Teacher Day are murky. Around 1944 Arkansas teacher Mattye Whyte Woodridge began corresponding with political and education leaders about the need for a national day to honor teachers. Woodridge wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, who in 1953 persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day.

NEA, along with its Kansas and Indiana state affiliates and the Dodge City (Kan.) Local, lobbied Congress to create a national day to celebrate teachers. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher Day for that year only.

NEA and its affiliates continued to observe National Teacher Day in March until 1985, when the NEA Representative Assembly voted to change the event to Tuesday of the first full week of May.

As someone who writes about schools,  it seems that this is not the easiest of times to be a teacher.  School budgets are tight, limiting resources for your classrooms.  Some of your jobs and colleagues' jobs are precarious.  Reform initiatives suggest holding you accountable for the performance of children who have unstable home environments.  Has your job become harder in the last couple of years?  What are the biggest challenges you face in the classroom?  How can parents help and support you?  Parents, do you have a comment for a teachers? 


U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released this open letter to America's teachers.    Let me know what you think of it.

I have worked in education for much of my life. I have met with thousands of teachers in great schools and struggling schools, in big cities and small towns, and I have a deep and genuine appreciation for the work you do. I know that most teachers did not enter the profession for the money. You became teachers to make a difference in the lives of children, and for the hard work you do each day, you deserve to be respected, valued, and supported. 

I consider teaching an honorable and important profession, and it is my goal to see that you are treated with the dignity we award to other professionals in society. In too many communities, the profession has been devalued. Many of the teachers I have met object to the imposition of curriculum that reduces teaching to little more than a paint-by-numbers exercise. I agree.

Inside your classroom, you exercise a high degree of autonomy. You decide when to slow down to make sure all of your students fully understand a concept, or when a different instructional strategy is needed to meet the needs of a few who are struggling to keep up. You build relationships with students from a variety of backgrounds and with a diverse array of needs, and you find ways to motivate and engage them. I appreciate the challenge and skill involved in the work you do and applaud those of you who have dedicated your lives to teaching.

Many of you have told me you are willing to be held accountable for outcomes over which you have some control, but you also want school leaders held accountable for creating a positive and supportive learning environment. You want real feedback in a professional setting rather than drive-by visits from principals or a single score on a bubble test. And you want the time and opportunity to work with your colleagues and strengthen your craft.

You have told me you believe that the No Child Left Behind Act has prompted some schools—especially low-performing ones—to teach to the test, rather than focus on the educational needs of students. Because of the pressure to boost test scores, NCLB has narrowed the curriculum, and important subjects like history, science, the arts, foreign languages, and physical education have been de-emphasized. And you are frustrated when teachers alone are blamed for educational failures that have roots in broken families, unsafe communities, misguided reforms, and underfunded schools systems. You rightfully believe that responsibility for educational quality should be shared by administrators, community, parents, and even students themselves.

The teachers I have met are not afraid of hard work, and few jobs today are harder. Moreover, it’s gotten harder in recent years; the challenges kids bring into the classroom are greater and the expectations are higher. Not too long ago, it was acceptable for schools to have high dropout rates, and not all kids were expected to be proficient in every subject. In today’s economy, there is no acceptable dropout rate, and we rightly expect all children—English-language learners, students with disabilities, and children of poverty—to learn and succeed.

You and I are here to help America’s children. We understand that the surest way to do that is to make sure that the 3.2 million teachers in America’s classrooms are the very best they can be. The quality of our education system can only be as good as the quality of our teaching force.

So I want to work with you to change and improve federal law, to invest in teachers and strengthen the teaching profession. Together with you, I want to develop a system of evaluation that draws on meaningful observations and input from your peers, as well as a sophisticated assessment that measures individual student growth, creativity, and critical thinking. States, with the help of teachers, are now developing better assessments so you will have useful information to guide instruction and show the positive impact you are having on our children.

Working together, we can transform teaching from the factory model designed over a century ago to one built for the information age. We can build an accountability system based on data we trust and a standard that is honest—one that recognizes and rewards great teaching, gives new or struggling teachers the support they need to succeed, and deals fairly, efficiently, and compassionately with teachers who are simply not up to the job. With your input and leadership, we can restore the status of the teaching profession so more of America’s top college students choose to teach because no other job is more important or more fulfilling.

In the next decade, half of America’s teachers are likely to retire. What we do to recruit, train, and retain our new teachers will shape public education in this country for a generation. At the same time, how we recognize, honor, and show respect for our experienced educators will reaffirm teaching as a profession of nation builders and social leaders dedicated to our highest ideals. As that work proceeds, I want you to know that I hear you, I value you, and I respect you.

Lisa Thomson's Open Letter to Politicians

Lisa Thomson is the founder of Red Apples,  a grassroots organization dedicated to education reform in Norwalk. 

To:      Norwalk Town Political Committee Heads: Mr. Bradley and Mr. Scialabba

Mayoral Candidates: Mayor Moccia and Mr. Garfunkel

Board of Education: Current Members and Prospective Candidates

Common Council: Current Members and Prospective Candidates

I am writing to all of you as an independent citizen (like a good many of us in Norwalk) who are frustrated by the political parties’ inability or unwillingness to seriously step up to the plate with regards to education reform in our City of Norwalk.  Over the past several months, the local papers and blogs have highlighted everything from A-Z about the issues surrounding the state of our education, but I have not seen any genuine willingness by the political leaders to go beyond traditional party rhetoric, or personal attacks of opponents, on what is surely a very complicated issue. 

