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The Mystery Funding Of The Early Reading Program


by turfgrrl


June 23rd, 2008 · 60 Comments

Hartford legislators cut the funding for the Early Reading Success program, based on the lack of success in the program everywhere else but Norwalk. Yet the BOE has funded it. From The Hour:

The Early Reading Success program will continue for Norwalk students next school year through
some carry-over funding from different sources, said School Superintendent Salvatore J. Corda.

Legislators decided not to make a budget adjustment for the money when they met on May 7, citing the lack of growth for students in the program and the struggling economy as reasons to stop the funding. Norwalk lost $1 million in funding. However, the Central Office has restored much of the funding for the salaries of all 12 literary specialists and restoring six school positions.

Portions of the money could come from Title I funds earmarked under professional development and other funds could come from money in the Priority Schools Grant and a combination of carryover funds from programs during this school year.

Er, what’s that… carryover funds from this year? Isn’t this the same budget that was sold as “drastic cuts” a little over a year ago? Yes, I beleive it was. The Common Council of 2005-07 should feel vindicated. The Common Council of 2007-09 might start feeling like chumps.

The loss of $20 million in funding for the Early Reading Success programs at the state level was a
critical blow to many school districts.

“Ironically, Norwalk is the only district where the program has shown student improvement,” Corda said at a June 3 Board of Education meeting.

The lack of funds would have meant a loss of 12 specialists because the money pays 80 percent of their salaries. Literacy specialists work to assess students’ needs and create lesson tailored to individual performance. They also work with students in small groups.

Earlier in the month, Corda was not optimistic the money would be restored in a June 11 session at
Hartford. At the session, Republicans proposed an alternative budget that could restore the funds, but the Democrats didn’t bring the proposal up for vote.

Democrats also proposed a budget earlier in the year that included the funds, but it was scrapped citing the increasing state deficit.

source: The Hour, After $1M loss, BOE finds money to keep reading program , By Nina Sen, June 22, 2008

Tags: Education · In the News

60 Responses so far ↓ “The Mystery Funding Of The Early Reading Program”


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  • 1 Anonymous // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:19 am

    Isn’t it amazing that year after year Corda and buds put the fear of God in parents and students with program cuts only to save the day at the 12th hour? He should probably be choreographing plays on broadway! he’s so good at this that he’s wasting his talents. Keep in mind the show he and the former BOE members and some others put on last year. Then lo and behold…like a scene out of a Disney fairytale the money is there. When are people going to get smart to his tactics and stop allowing him to run rampant over students lives?

  • 2 Anonymous // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:56 am

    Ironically - An event that is strikingly different from or the opposite of what one would have expected. hmmm

    Turfgrrl, this needs an education tag

  • 3 Ethel Mertz // Jun 23, 2008 at 6:54 pm

    NOT ALL THE LITERACY SPECIALIST WORK WITH THE CHILDREN!!!!! Let’s get that fact straight, right off the bat. They work with the teachers. Could you imagine????? And get a hefty pay FOR that, too.

    Why do you folks THINK this was done today and NOT last Wednesday, last Tuesday or LAST Monday??? Because secret deals, once again, have prevailed and won, once again. These “specialists”* (please note the asterisk - I’ll get to that later) are “needed” in the schools. Some - not all - are the school buffers. They’re the ones who RUN the school, who make “some” people “look good”. They DON’T want to be back in the classroom as a couple have claimed MANY TIMES!!!!! It nauseates so many people that these people get away with so much. They’re the ones who are the assistants to the assistant principal, and please know it’s not ALL of them , but a few of them. Isn’t it horrible how a few could rot out the whole basket?

    Now about the asterisk *: Specialists. Reading specialists. Give us a BREAK!!!! When teachers go to college to become teachers, one of the courses that they take is called children’s literature. Don’t you think that teachers have been doing a good job so far with teaching literacy? If you could read this, thank a teacher who did this all on their own, and you didn’t have a literacy specialist helping YOU learn to read this DID YOU?!? Your teacher didn’t “need” their “expertise” 30, 20 years ago. All of the sudden, Whooo hooo, we need “Literacy Specialists”!!!!! If the principals or assistant principals stopped going to bat for these peoople, we’d be able to do our job, and get these people back into the classroom, or they could find where they DO want to work, seeing that they don’t want to be in the CLASSROOM! Well, I guess they’ll have another year of reprieve where they could saunter into their school (late most of the time), “ordering” people what to do, having 1 or 2 hour lunches and “scheming” “new” ideas how to teach teachers how to do something they’ve been doing successfully for many years. It’s amazing how they got away with this one, like the Emporer’s new clothes. Well, parents, take note: It doesn’t work!!!!! Your tax dollars down the drain while the rest of the teachers are “taxed” to near death!

