I’ll leave it to the educators who post here to talk about the Norwalk results. I will note that the Courant has a couple of interesting charts, here and here. The first is highest and lowest percent of scores that meat the statewide standards, and the second biggest gainers and losers statewide.
Let’s look at Math Highest and Lowest.
New Canaan 90.2 and Bridgeport 10.3.
First, a question, did the Bridgeport Sophomores just fill in their name and leave? How can you get a district score of 10.3? And what does that say about all that ECS funding that goes to Bridgeport? Here’s an idea, give any Bridgeport student who was in that 10.3% a free ride to New Canaan schools and shut down Bridgeport schools entirely. Since after 9 years of education, Bridgeport students have proven themselves incapable of basic math, they can all just run for Congress. Science, our poster children again New Canaan 85.8 and Bridgeport 8.3. Reading and writting offer new standardbearers, but Bridgeport tops the low list in writing.
Overall, the group of lowest scorers actually reflects a resemblance ot the most ECS dollars. What does this tell us? How does bucolic Derby manage to score only 21.8 in reading?
The full results can be located here, link.
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Sorry to interrupt again, but I go back to my original question about any candidates outside of the NPS. It appears that a few here seem to think that Mr. McCain is the best qualified for this position, but just as many are not enamored with Mr. Dadonna. Again, can anybody shed any light on how many, if any, candidates applied or interviewed from outside the NPS? Does anyone other than my husband and I think that is an important question considering the stakes involved with this critical position? Please, this is beginning to sound like a big bitch-off.
Maybe a principal of a large high school, director of elementary or secondary education. Was his previous school larger than NHMS?
Enough about Bob Mc Cain and why he didn’t get the job. It’s over and done. I would have been happy if he got the AS position, but he didn’t. I’m happy for Tony D. and will give him whatever support I can. I would have done the same for Bob. I want Tony to be a success in his new assignment. I would have wanted Bob to be successful as well. But let me ask a question here. Bob is one of four middle school principals. Since arriving at Nathan Hale he has outshined his three peers. Under his leadership his school has made great progress, while the other three have struggled. Without taking one bit of credit away from Bob (and his staff), doesn’t this more clearly establish that while Nathan Hale is achieving success & meeting goals, the other three are making little progress, if any, and are performing poorly? If Bob and his staff can do it, why not the others? Should Bob be promoted or should the other three be demoted?
Anonymous – there were outside candidates to start. Maybe 3 or 4. None were presented to the BOE, it was just Tony and Bob at the end.
anon – it is almost unheard of for a middle school principal to move to a high school. It would be pretty unusual. And again, as far as the director position, no one answered the questioned I asked in #86. Combined with extra duties it may be changed to an assistant superintendent but I think Tony’s job was the same as a principal just with different staff to supervise than a principal and working out of CO instead of a school.
Maybe it’s time for this thread to wind down, but not before I ask one question: How is the size of Mr. McCain’s school relevant in the discussion of the assistant superintendency? The job in question has responsibility for curriculum and instruction, and a principal of a small school can just as effectively do the job. Also, three years is enough time for a person to prove himself effective, especially when no competing candidate was able to claim similar accomplishments.
No one is asking why the BOE thought is better to promote someone who has no track record of instructional improvement and no significant experience with curriculum. Teachers and administrators are shaking their heads in disbelief, but I guess anything is possible.
BOE members, you need to start doing the job you pledged to do. You are not getting it done, and some of your other decisions, e.g., last year’s give-away-the-store contract to the superintendent, should anger every taxpayer.
105 that was Jody B-P who was in charge of the BoE when that was pushed through…people were angry and voted,,,the BoE was changed. As for the outside candidates there were 4 others, One jumping a sinking ship in Derby, one retired man from NY and two others those 4 weren’t in the final running.
There is a so-called shortage of administrators. Tony will be fine. So would have Bob.
