Category: Education

Lisa Thompson On Education Stats

May 1, 2011

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.

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Haynie on Education Gap

MAKING A CASE FOR SB929—AN ACT CONCERNING CLOSING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Connecticut has the largest Achievement Gap in reading among low income children and their more affluent peers in the nation.  Between 1998 and 2009, Connecticut’s neediest children showed no improvement on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), a test that compares the reading and math achievement in all 50 states.  Here in Norwalk and based on 5 years of our own Connecticut CMT data, 50% of Norwalk 3rd graders, from all socio-economic levels, were not reading at grade level. Brain research informs us that reading is teachable to 95% of our students. So what happens to kids who are not reading at the level they should be, when they should be? For one, a child who hasn’t learned to read by the end of 1st grade has only a 1 in 8 chance of ever catching up with his peers. And, without grade level reading skills by 3rd grade, 1 in 6 children will drop out of school or fail to graduate on time. We live in a global and demanding economy; sub-par reading skills are simply no longer an option.

SB929—An Act Concerning Closing the Achievement Gap was discussed at the April 5th Legislative Reading Forum in Hartford.  Act SB929 stresses the need for better university level pre-service reading instruction for teachers, better tools for classroom reading assessments, better professional development for classroom reading instruction and better communication with parents about effective reading strategies to use at home.

Childhood illiteracy to the degree that we are experiencing it is a detriment to the long-term health of our nation and has negative consequences for everyone—and not just the child who has not been taught to read. The repercussions of illiteracy at this scale impact you, your children, your neighborhood, your property values, your taxes, your schools, your city, and your country. Let’s hope the Connecticut General Assembly adopts a sense of urgency in regard to this reading crisis in Connecticut and acts on Act SB 929.

Sue Haynie

Member Norwalk Board of Education

 

Guest View: Geoff Kieburtz on Education Reform

By Geoff Kieburtz

As the budget process struggles to conclusion and emotions rise in heated debate about relatively small changes in education funding, it is too easy to lose sight of the bigger issues. Despite spending more per student than all but three other countries in the world, the performance of US students has fallen further behind other nations over the past ten years.  President Obama said in his State of the Union address, “The countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow.”  Not long after, the Secretary of Education acknowledged that we have fallen behind much of the world in quality of education. Reform is urgently needed in the way we educate our children, and everyone has a stake in better education.

Global statistics and national priorities can sometimes depersonalize an issue, making it seem disconnected from local considerations. However, the local school district is where change can be most effective and quickly implemented. It is the performance of local school districts, individual schools, and ultimately the results of each teacher student interaction that determines the quality of education. As Norwalk works through its budget process and difficult funding decisions are made, it is in every taxpayer’s interest that we must ensure we are advancing the quality of the education being provided to our youth.

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Feeling The Heat, Mayor Jumps In BOE Budget Fracas

The war being waged by the Republican controlled BET and BOE is getting to the Mayor. On Friday he issued a press release:

In the hopes that we can work out an agreement that will be fair to everyone, the Teachers, Administrators, Taxpayers, but more importantly for the students. I have sent the following mail to the parties involved.  I believe that the time for recrimination is over and that we need to join to work out an agreement.  There has been enough heat generated, we now need to shed more light.

The email below was sent to parties involved:

Dr. Susan Marks, Superintendent of Schools

Jack Chiaramonte

Bruce Mellion

Anthony Ditrio

I am aware of and admire the level of commitment each of you is making to the effort to ensure this year’s budget is directed in a manner that best ensures a continuation of our shared commitment to quality education for all Norwalk children.  That your point of view may occasionally be presented with the passion of your belief is not only understandable but respectable.

Having said as much the time has come for composed conversation regarding how best we, on behalf of all teachers, administrators, students and citizens, can best proceed to set a plan for the coming year that we can afford, that protects jobs, that ensures appropriate class size and support, and that provides for a level of harmony as we work together on our mutual mission.

Therefore, this invites you to join me to diplomatically discuss how best to advance.  I am confident that we can emerge from such a meeting with at the very least an agreed upon demeanor for ongoing discussions.  It is my hope that we may also discover mutual ground for ultimate agreement.  In anticipation that you agree that such a meeting is in our best interests, please let me know when in the coming days you may be available.