  • 4 Aunt Bertha // Jun 23, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    Dear Ethel,

    I am standing behind you with each and every statement you made in the last posting. It is unbelievable waste. We NEED more teachers in the classroom with smaller class sizes. We NEED to get rid of the waste of vice principals who cover for inept principals. We could get rid of some of the Department Chairs who don’t work. We could get rid of the assistants who are doing exactly what? No one really knows. And as far as these * Specialists - if they were so special as teachers they would still be in their classrooms enjoying what we do.

  • 5 Ethel Mertz // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    Aunt Bertha, thanks for the support. You can’t even imagine what people see on the elementary level. You have to understand that some of these so called “specials” are now “coaches” - they coach the teachers. THEY DON’T want to be back in the classroom. They really feel that it’s beneath them. Plus, if they DO go back to the classroom, several things’ll happen: 1)they’ll have to report to work on time and 2) they’ll have to get evaluated. Oh and I forgot: 3) They’ll have to actually WORK!!!!! Wow….what a novel idea! 4) They won’t be able to “advise” the principal what to do; 5) They won’t be able to sit at the assistant principal’s desk and use their computers “whenever” (perusing other staff member’s evaluations, private info on other teachers, etc. - yes this DOES happen….!). They will have to adhere to the same rules and boundaries as every other teacher.

    You cannot even imagine the stuff they get away with. Not all of them, mind you, but like I said…it’s just a few. How unfortunate. I would LOVE to get away with a QUARTER of the stuff they get away with. That’s ok, what goes around….(You know the rest).

  • 6 Anonymous // Jun 24, 2008 at 4:35 am

    Ethel Mertz, I agree with you 100%. A reading specialist that does all those things should be disciplined or terminated.

    The irony as I see it is Rose Bernheim on the other hand is the epitome of a very effective reading specialist, so have the bad reading specialist apples spoiled the good apples. We need more Rose Bernheims and less of what you described. That sounds awful. I don’t blame you for wanting to get rid of the reading specialists. Awful!

  • 7 Ethel Mertz // Jun 24, 2008 at 9:08 am

    Anonymous, There are those Lit. Specialists & “Coaches” that are truly worth their weight in gold, who wouldn’t MIND going back to the classroom to teach CHILDREN, because they COULD & do so very well. They know their place in the “henhouse”. However…..there are those few who feel that they’re above the letter of the law, who think they’re “best friends” with the uptown administrators and the administrators in the buildings of their school.
    Several years ago, Barbra Streisand was on TV. THey interviewed her because of her close ties with Clinton when he was in office. I think Barbara Walters was interviewing her & Walters asked her how often they talked and if she advised Clinton on any issues. Streisand responded that she DID advise him and would call him late at night to talk about domestic and foreign policies. Walters said to Streisand that he HAD advisors, but Streisand said that she helped him and that he listened to her, too.

    Gee, you think that these “coaches” received training from Streisand? Talk about “entitilement”.

  • 8 Aunt Bertha // Jun 24, 2008 at 9:24 am

    The last person I would like advising the President of the United States, next to Rosie O’Donnell, is Barbara Streisand. Good point Ethel. You and Lucy maybe, but not Barbara. And the specialists are a waste.

  • 9 Anne Sullivan // Jun 24, 2008 at 9:45 am

    How compellingly sexy to have the President of the United States ask for advice – bet this was one of the best pick up lines ever – and does anyone out there REALLY believe he took Bab’s advice on anything important? History has shown us that President Clinton understood women quite well, and knows how to flatter and flirt! However, when it came to serious matters, he knew who his experts were and would go to them for consultation and leave it zipped!

  • 10 Ethel Mertz // Jun 24, 2008 at 10:20 pm

    If that’s what you need for attention, it’s pretty demented….maybe that’s what these “Literacy Coaches” need - attention. I never looked at it that way. Pretty sad, though…..