Townie -excellent point, should Bob be promoted or the others demoted? Some of the others should be fired. Will CO step up and do it?
Newbie- Look in the contract, if teachers are evaluated by principals, then principals should be evaluated by assistant superintendents Elementary/Secondary. Then they should be evaluated by the BoE. I do not believe one can be evaluated by one’s peer. I could be wrong but you question is very interesting.
They should also be evaluated by the people working for them. They often have the most contact with their supervisors. I know it is not popular with supervisors and administrators, but they are often more revealing and detail specific incidents to provide areas of improvement.
Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no! I must respond to Anon432’s reference to the contract in which the assistant superintendent’s job is to evaluate principals. Thank you for bringing up this critical point. Anon #107, I totally agree that building administrators must be evaluated by the people who work for them. Well said!
We are in the midst of rigorous academic goal setting and assessment and there is more to come down the pike. Yet, I see TWO critical areas that remain as hidden factors in the formula we equate with student achievement. One is the area of administrator accountability; second, school climate. We have seen that Hugh McKiernan, with his likeable, easy-going style, was basically thrust in an uncomfortable position by way of the one-to-one ratio of accountability. Not only is this format uncomfortable; it lends itself to subjectivity and compromise and forever remains questionable to anyone who is not directly involved in the process. The comments we have read on this blog and the stories we hear in the wind would not exist if that format had truly been effective. Moreover, there are more issues we do not read here that require the use of a good system of accountability. Ideally, the 360 degree model is the one I purport to be a far better tool than the one we currently use. Principals evaluate staff; staff and parents evaluate principals. We can talk PLC, collaboration, and CALI till the cows come home, but ownership in academic standards will NOT net trust, support, and high morale from the bottom up. A healthy building is one that is motivating and dynamic, brought on by people who love their jobs and their workplace. We must go deep beyond academic standards and explore good business practices. Unfortunately, people do not always come equipped with common courtesy and smiling faces, but those things must become standard. We are in the business of serving children. Also, if we are in the midst of an administrator shortage, again I maintain that we try new candidates on a probation period of one year and evaluate (staff, parents, students – perhaps) before hiring permanently.
Thank you for allowing me my continued rant about these two areas that rock me to the core.
Anon 99
I think after he is in the district a few more years and given a higher administrative position to prove himself, he may be a fine candidate.
Why should Bob have to “prove ” himself any further? No one else at CO has to. At this point, I wouldn’t touch the job (or any other CO job) with a ten foot pole.
Townie 103
Without taking one bit of credit away from Bob (and his staff), doesn’t this more clearly establish that while Nathan Hale is achieving success & meeting goals, the other three are making little progress, if any, and are performing poorly? If Bob and his staff can do it, why not the others?
Very good point! Part of the reason is obviously school climate. Also, at least 2 of the MS principals (think hard) have made things even more difficult for teachers by the way they utilize their staff.
Example: One way we keep our class size down at NH is by scheduling the math literacy and LA Literacy teacher with 50-60 students in 5 classes everyday (Bob’s Plan). These students are Lever’s and Shaper’s for the year. The kids receive instruction and grades from the literacy teacher, relieving the team math and language arts teachers of both students and the additional paper work that goes along with them. At WR and I think Ponus (at last check) the literacy teacher has no specific student case load. The Literacy teacher functions more like a literacy aid, coming to a classroom once or twice a week, removing some kids from the math class for small group help (meanwhile, missing classroom instruction from their teacher). Then the classroom teacher need to catch these kids up on what they missed while out of class. The class numbers stay huge this way because everyone stays on the classroom teacher’s roster. As a veteran teacher, someone showing up at my door 1 or 2 periods a week, removing students from my class is of absolutely no help to me or them. The teachers at WR have asked LCM to schedule the Literacy teacher with 5 classes and their own roster of students to lower everyone’s teacher:student ratio. (Now this would definitely impact test scores…Jeff Lever and Tim Shaper have proven that for us at NH). Moore won’t even discuss this because model because one of her teachers mistakenly referred to it as “the Jeff Lever model”. After that, Moore would not even discuss it. Since LCM is threatened by Bob’s success and hates Jeff Lever, I am sure she will continue to stand her ground and refuse to implement a successful model. Now if TD can step up to the plate and force the principals to implement programs that have worked and jettison some of the BS, he will have my total support. If on the other hand, he allows principals to continue to utilize staff in an unproductive way, it will just confirm the fears raised on this blog. Truth be told, Nathan Hale doen’t necessarily have better teachers (although we have our share of really great educators) we just have a better plan.