Mayor Richard A. Moccia

Two Educational Films That Are Must See

from a press release:
The South Norwalk Branch Library Hosts Community Conversations on Education-Based Films

As part of a series of discussions on education-based films, the South Norwalk Branch Library invites the public to a community conversation and screening of the film “Waiting for Superman,“ 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, April 16, 2011 in the Friends of the Norwalk Public Library Community Room on the top level of the Library.

Guests will include:  Dr. Susan Marks, Superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools; Emiley Aguilar,  Education Parent Advocate; Lauriston T. Avery, Five Mile River Nursery School Director; Lauren Rosato, Norwalk Education Foundation President; and Anita Schmidt, Norwalk Branch NAACP President.  The discussion will be moderated by Greg Burnett, former Norwalk Board of Education member.

This Forum is made possible, in part, through the Fairfield County Community Foundation’s support of the Norwalk Education Foundation.
The next community conversation will take place 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, May 21, 2011 with a screening of the film, “Race to Nowhere,” and the third in the series will be the film “Two Million Minutes,”  1:00 – 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011.
The South Norwalk Branch Library is located at 10 Washington Street in South Norwalk.
The library’s community conversations are free and open to the public.
Please arrive early to allow time to park.
Registration is necessary, but please do not register via voicemail.  Please call 203 899-2790 x2 for more information or to register.

A Shekel Here, A Shekel There

I’ve known BOE Chairman Jack Chiaramonte a long time. It is unfortunate that his offhand comment and usage of the world shekel is being used as a sign of anti-Semitism.

The Hour reported that; ”Apparently the union doesn’t care about the kids,” Chiaramonte told The Hour on Tuesday.” The union just cares about a few extra shekels in the pockets of its teachers.”

Bruce Mellion took offense, again according to The Hour; “It’s a horrific statement to use in any context, and it shouldn’t have been done,” said Bruce LeVine Mellion, president of the Norwalk Federation of Teachers. “The people I represent are extremely offended, regardless of the intention.”

Of all things Jack Chiaramonte is, anti-semetic is not one of them. Jack is anti- many things. He is anti-union. He is anti-fair wage. Those are positions he should be challenged on. But to attack Jack for how he phrases issues, detracts from the issues at hand.

In 2007, here is Jack speaking against the fair-labor ordinance:

Mr. Jack Chiaramonte spoke next. He stated that he was a local Norwalk businessman and gave his address. He stated that he had read about the Living Wage that was before the Council. As a businessman, Mr. Chiaramonte stated that he was disturbed by the proposal. He stated that he did not feel it was the role of the government to impose on any business what they should be paying. Mr. Chiaramonte stated that it shouldn’t be a union or organization that should dictate what someone should be paid. Mr. Chiaramonte asked if an impact study had been done on the amendment. He said he did not believe that this was the case. He commented that the last time something similar was done was during the DROP program and it has cost the City greatly. Mr. Chiaramonte said he did not understand how the administration could announce they would pass this without knowing all the facts. Mr. Chiaramonte stated that it was important to check out all the facts first before making the decision rather than the other way around. If a company that is doing business with the City is told that the wages he pays his workers must be a specific sum, then the contractor will raise his bid. Ultimately, the person who pays for this is the taxpayer. As a Norwalk taxpayer, Mr. Chiaramonte stated that this was not right. Mr. Chiaramonte then asked why it was that when the City requested bids, they chose the best bid, but at the same time require the contractor to pay a set wage. While it is a good and noble idea that everyone makes a living, no one requires someone to take a job. He stated that this was in effect another tax on the residents of Norwalk. Mr. Chiaramonte suggested that this proposal should be sent to France rather than remain in our free market.

Jack’s position on fair wages is a much bigger issue, one based on economics, not anti-Semitism.

 

The BOE Budget Year 4

Many people have been asking me what I think about this year’s budget battle. Frankly I’m a little tired of the same old issues occurring with the precision of a Swiss watch. Aren’t we supposed to solve problems and create brand new ones to battle over? It seems that we haven’t been able to get away from the politics of the 1980s, which means that Republicans want to slash government spending and Democrats want to preserve every government program. Does either side really pay attention to the reality that good government programs should get funding and bad government programs should get closed? I wonder.

