Tag Archives: Patch.com

An SPS Social Media Taskforce On the Horizon?

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In her new role as Human Capital Development Director of Stamford Public Schools, Fay Ruotolo addressed the board Tuesday evening with suggestions from the Connecticut Association of Board of Education [CABE] and neighboring school districts on how SPS should tackle the subject of social media. Ruotolo and the board agreed that input from parents, teachers and students would be critical in developing its policies.

“Social media isn’t something we can put in an envelope,” said Ruotolo. “It’s part of our fabric now. We need to be smart about how it’s used.”

Ruotolo presented the board with four suggestions from CABE, which range from banning social media altogether to using it freely. Wilton School District has also been developing a policy over the last year.

Social media in the classroom is a hot button issue both in Connecticut and around the country. This past summer, the Missouri state legislature passed a first-of-its-kind statewide bill banning school personnel from engaging with social media with students unless it is a public page, such as a public Facebook page or a blog. Educators, including those at SPS, are determining what practices can be useful for learning and which violate civil liberties, pose as a distraction, and cause concerns for student safety.

“This is a great way to bring people together with their different perspectives,” said Hamilton. “In addition to teachers, opinions from high school students would be great to have as well.”

Hamilton estimated the committee could have 15 members to contribute to the social media policy discussion.
“We should start with the end in mind,” said Assistant Secretary Geoff Alswanger. “Unlike most of our policies, this is moving so quickly. Once we finish it, it will likely be out of date. Social media is just interwoven into out we live.”

Ruotolo will return to the board at a meeting later this month to discuss research, proposed policy ideas, and the framework for a potential committee.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: Aug. 2011

School Governance Councils Coming to SPS

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A state education reform law passed earlier this summer is requiring schools that failed to make adequate yearly progress in math and reading to form school governance councils, which will involve parents, teachers, and community leaders to communicate with principals about how to improve student achievement.

Eleven schools were identified in Stamford Public Schools: Davenport Ridge, Hart, K.T. Murphy, Roxbury, Springdale, Julia A. Stark, Dolan, Turn of River, Rippowam, Stamford High School and Westhill High School.

The law, which was based on spring 2009 data, requires Stamford schools to form these councils by Nov. 1, 2011. The state mandate is trickled down from federal requirements under the No Child Left Behind act.

“The school governance councils are driven by best practices—the family engagement best practice,” said Mike Meyer, SPS director of student support services. “This is a formal way of engaging parents in the work and advising schools and principals on matters that would help improve schools.”

Each council will consist of seven parents, five teachers, two community leaders and one principal. Councils at Stamford High School and Westhill High School will involve students, as well.

In a letter sent to parents in July, SPS said members of the council will be expected to “put students first, be a team player, and be willing to learn.”

SPS has involved the Parent Teacher Council and SPS teachers’ union and administrators’ union in the process. According to Meyer, he would like each school governance council to represent its community.

“The term school governance council implies a lot of control, but it’s strictly an advisory council for principals,” said Meyer. “We look at them as a resource, not as a burden. We need to remind ourselves that we’re doing this because of best practices—not because of a mandate.”

A meeting will be held Sep. 7, tentatively on the 4th floor of Government Center at 7 p.m., to begin discussions and nominations for the councils. To get involved, contact Mike Meyer at mmeyer@ci.stamford.ct.us.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: Aug. 2011

New School Bullying Laws Take Effect this Fall

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On July 27, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed new legislation requiring schools statewide to take a comprehensive approach to identifying and preventing bullying of students. Stamford Public Schools will begin reviewing its own bullying policies to become effective in the upcoming school year, said SPS Director of Student Support Services Mike Meyer to the Board of Education Tuesday evening.

The new legislation, An Act Concerning the Strengthening of School Bullying, requires schools to explicitly define cyber-bullying, appoint a go-to person in the school for bullying complaints, know when to intervene if bullying occurs off school grounds, train all staff and faculty, collect data to assess the level of bullying in schools, and focus more closely on school climate.

Connecticut’s law aligns with recommendations set forth by the U.S. Department of Education last fall. States nationwide are following suit.