Webby, it is a matter of courage.
The BOE didn’t have the courage to appoint the right person to the ASI job.
The BOE didn’t have the courage to communicate the real reason for McCain’s not getting the job. Saying that it has something to do with a lack of administrative experience is ridiculous because he has had plenty. Saying that it has something to do with being in Norwalk for only 3 years is just ignorant. Saying that it has something to do with having worked only in smaller schools (although NHMS is not small) is irrelevant — and dumb.
Bob McCain had the courage to break away from the mold of using literacy teachers merely as add-ons, rather than as integral participants in the instructional program.
The director of secondary, now the ASI, did not have the courage to force a change in the longstanding abusive behavior by one of the secondary administrators.
The new ASI will not be courageous enough to force the other middle schools to adopt the “Jeff Lever model.”
The BOE was not courageous enough to correct the neglectful behavior of the superintendent until after a great deal of damage had been done. They also lacked the courage to tell him to “shove” his contract demands (million dollar life insurance policy for the rest of his life, medical benefits for himself and his family, even after he leaves Norwalk, very generous salary). They demonstrated some courage in not extending his contract this year and in refusing to give him a raise this year, but the horse was already out of the barn.
The BOE lacked the courage to force changes in the dismissive behavior of the people we used to refer to as “the Royal Court,” (Corda, Lang, Opdahl)
The superintendent, assistant superintendent and the BOE are not courageous enough to identify models of excellence and to require principals to adopt them for their schools.
Do the math above. There is far more evidence of lack of courage than there is of courage.
For the sake of NHMS, I hope Bob McCain decides to remain in Norwalk. It’s never easy when one doesn’t get a desired job, but it’s far more difficult when the job goes to someone who has none of the qualifications of the unsuccessful candidate.
Going back to what Watchdog says – Bob does a survey every year to find out what students and teachers think of him and the assistant principal in the building. It asks many questions about their performance and school climate. Now that is a person who looks to improve. So again, he is a step ahead of the district. Just another reason NHMS improved so quickly. All the BOE had to do was go ask the staff. That is what normally happens in job searches, especially if you don’t trust the man who will be making the recommendation. There are a multitude of reasons NH has moved forward and they all are thanks in some way to Bob McCain, whether it was new ideas, analyzing data, giving support, or pushing teachers to levels they didn’t know they had. The BOE never bothered to research within a school in their own town. They listened to rumors.
I believe the BOE confused confidence with arrogance (I’ve heard that comment from BOE members)but I cannot figure why. With all the examples of arrogance already in the system, you’d think they would be able to tell the difference.
Every good educational leader, like Bob McCain, will self-assess with input from their subordinates without any backlash to those who may include a negative comment. The problem with many of Norwalk’s administrators is the lack of this extremely important facet of growth. With so many of them telling themselves they are doing a good job, it continues the process. Many school districts have staff give suggestions for the growth in their schools including a form for the administrators to look at after each school year just as students in college rate their professors after a course. These have proven to be invaluable to the climate of the schools since many of the school districts have them go to the superintendent first before being given to the administrator. Administrators have even stated that the constructive criticism they receive has helped them realize some of their faults over time and they have addressed these. Staff also sees this and is more apt to change their behavior over time. It’s a win win situation. How many Norwalk administrators would like to see this implemented into their evaluations? Very few!