  • 11 Coochee Coochee // Jun 24, 2008 at 11:20 pm

    Does the Union know about this? Are they going to turn a “blind” eye to this? Doesn’t it seem unethical that the money’s being shifted from one thing to pay another? Isn’t this criminal? I don’t know…….Many teachers say that test scores haven’t improved due to these people.

    Any comments from the union? Peggie Loris, if we don’t hear from the people who won, what is your take of this? Just curious……Don’t you think this is wrong??? Other things have been cut that seemed far more important, yet, this seems to go on and on, ad infinitum. When will they ever learn?

  • 12 Ethel Mertz // Jun 25, 2008 at 7:55 am

    Well, let’s see: the Literacy “Specialists” and “Coaches” are back in the loop and Tony Daddona’s got a new position. All done just short of school being out 1 week. Wow, isn’t that amazing?

    Hey Coochee Coochee, I’m with you: I’d love to hear the Union’s take on all this.

  • 13 Coochee Coochee // Jun 25, 2008 at 8:13 am

    Coochee Coochee !!!

  • 14 Anne Sullivan // Jun 25, 2008 at 10:35 am

    So in the end, what was actually cut from the budget?

  • 15 Ethel Mertz // Jun 25, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    No one - not a one. Can you believe it? Well….. those Literacy “specialists” and “Coaches”…aren’t they unbelievable??? They all have their jobs. WOW…what a surprise. Oh it’ll be another “fun” year! They’re so special! What a job they do…..

  • 16 Coochee Coochee // Jun 25, 2008 at 11:33 pm

    There is a meeting tommorow evening at City Hall at 7:45 in the community room to discuss the budget. Why? Who knows. Who are they going to take away? What are they going to remove?
    Secret deals, secret deals. And the snakes slither…….

    Coochee Coochee!!

  • 17 Anne Sullivan // Jun 26, 2008 at 11:45 am

    Hmm. I would like to see the data that Norwalk sent in about the literacy specialists and coaches - how do you prove their impact on children when they don’t (at least in my school) directly work with children?

  • 18 some know // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    Anne you would be the only one who would know how to read the data that could prove they have made a difference.

  • 19 Anne Sullivan // Jun 26, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    I’ll be glad to put on my round spectacles and take a look…post or link away…

  • 20 Ethel Mertz // Jun 26, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    I know you want to remain anonymous, like I do, Anne Sullivan, but I would LOVE to know which school you work at. They’re bad there too. Could you imagine if we were at the SAME SCHOOL?!? One lit. teacher - SORRY, er, “Specialist/Coach” said that they could do ANYONE’S job easily. What does it take, they said, to do someone’s job. Well……then DO IT!!!! Problem is, is that they really CAN’T!!!!

    They don’t do squat! And are supported FOR THAT!!!! Oh lucky them…..

  • 21 Frenchy // Jun 27, 2008 at 8:28 am

    I just finished reading the article in today’s Hour regarding the Budget meeting last evening. While I like Hugh McKiernan, he said that the Literacy Specialists were invaluable to the schools. WHAT??????????????????

    Will someone please help me to understand HOW all of us who grew up in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s learned how to read without these people????! And some of the greatest people came from these three decades - and they’ve been DEPRIVED of these “specialists”????? My God, how DID we manage? You know how? GOOD TEACHERS. And the teachers that are there now are STILL good, in spite of these Literacy Specialists and Coaches.

    Please….I want even just ONE of them to step up to the plate HERE and defend what they do. I don’t know what they do to help the CHILDREN when they’re just harrassing the poor overworked teachers who could tell THEM a thing or two.

    I’ll wait for a reply from one of these people. Of course, I’ll probably hear from one of them who actually does work with the kids, and soome of them actually do….I know. But as Ethel said, there are those who ruin it for the rest. “Ain’t” that the way?

  • 22 Aunt Bertha // Jun 27, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    Back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s we did not have intervention aides, reading specialists, assistant principals or parents in denial. If we got in trouble at school,( and yes your auntie B had a few moments of being a wild child) our parents could be reached by phone and were told of our misdeeds. Then we got it from the school and the parent and if the crossing guard heard about it he also would tell us we were wrong. Now, parents look to defend their child’s bad behavior and blame it on everyone else. Now, are there any teachers here who could tell me they have contacted a parent on the first try? Or the second try? Or in some cases at all? I may have to resort to smoke signals it is getting so bad. Even by mail I can not get a hold of parents. Let;s get back to doing right by the child. Cut the fluff. Hold parents accountable. Frenchy, I can only start by giving you the heart of way the new century is so far behind the one we grew up in. I believe that we will get back to the basics once all the crowd from the 60’s retire. Just kidding…I wanted to see how many people read a whole post.