Meyer said Stamford’s existing policies and initiatives focused on school culture would help this transition be relatively seamless. “What’s great about Stamford is we’ve been future thinking [in our policies] and our Strategic District Improvement plan has an area about school culture, and that can be our vehicle for these new policies,” said Meyer.

“Over the last two years, Mike Meyers and his staff have done a great deal of work and research on bullying and this new initiative aligns nicely with the district improvement plan,” said Acting Superintendent Winifred Hamilton.

According to Hamilton, the new law may clear up some confusion surrounding who should handle bullying incidents and when to intervene. The new law appoints a specific go-to person for bullying incidents but asks that all staff members intervene immediately when they observe bullying.

“Some people may say, ‘It’s not my job, it’s the teacher’s job, or the administrator’s job,’ but it’s all of our jobs to safeguard students and make sure they’re not victim to anybody’s abuse or behavior.”

Board President Polly Rauh said the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education has a list districts with best practices for bullying policies that SPS will review while it prepares its new bullying regulations. The new policies will be discussed at a board of education meeting held later this month.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: Aug. 2011

Heftman and Wade Steal Endorsement for Board of Ed.

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Out of five candidates, Jackie Heftman, Julia Wade, and Gary Klein received the nomination from the Democratic City Committee of Stamford Thursday evening for the Board of Education. Wade and Heftman both currently serve on the board, although neither received an endorsement from the nominating committee. After being nominated by their peers at the meeting they both received the two highest votes.

Heftman said she was “chagrined” to see the middle school grouping discussion become a major factor in determining the nomination committee’s endorsement.

“It became a discussion about grouping,” Heftman said. “The state has the highest achievement gap in the country. Stamford has an achievement gap. Whether you want to call it ability or flexible grouping, as soon as you divide children based on their ability, you wind up with classrooms divided between white children and those of color.”

Heftman has served on the Board of Education since 2008 and was the president during the 2009-2010 term. She has also served on the city’s zoning board from 1994-2005 and assisted with former mayor and current Governor Malloy’s campaign in 2006.

“Everybody is entitled to an excellent education,” Wade said to the Democratic Committee. “Please join me in supporting education for everyone.”

Although nominees traditionally do not speak before receiving an endorsement, committee member John Zelinsky motioned to have each candidate speak for a few minutes so the audience could get to know them better. His motion passed overwhelmingly.

Klein along with Mara Siladi and Pamela Scott were originally endorsed by the nominating committee that consists of 10 members. Klein, a lifelong resident of the city, served on the Democratic City Committee and the Environmental Protection Board throughout the 1990s. Scott, also born and raised in Stamford, worked for the city for 21 years and served 11 years on the Board of Directors for the Stamford Federal Credit Union. Siladi has spent her entire career with Stamford Public Schools beginning as a special education teacher and eventually working on the administrative side for the board of education.

Wendy Lecker, immediate past co-president of the Stamford Parent Teacher Council, felt middle school grouping, which has been a point of contention at past board of education meetings, played a large factor in determining the committee’s original endorsements.

“I don’t know what went on in the committees, but after talking to people on the committee I got a sense that that’s what it was. As Jackie said, 15,000 students [in the district] is a lot bigger than just grades 6 and 7,” said Lecker as to why she felt their role on the board is much larger than that one issue. Lecker, personally, supports Heftman and Wade on the board.

“They are prepared, they do their homework, they come to every meeting and they are respectful. They’re not only dedicated to the board but to their party.”

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: July 2011

What Stamford Public Schools is Doing to Make Students Healthier

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On June 28, the Stamford Board of Education decided in a 5-to-1 vote, with two abstentions, that the district would not participate in the Healthy Food Certification program in the state of Connecticut.

The program asks participating schools will follow Connecticut’s Nutrition Standards for all food sold outside of the school breakfast and lunch programs. While an increasing number of districts around the state are signing on, SPS is holding off because many relatively profitable fundraising efforts for clubs include bake sales, which would not comply with the program.