Watchdog,
You are right to rant. Every administrator should be evaluated by the people who work with them. And you bet your life deals are made with the system that is in place now. My thoughts were
-who has the COURAGE as anon just mentioned?
-who has the POWER now that Corda has been neutered?
-who has the BEST interest of the CHILDREN at heart?
-Who can motivate ALL schools to make a positive change?
Some one is out there and when we find him will the BoE approve? I would love to see accountability all the way to the top. No disrespect to you Watchdog-I was just commenting on the way things are done not the way they should be done. Personally I think every Administrator should be in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom for a year to see how a child’s learning behaviors develop. If they can’t cut it with that age range then they should pack up and leave education and open a seven/eleven shop or something.
I am so impressed by Bob McCain’s practice of surveying staff to see how he is doing. That requires not only courage; it requires character, the character of a man who cares about doing the job well, not merely in a way that is politically correct. If we had more principals and teachers and central office people willing to take such a risk, we would have a school system that is off the charts in terms of student outcomes.
Well said, Anonymous #115! Bob McCain is to be commended, especially if he provides a rapport with his staff in which they feel safe and encouraged to give honest feedback. What a guy! No wonder Nathan Hale’s scores are up. This is the BIG picture.
We would hope the BOE takes this into consideration for every school. However; we must be very careful not to think that all principals would allow their staff this element of safety in which to complete anonymous surveys.
As a career educator, I see so many practices that are no-brainers:
1. Administrators should seek feedback from the faculty so they can improve their leadership skills.
2. Administrators should walk the halls, visit classrooms, talk to teachers and students.
3. (If you are superintendent or assistant superintendent) BE VISIBLE IN THE SCHOOLS AND ENGAGE IN 2-WAY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE YOU MEET. (Sorry for “shouting,” but Dr. Corda and Dr. Lang seem to have had difficulty in hearing that complaint about their failure to visit schools.)
4. Administrators should make sure that their students and staff know that the administrators respect their responsibility to provide them with a school that has a physically and emotionally safe environment. Volumes of research tell us that students don’t learn when they are stressed by an emotionally hostile classroom or building. The corollary is that teachers can’t teach as effectively when they are stressed. I cannot understand how the CO and the BOE haven’t picked up on this.
5. Administrators don’t always make popular decisions, but the most unpopular ones are those that are sprung upon people. Teachers are professionals and, whenever possible, they should be part of the discussion before an administrative decision is made.
Growth plans, PLCs, data-driven decision making, common formative assessments, etc., are all secondary to maintaining a safe environment.
No-brainers: meant for people with brains?
Why didn’t West Rocks score go up?
Probably because some people are reluctant to take the lead from people who are having success.
Anonymous 119- Did you read webby’s post 109? The woman is on a power trip and refuses to implement a more successful model. The teachers and kids are the ones who suffer because of it. Moral at WR is low, the staff has no voice, and that impacts the teacher’s productivity. The Nathan Hale model helps teachers and kids. When class size goes down, learn improves.
Actually, that is a misleading statement because aside from what webby mentioned in 109, I believe the class sizes at NH are as large as or larger than the other middle schools. When they were talking about cutting teachers at WR, that info was all readily available and if you sat and figured it out, NH is doing everything they do and it isn’t with smaller class sizes.
Newbie
My classes ranged from 21-24 this year. You are correct that our classes sizes are not significantly smaller than the other middle schools. Point is, if Bob used the same model as WR and Ponus, our classes would be even larger. Jeff has 20 6th graders, 20 7th graders and 10 8th graders. If he had the same schedule as the math literacy teachers at Ponus and West Rocks, those 50 kids would go into the classes of the math teachers on the teams. The kids, on the other hand, would be in classes of over 25 instead of being in a class of 10 (with Jeff), where they can get more individual attention. In the WR/Ponus model, the literacy teacher has no responsibility to grade students or prepare class lessons because they do not have their own class load. It’s more of a “what are you doing today?” approach where the literacy teacher removes kids from the classes they are assigned to or possible works in the class with the teacher. The next period, they move to another teacher, etc. They do not work with the same kids everyday, so their is no continuity. The teacher is used more like an aid. This is just not an effective way to deal with kids and it’s obvious from the scores, it does not help. The real problem is the fact the WR will continue this policy even though it is not improving their scores.