So here we again, year 4 of writing about the latest BOE budget. In one corner we have the Finance Committee of the Common Council essentially saying they know the BOE budget better than the BOE. In the other, the BOE, the parents, teachers and students.

In past years I’ve been highly critical of the way the BOE has been managed. So let’s review what has changed in 4 years. Corda and Opdhal are gone, a finance director position has been created, new BOE members were elected who best represent the whole “let’s take a close look at better managing budgets” movement. Oh and lawyer fees were reduced in addition to some really hard policy work to be put in place to combat the lassiez-faire practices of years past.

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Budgets and Tigers and Parents Oh My!

Well it’s a budget bonanza today with the Governor releasing his budget for the state and the finance committee of the Common Council freaking out over the tsunami of parental, student and educator budget ire. I can’t believe that we are here again. Note that the venue has changed for the public hearing on the operating budget, see the end of this post.

In short the reason why the budget that is largely based on contracts for labor that were approved a couple of years ago is because the Common Council under the leadership of the Republicans have failed to address any revenue creating policy, even if it landed on their car windshields in the form of a beach sticker.

The grand list, in the last couple of years grew at the glacial pace of 0%. Forget the woe is me economy excuse. Our surrounding towns and cities have produced anemic growth! Anemic is, as it turns out, substantially better than zero growth.

A sampling to entertain ourselves:

New Haven‘s 2010 Grand List reflects an increase of $149 million in net assessed value or 2.97 percent over 2009. If the mill rate remains steady at 43.9, the grand list will result in a $6.3 million increase in tax revenue for the City.

Hartford has grown overall for the sixth year in a row. It is up almost 4-percent from last year, coming in at $3,743,725,946.

Stamford’s Grand list is $24.1 Billion, up a fractional percent. Danbury is at $7 billion, and with a reval affecting the numbers I’m not sure whether that’s up or down.

Norwalk is $12 billion. Westport, which actually declined 12% is at $10 billion.

The full list is over here.

So, if the grand list remains stagnant, yet revenues are supposedly down, and contracts for labor were approved a couple of years ago with increases in them, then who exactly is to blame for yet another year of budget strife? I say, the Common Council, which has done everything counter to what Mayor Moccia has tried to do in un-stalling development projects. So if you are worried about cuts in education, know this, your Common Council that was elected in 2009 has failed you. Not because they are bad people, or that they wanted this outcome. It’s because they don’t understand the implications of their actions. It’s a failure to grasp that Norwalk needs to move forward in securing an economic future based on today’s economy, not the 1980s.

Every political flunkie that utters a word about pensions and unions as their mantra of why we have a budget crisis is wrong and ill suited to solving the problem. They are indicating an unwillingness to engage in cost savings to Norwalk’s taxpayers by actually looking at pension and benefit obligations as a series of risk analysis and long term obligations. They are unwilling to shift expenses to uses fees where appropriate and amortize economic development across policies that will result in increasing the grand list instead of just shifting operating expenses to long term debt.

But I digress.

Back to the budget public hearing:

Thursday, February 17, the Finance Committee of the Common Council will hold a Public Hearing.

The meeting will be held at Norwalk High School at 7:00 pm. 

THE PUBLIC CAN SPEAK. Following the Public Hearing, the Finance Committee will vote on the city’s operating budget and the recommended cap.

Tuesday, February 22, the Common Council will set the City Budget Cap. THE PUBLIC CAN SPEAK.  The meeting will take place at 8:00 pm.

Guest View: Board Not Working Collaboratively

By BRUCE KIMMEL

During last year’s search for a superintendent, I wrote a column in which I discussed the Board of Education’s ability to hire and fire superintendents, and its inability to constructively work with them.

Unfortunately, the recent decision to table for 36 hours a vote on a contract for a new chief operating officer indicates the board has yet to develop a collaborative working relationship with the school system’s new boss. Briefly, here’s what happened:
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