“It would have the right to control many items, including cupcakes and cookies,” Winifred Hamilton, acting superintendent said. “It may seem anti-21st century to some health conscious folks, but many of these fundraisers are quite profitable and even memorable for the students.”

To date, only 35 districts out of 169 in the state do not participate with the program, leaving Stamford in the minority.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that we wouldn’t try to be cognizant of the fact that we need to know what we’re putting into the mouths of students,” board member Jackie Heftman said. “To me, it’s sending the wrong message that we will focus on what we serve in the cafeteria but not for fundraising efforts.”

Board member Julia Wade sided with Heftman and said she would like to see the district sign on to the program in the future.

Former Superintendent Joshua Starr, in his last meeting with the Board of Education, said that although SPS isn’t joining the statewide program it does not mean the district does not support healthy food initiatives for its students and can set its own standards.

Over the last few years, SPS has in fact begun advocating for healthier food in its schools, according to Trish Shoemaker, registered dietitian with for Stamford and Wilton schools with Chartwells, the district’s food service provider. Chartwells has focused on limiting fats, sugars, and sodium levels and moderating portion sizes. For instance, only wheat bread and brown rice are served — not white.

The district partners with farms in the tri-state area to give students locally grown fruits and vegetables, which are provided daily. There are other substitutions, Shoemaker said, such as serving romaine and spinach instead of iceberg lettuce, sweet potato fries versus ordinary fries, low-fat cheeses and milk, and baking foods instead of frying.

“We do a lot of cooking from scratch so we can control the amount of sodium unlike with pre-made foods,” said Shoemaker. “We rarely offer desserts, don’t put out salt shakers for students to add additional salt to their foods, offer cereals low in sugar in the morning and have oil and vinegar as an alternative to salad dressings.”

One unique feature in the Stamford cafeterias is a chef that travels to different schools one each month to put on demonstrations for the students. For instance, before the end of the last school year the SPS chef demonstrated how to make ratatouille to the students. While educating them on nutrition and asking students to try different vegetables, Shoemaker says the smell of the fresh food cooking throughout the school is what really intrigues the students.

To get a district as large as Stamford to sign on to the Healthy Food Certification program may be difficult, said Shoemaker.

“You have to get everybody on board or it’s not going to work,” Shoemaker said. “It’s going to take a while for a large district to educate people as to what the program is about.”

There’s also an alternative to the bake sales, she added. The state of Connecticut’s Web site offers a list of different ideas, including selling flowers or cookbooks, to raise money instead of junk food.

“Selling unhealthy things can contradict the messages taught in the classroom,” Shoemaker said.

Getting kids healthy has been a national effort, which has recently been highlighted by First Lady Michelle Obama and her “Let’s Move” campaign to end childhood obesity. In conjunction, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked every school to ramp up its efforts to provide healthy food in the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge.

Shoemaker has submitted SPS’ application nominating all 12 elementary schools for the bronze award and will hear the results, hopefully, by the start of the school year.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: July 2011

New Program for Area Middle Schoolers Promotes Girl Power

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The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. has a new initiative: to mentor 10,000 girls nationwide to become intelligent leaders in their community. Twenty-one of those girls are being molded right here in Fairfield County.

Emerging Young Leaders is a nationwide program that focuses on character building, civic engagement, educational enrichment and leadership development. The Omicron Upsilon Omega chapter of the sorority, with members throughout Fairfield County, launched the program in January with female students from the Trailblazers Academy in Stamford and the George Washington Carver Center in Norwalk.

The five month program concluded at a ceremony held at the Stamford Government Center Saturday afternoon complete with a keynote speaker, slideshow, awards, and an undeniable feeling of girl power. Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded roughly 100 years ago and is the longest standing Greek-lettered organization founded by African-American college educated women. It has over 250,000 members worldwide.

“I’m so proud of the accomplishments of these girls. They did a wonderful job and worked very hard,” Janelle McIntyre, co-chairman of the EYL program, said.

According to McIntyre, the organization reached out to the local schools and girls were referred to them. Five meetings were held each month where the girls, in grades 6-8, learned about the importance of volunteering, working to make a difference, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, bullying, and financial literacy.