Has the Rock become private property? Why does the BOE and CO continue to allow ineffective practices to continue year after year?
webby, it’s because they are afraid of her. A real CO leader would 1) find a way to get her to understand how the NHMS model is better, 2) would show how it would be to her personal advantage to adopt it or find an even better model because the leader would make it clear that her evaluation will be based upon this, 3) would have the courage to follow through.
It isn’t going to happen.
No offense, A 124, but I am tired of that excuse. There is a lot at stake here. Time to put fear on the back burner and step up to the plate.
Sorry guys but the person who was the immediate boss to the principals was just promoted to an even higher position so change doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. Not unless the BOE has something up their sleeve that we don’t know about.
webby,
I don’t understand your posting #125. I wasn’t offering an excuse for them. I was criticizing them.
Can’t wait to see who they hire for the positions at Silvermine! What did their scores look like?
Now here was a man with vision! Too bad Norwalk couldn’t have snagged him:
STAMFORD — Jerome Jones, Stamford’s only black superintendent of schools, died Friday, July 4, after having been struck by a car in Washington, D.C.
Jones, 71, served as school superintendent from 1981-1983. In that time, he presided over a contentious and comprehensive redistricting initiative which included the closure of Rippowam High School and made changes to the curriculum, including the creation of high school academies focused on the arts, science and technology and business.
“This was one of the most brilliant superintendents I ever knew,” said Ellen Camhi, who chaired the school board when Jones was hired.
“In that year and a half, he got more accomplished than two superintendents have since then,” she said.
Camhi said that Jones had a gift for planning; when Rippowam High School was closed as part of the redistricting plan, some members of the public wanted the city to take the building for use as a city hall. Jones told the board to keep the building, predicting a “baby boomlet” in the early 1990s.
“He said ‘you’re going to need that space,’” said Camhi. Time proved Jones’ theory correct. Women who had been putting off having children because of their careers, began having families in the early 1990s.
Rep. Pauline Rauh, D-6, head of the board of representatives’ education committee, was hired by Jones to be the director of curriculum and instruction.
“He was very forward-thinking,” she said. “He understood the whole teaching-learning process.”
She said that the high school academies, which were called the Career Cluster, were a way of providing smaller classes to students interested in specific areas of instruction. Sadly, she said, the academies remained open for only a few years.
“It was too forward-thinking for Stamford,” she said.
Jones, too was not long for Stamford. In 1983, he was hired away from the city by St. Louis, where he served as the first black superintendent of schools.
Jones, who obtained his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in urban planning, was most recently a professor in Howard University’s School of Education, where he helped to design the school’s EAGLE (Educational Administration Guidance and Leadership Experience) program. The program, according to educational administration and policy department chair Lois Harrison-Jones, Ed.D., was intended to train urban superintendents. Jones began work on EAGLE during the 1999-2000 school year. The program has since graduated 14 doctoral candidates.
Jones left Howard in May, and accepted a position at the University of St. Croix, according to Phyllis Brown, an assistant principal at Turn of River School, who kept in touch with Jones after his departure from Stamford. He was going to become the dean of the school of education. He was supposed to leave for St. Croix the week of the accident.
“He was leaving the following Tuesday,” she said.
According to a statement from the Washington Metropolitan Police, Jones was struck by a sports utility vehicle on Thursday, June 26, while reportedly attempting to cross against the light in the unit block of Massachusetts Avenue, NE. Jones was transported to the hospital, where he died of injuries a week later.