Please consider the following issues backed up with data on the following pages:

• ·       Norwalk is committed to educating its free and reduced lunch student population
• ·       Norwalk residents pay more to educate their children as a percentage of family income than our richer neighbors
• ·       Norwalk does not receive is fair share of ECS funding from the state despite its significant free and reduced lunch student population
•      The City of Norwalk (like cities across the US) is struggling in negotiations with the leadership of its two largest collective bargaining units on everything from job assignments, to work rules to pay despite the fact that our staff are among the highest paid in the state.

I would hate to see any of you use political party sound bites, disingenuously directed at education reform, in an effort to attack your opponents or score points with the electorate without highlighting your own platforms. Therefore, I am hoping that the papers and blogs will publish my letter and  data for the citizens of Norwalk. And, I hope that each of you, as you go forward with your campaigns,  deem it worthy to  share with the voters of Norwalk, your PLANS for dealing with these various issues in order to move education reform and the future economic vibrancy of this great city forward.

Respectfully submitted and compiled,

Lisa Thomson

Founder – Red Apples

www.redapplesnorwalk.org

Norwalk is committed to Educating Its Growing Free and Reduced Lunch Student Population

·                It’s well known that urban school districts have seen a jump in their poverty levels across the nation 

·                Norwalk’s student population has held fairly steady over the years at approximately 11,000.· 

Yet, in the past 5 years, the number of students that qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch has jumped from 2,555  students in 2005 to 4,744 in 2010.

·                This represents an increase from 23.1 % of its total student body to 43.7%.

·                13% of that student base represents English Language Learners. 

Source: Dr. Susan Marks NPS Budget 2010-11 Budget Planning

Norwalk residents pay more to educate their children as a percentage of family income than its richer neighbors.

·       Norwalk’s neighboring towns, average over twice the median family income, yet spending is consistent with these richer towns and one case is more.

City/Town	Per Pupil Spending	Median Family Income	% of Income Contribution
New Canaan	$15,711	$141,788	11%
Westport	$15,409	$119,872	13%
Wilton	$14,013	$141,428	10%
NORWALK	$13,940	$59,839	23%
Darien	$13,367	$146,755	9%

Source: Fred Wilms, Norwalk Bureau of Estimation and Taxation (07/08 data)

Norwalk does not receive its fair share of ECS funding from the State of Connecticut despite its significant free and reduced lunch student population

·             The percentage of Norwalk’s educational costs derived from Connecticut Educational Cost Sharing Grants ranks Norwalk second-to-last in the percentage category and LAST in actual revenue sharing dollars received among Connecticut’s cities as demonstrated in the following chart: 

District	% of School Revenues Provided By State	2007-2008 Budget ($ millions)	State Portion ($ millions)
Bridgeport	68.2	268	183
Danbury	69.2	119	83
Hartford	63.2	364	230
New Britain	60.4	137	83
New Haven	60.9	312	189
Norwalk	11.1	160	18
Stamford	8.8	234	21
Waterbury	56.2	232	130

Pastoral communities without apparent urban challenges often receive comparatively higher ECS support than Norwalk

District	ECS % 2007-2008
Canterbury	46.5
Canton	18.2
Hebron	35.0
Mansfield	33.3
Watertown	35.6
Wethersfield	18.5
Wolcott	44.7
Woodstock	35.4
Norwalk	11.1

Source:  Norwalk Office of the City Clerk : From Common Council ECS Resolution Regular Meeting January 25, 2011.

The City of Norwalk (like many cities across the US) is struggling in its negotiations with the leadership of its two largest collective bargaining units:  the National Federation of Teachers (NFT) and the Norwalk Association of School Administration (NASA) to close the 2011-12 school budget gap despite a tax proposed 2% tax increase from the BET to residents.  Sadly staff

Average CT State Teacher Salaries 2007-08

Dist #	Districts	Average FTE  Teacher Salary	State Rank
57	Greenwich	$75,499	1
103	Norwalk	$74,229	2
161	Wilton	$73,307	3
118	Ridgefield	$72,457	4
4	Avon	$71,989	5
135	Stamford	$71,214	6
209	Region09	$70,715	7
157	Weston	$70,347	8
51	Fairfield	$69,880	9
117	Redding	$69,404	10
90	New Canaan	$69,208	11
158	Westport	$66,786	18
35	Darien	$66,204	24
15	Bridgeport	$60,988	68

Source: CT State Department of Education (website staff data 4/21/10)

·       Norwalk Teacher Insurance Coverages Are the Best “Norwalk teachers have medical, dental, vision and life insurance coverages  and benefits that are unparalleled  in each category and collectively in the state and nation.”  Source: January 2010, The Vanguard NFT Newsletter, Bruce Mellion, President

Bargaining Unit	No. of Employees	Average Salary	Average Years of Service
Executives	4	$ 172,370	10.6
Administration	58	$ 137,435	9.4
Teachers	902	$ 81,158	12.0

Source: Norwalk Board of Education 2/17/2011