Imani Morgan, an eighth grade student from Trailblazers Academy and the winter of a “What is Leadership” essay contest, defined leaderships as taking the road less traveled.

“Leadership is taking the path not many people take,” she said. “Overcoming that path is not always easy, but the view is great. I’ve learned that I can conquer anything.”

“We wanted to enrich the lives of 21 young ladies so they will have a brighter future,” Valerie Adams Barker, president of the sorority’s local chapter, said. “We’re building better leaders at a younger age.”

At the ceremony, 14 girls from the Trailblazers Academy and eight from George Washington Carver Center were acknowledged as graduates of the program. The students in sixth and seventh grade will continue with the program next year. The chapter’s scholarship committee also passed out its annual scholarships to Daphne Nicolas from Norwalk High School and Mical Ghebrekidam from Westhill High School.

The program’s keynote speaker was Alisha Smith, site director for the Gear-Up Program at Bassick High School in Bridgeport. Smith began by saying everyone has a story, which involves overcoming many obstacles and meeting inspiring women along the way. While growing up, Smith’s father left her family at an early age and her mother battled drug abuse. She acknowledged she has not always been the greatest student, but eventually realized education was the key to her success.

“You have to get your education, it’s imperative,” she said. “It’s not enough just to be cute. I want to hear you say, ‘I can be whatever I want to be.’ Excuses are tools of the incompetent.”

Smith, also an accomplished singer, sang Little Girl  by Mary Mary to the students. The opening lyrics to the song were intended to speak to the middle school students sitting in the audience: “She was just 13 and I just don’t think that she’s ever seen her own beauty, and she didn’t think she’d be anything, and that little girls — she used to be me,” she sang.

Helen Giles, president of the Cultured Pearl Foundation, noted that reaching out to two schools in its first year was ambitious, but that McIntyre and fellow co-chair Natasha Hill willingly undertook the challenge.

“It’s a great reward in seeing how far they’ve come and how eager they are to participate,” McIntyre said.

The program will continue next January.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: June 2011

Board of Ed Discusses the Search for the New Superintendent

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In the words of Board of Education Assistant Secretary Geoff Alswanger, “It’s been one month since Superintendent Starr announced he was leaving and it’s time [for the Board of Education] to get a move on.”

Stamford Superintendent Joshua Starr announced April 26 that he would be leaving the district at the end of June after accepting the position of superintendent in Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools. He has been superintendent in Stamford for six years.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the board began discussions surrounding what the process will be for appointing an acting, interim, and — finally — permanent superintendent to fill Starr’s shoes.

Board President Polly Rauh said the district’s attorney advised all members of the board to join a personnel search committee. Such a committee would not fall under restrictions of the Freedom of Information Act and, therefore, would not have to publicly discuss all meetings and agenda items. Board member Julia Wade acknowledged that some aspects of the search committee are highly confidential, such as which applicants are initially applying, but that most aspects of the process should be a public dialogue.

“It’s a confidential process, but the rest is very public. We are the search committee, but not the only people deciding this process,” Vice President Jerry Pia said.

Pia is the longest-serving member of the board and this will be his fifth superintendent search. “We’ll get together many community groups and focus groups to get different points of view,” he said.

After an impromptu executive session, the board said that an acting superintendent would be announced next Tuesday after a special meeting, and on June 21 it will hold a public meeting to discuss the process of selecting an interim and permanent superintendent.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: June 2011

Middle School Transformation Plan Will Continue — For Now

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What began as an update on the status of the Middle School Transformation plan at Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting became a two-hour presentation of research, data and firsthand testimonials from Superintendent Joshua Starr and Stamford’s middle school principals and teachers.

Overwhelmingly, Starr and the middle school faculty said that the schools have made progress since they began implementing a program that would eliminate the four-tiered tracking system that groups students by ability. The new system has two groups — honors and college preparatory — and teachers said they would like to see a more heterogeneous mix of students rather than the addition of a third group.

“It was a very thorough presentation, and I think any questions we had about whether or not to go heterogeneous in the classes have been answered,” board member Julia Wade said.