The driver of the vehicle, Carl Holshouser of Texas, has not been charged.
Police state that a pedestrian violation and alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the incident.
#16
Anne Sullivan whoever you are, thank you, it’s takes a village and a stopping of the blame game. And, Amistad is a charter school,not a private school,receives less funding than Norwalk or any standard public school by thousands of dollars and kids are picked by blind lottery from the poorest and meanest parts of the NewHaven and Hartford. They cannot be kicked out. Columbus makes parents sign a form like Amistad too,which neither school can make the parent follow. Columbus has alot less poverty, 1/2 the minorities, and poor scores for their minority kids. What’s the excuse for that?
Not making excuses for Columbus but it has been around for a long time now and other elementary schools in town sometimes get rid of their challenging students to their program. Other schools feel because they have a full time aid in every class that they can handle difficult children. It is not what it was intended to be when it first opened. Which was a bank street modeled school. Very few of the teachers there today practice the model to its fullest. Mainly because of the change of clients.
I don’t know anyone who works at the charter schools in Norwalk but I do happen to know someone who works at Amistad and I can tell you it is very strict and requires huge commitment from parents and students. They have a very long school day to start with (I believe it is an hour and a half longer than public school). If they have behavior problems, their day is extended and they work on school work and parents must pick them up. Also if they misbehave, they have been known to have to write an apology and have to give an oral apology. If they refuse, they can be dismissed. This may not be seen as being kicked out but rather as a choice the child made not to continue to participate in the program. It is character building and teaches them to take responsibility for their actions. I would have a problem following through with some of their tactics, but I see the logic.
So anony, I hope that clears some things up. That is about all I know so I really couldn’t answer any questions. I just know my friend has said certain things about Amistad that stuck in my mind. This person loves working there and says they are the most well behaved group of kids ever – after they adjust to the rules.
Norwalk will continue to fail until we get someone willing to hold these principals accountable for their pathetic CMT scores. If this was a business, most of them would be fired. Where is the accountability? I’m sure the failing principals will blame the teachers and get away with it. Did these principals ever hear of “the buck stops here?”
I am not a Norwalk administrator, nor do I have any need to protect any Norwalk administrators, but I do want to make a couple of comments.
First, Amistad is a very successful model, BUT it is still understood that the noncompliant students and parents will be removed from the school. Then they go to those schools that don’t have the advantage of being allowed to remove their noncompliant students. This is something like the private schools that get to pick their students. The excellent schools are those who make every reasonable effort to work with the noncompliant students.
Second, where is the responsibility of the superintendent, who should have seen the magnet school losing ground?
Excellent question Silence. Ralph was the superintendent who started up Columbus. Herbert did nothing to back the school and Corda does not like anything that Ralph started. Yes he should have seen the magnet losing ground but it started back when Mr. P was principal in the 90’s. He kept saying I’ll retire year after year after year when he finally did the damage was evident. Mrs. Liberator is a nice woman and was an okay principal, but maybe not strong enough to gain back what was lost. There are still some GREAT teachers in the building who teach to the Bank Street model while others are just doing their own thing. A new principal is in place, I just don’t think she will be strong enough to get the school back to its former blue ribbon status.
Tuesday is the BOE meeting and it looks like they will be discussing CMT scores. Also promises to be interesting because they are discussing the Director of Administration job description, the finance office structure, and in between those, the transition guidelines for the ASI, whatever that means.
I am a current student at Central high school’s magnet program in Bridgeport. Recently the magnet program had released the scores of CAPT. Magnet sophomores show higher percentages in passing the CAPT than those of regular central high. Almost 99 percent of students in the magnet program passed the reading portion of the CAPT. Honestly I’m tired of people degrading Bridgeport as “Ghetto” and “urban.” Magnet students deserve credit for many of their accomplishments. There is a need of separation between magnet and regular central. Some of the top students in the magnet program go to the best universities including Harvard, MIT and Yale.
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