  • 23 Anonymous // Jun 27, 2008 at 4:48 pm

    Ok Aunt Bertha, grew up in the 60’s myself and I say we need to take these parents by the scruff of their necks and drag their do nothing child spoiler butts into the classrooms and let them sit in class with their lovely darlings and then give them detention with their kids. back in the day..no I didn’t walk to school uphill both ways and I did have soles on my shoes but I knew if i got into trouble in school, the principal needn’t worry about disciplining me because my parents were well equiped to do that all on their own and they were but a moment away from the phone. Amazing since we didn’t have cell phones or internet and I can tell you it was only a matter of moments before one or both were sitting in the principals office glaring at me with the all knowing “Wait til I get you home” look under their plastered on pleasant smiles as they discussed what a lovely child I was..Yeah right!

  • 24 Aunt Bertha // Jun 27, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    You know Anonymous, you are right we did not have internet or cell phones and our parents were there in the principal’s office before we were sent home. Amazing wasn’t it?

  • 25 Anonymous // Jun 27, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    And..most times we had detention in the principals office if our parents worked. Oh those were the days! Looking at the secretary look at you over her horned rimmed glasses and other kids coming in and snickering at you cause you were IN TROUBBBBBLLLLEEEE and all your class work piled up next to you that had to be finished by the end of the day and back then you sat in a wooden chair and did your work leaning on a notebook, not a desk if you were in the principles office thats for sure! Sound like the voice of experience. YUP! Been there done that!

  • 26 Anonymous // Jun 27, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    If it were only that easy….now we have literacy specialists and early reading programs so kids can take remedial reading and writing courses in “college” and then get a correspondence/internet law degree. That way they too can sit and wait to litigate…the good old days are just that–old and dead—in a few years there will be no one left to remember–I’m glad I lived it as a kid and got to teach in a few of the last of those years—The only hope for a return is the complete resurgence of the extended family–sorry, but don’t see any empirical evidence to support that–and I’m talking most places in this old USA of ours.

  • 27 Anonymous // Jun 27, 2008 at 5:42 pm

    Like I said before, its the parents that need a good swift kick. Back then when you had a fight, you had a fight. Fists out rolled up sleeves and you duked it out til someone lost. There were no guns and knifes..but there waqs the occasional baseball bat and that got ugly while the crowds gathered round to see who would come out victorious. There was no thought of killing someone, just pummel them til they got the message. Now if you don’t like someone or they cross on the wrong side of the street..what the hell, blow their F@@#$$’n brains out who cares? Its sad how this world has evolved and I use that term lightly because the way things are now, its back to Cain and Able.

  • 28 Anonymous // Jun 27, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    Nothing will change until parents stop defending their kids and see what they are really doing. Parents are doing their kids a big disservice when they defend them against all odds. Let them take their punishment. Parents know their kids are doing wrong but they are afraid to let themface the consequences for one reason or other and its wrong. Let them see what their actions can result in before its too late and we have more young teens facing life in prison or dead because we turn our heads and put blinders on.

  • 29 Ethel Mertz // Jun 27, 2008 at 9:58 pm

    But back to the literacy specials & “Coaches”, who don’t deal with the kids OR the lovely parents. They’d probably give them all lollipops. Oh how nice. THese “Coaches” wouldn’t know the first thing to DO with parents, or the kids. Not all of them, mind you, but just “a couple” who made it very known that they HATE teaching in the classroom & that they would never do THAT for the rest of THEIR career - nice…..and saying that to the ones who’ve done it for 30 yrs, and well, too,without their help thank you very much.

  • 30 Aunt Bertha // Jun 28, 2008 at 9:53 am

    What is far worse Ethel is that they are influencing new teachers. I have seen them wrongly advise them how to prepare portfolios with outdated terms and strategies that are proven to be a waste of time. The scorers of these portfolios are currently teaching and see the errors and comment on the misinformation. Not only do they not help or students, they poison our young teaching staff with bad practice. They need to get back into the classroom or they need to go. Let’s save some money here. If they want to be an administrator then go back to school and get your 093.

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