“I would like to assess the data, think about the presentations and continue the discussion about the transformation at another time,” John Leydon, chairman of the Teacher, Learning, and Student Achievement committee and outspoken supporter of an additional group, said.

Although Leydon did not speak to the topic at the meeting, one reason an additional group is being sought is to better tailor instruction to student’s needs. “Shouldn’t we go beyond just the data and look at the individual needs of students in terms of placing them?” board member Geoff Alswanger asked.

When pressed by board member Jackie Heftman to confirm whether or not he plans to propose a resolution to revert back or increase grouping in the middle schools, Leydon said he was not “at this time.”

Starr began the presentation with research dating back to the 1960s on tracking students in Stamford and around the country. He said that not only has tracking students not shown any signs of improving student achievement, but it creates an environment of de facto segregation with the majority of low-income, black or Latino students in the lower groups.

“Bottom line — if you’re going to get serious about addressing the achievement gap issues, tracking must be dealt with,” he said.

In addition to removing tracking, the Middle School Transformation plan included a boost in instruction time and an enriched curriculum, particularly in math and now in literacy, according to Deputy Superintendent Winifred Hamilton.

Caitlen Sheeran, a seventh-grade language arts teacher at Turn of River Middle School, not only supports heterogeneous classes, but also was a student in Stamford Public Schools at a time when tracking was in place. “I saw firsthand what tracking did to my classmates,” she said. ” I can see it at our reunions. What Dr. Starr is talking about is a very real thing.”

Sheeran said her students are rising to challenges of the course materials. She recently taught a John Steinbeck novel — traditionally a high school reading — to her class using the book club model, a new program in the Middle School Transformation plan. Students that a few years ago were still reading at a third grade level were grasping the material and were noticeably proud.

“There is nothing as an educator more rewarding than to hear that,” Sheeran said.

The Transformation Plan has not been implemented in the eighth grade and, as a result, Heather Lorenz, a social studies teacher at Turn of River, says she still sees the segregation in her class. “De facto is when we put policies in place that end up segregating kids,” she said. “Kids at the bottom believe they’re just at the bottom and they don’t want to try.”

Wendy Lecker, co-president of the Stamford Parent Teacher Council, said she was very satisfied with the presentation made to the board. “That presentation made me proud to say I live in Stamford,” she said.

Board of Ed Vice President Jerry Pia said that the presentation was “excellent,” but expressed that the board will always review programs in place and that a resolution regarding grouping is always a possibility.

“We have a program in place here — a boat going in one direction,” he said. “The program is growing, changing, moving and has a life. Does that mean the boat won’t veer a little to the left or right? Absolutely not.”

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: May 2011

‘Grease’ Hits the Stamford High Stage

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In case you’ve forgotten the Rydell High alma mater, the students at Stamford High are here to remind you. This year’s spring musical is none other than “Grease“ with a cast of almost 45 students opening this weekend.

The popular show brought a lot of attention at auditions, Tom DeSalvo, director and producer of the show, told Patch.

“This show in particular brought a lot of kids out, and many of the leads are freshman and sophomores,” he said. DeSalvo is an accountant for Childcare Learning Centers in Stamford, but has been involved in theater since his days at Stamford High School, where he graduated in 2000. He is now an advisor with the Strawberry Hill Players, the school’s drama club, and volunteers at Curtain Call.

Sean Ormond and Katherine Breen —both seniors— play the leads as heartbreaker Danny and sweet Sandy. The T-bird crew is played by Bennett Leeds as Kenickie, Brendan George as Doody, Jeffrey Rich as Roger and Matt Sweeney as Sonny. The Pink Ladies is lead by Brittany Duffin as Rizzo, Jennifer Sapozhnikov as Frenchy, Erin Altieri as Marty and Kathleen Clark as Jan.

The show features every infamous Grease show tune, including two more added by DeSalvo.

“‘Hopelessly Devoted’ and ‘You’re the One that Want’ weren’t originally in the play, but I really like those songs so we got the rights to use them from Unichappel Music Inc., which owns them,” he said.

Leather jackets, Converse sneakers, Pink Lady embroidered coats, long poodle skirts and others 1950s gear are just some of the costumes sported by the students. The set, also built by the students, shifts subtly to become a school yard, burger joint, dance hall or Frenchy’s bedroom for the Pink Lady sleepover. Claudia Noel Nerreau, faculty advisor for the Strawberry Hill Players, oversaw both the costumes and set of the show. Nerreau also steps on stage as Miss Lynch.

Despite the widespread popularity of Grease, DeSalvo says the cast found ways to make the show its own.

“We added a few things, such as the slideshow in the opening reunion scene,” he said. The slideshow shows vintage-looking black and white pictures of students from Rydell straight from the Stamford cast.

The show at Stamford High School will be performed on May 6, 7, 13, and 14 at 8 p.m. There is one matinee performance May 14 at 2 p.m. and a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Live Strong. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors and $15 for adults. They can be purchased in advance on the Strawberry Hill Players Web site.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: May 2011

The Board of Reps Asks, Starr Answers

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Superintendent Joshua Starr and two members of the Board of Education, President Polly Ruah and board member Jackie Heftman, presented the Stamford Board of Representatives’ Fiscal Committee with the proposed 2011-2012 operating budget — a product of multiple meetings, public hearings and revisions. The plan outlines the multiple factors influencing the $229.6 million operating budget request, which includes 2,090.0 positions.

In the first round of budget talks, Starr would have needed a 5.29 percent increase just to maintain the status quo of services and operations. Knowing that fiscally wasn’t possible, Starr brought the budget proposal down to 3.86 percent, proposing 12 special education teachers be cut along with five social workers, one special education administrator, and four speech and language pathologists. In round two, the Board of Education cut a little further, bringing the budget down to 2.79 percent increase, however adding back four speech and language pathologists and the special education administrator.

“We have a long way to go, but I like to think we’re getting a good return on our investment,” Starr, pointing to student achievement data to support the district’s decisions in the budget, said.

In five years, the district reduced the achievement gap in mathematics by 12 points with new curriculum initiatives partially supported by a grant from General Electric. “We’ve seen our greatest achievement in math, and are now turning our attention to literacy,” Starr said.

The Board of Representatives combed through Starr’s presentation asking questions both specific to the budget and concerns about the direction of education at SPS overall.

“Aren’t teachers rated on an ability to teach?” board member Ralph Loglisci (R-13) asked regarding teacher accountability. “Some of the best teachers I had had only two years of experience while some of the worst had 30 years. That’s how you improve education — having the best teachers.”

“We’re doing a lot to make sure we’re having the best teachers, but it takes an investment,” Starr said, saying that professional development and support is needed to get those results.

Special education noticeably received the brunt of the cutbacks with many board members asking why. “After the joint public hearing, I heard someone ask why the district is ‘pickin on’ special education,” Annie Summerville (D-6) said.

Starr said the district is above par in terms of special education staffing per student and that a special education task force is currently underway gathering data on ways to be more efficient and see more results. Their findings will be available this summer.

Rauh, both a member of the Board of Education and the Board of Representatives, said that the special education cuts were reviewed carefully.

“Some of the cuts were based on the formula used, but we recognized that the speech and language pathologists have a tremendous impact on youngsters in that early development state,” Rauh said. “We brought them back in, but had to find something else to take out. It’s a balancing act.”

As the meeting progressed, many members of the board waxed nostalgic for previous years when the Board of Education met regularly — outside of the meeting room — and lobbied more for their budget proposals.

“We got lobbied heavily when it came to budget time,” Summerville said. “I found that very helpful to have a conversations with these two boards other than in this kind of setting.”

“We’re not talking like we used to about what’s going to be cut,” board member Harry Day (R-13), said.

Starr, too, saw some things he would like to see changed in the budget review process.

“There are some things that would be beneficial, such as having the process done earlier, like in February,”  he said. “Having a two-year budget would also provide an enormous amount of stability — powerful stability.” Starr also gave one final plea that the budget not be reduced any further.

The Board of Finance will review the budget Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.

Patch.com/ Stamford, CT: April 2011