New Haven Independent

Posted by: Daniel Sumrall | August 27, 2007 10:31 AM

This is an excellent example of why New Haven needs to have an elected Board of Education. Both of the proposals cited in the story are meant to turn the BoE into a bureaucrat-only club brought to us through that tried and true method of cronyism. At the very least, an elected BoE would provide the opportunity for engaged parents and committed community members to dictate to the bureaucrats what is what.

The very idea that active parents should be barred from being involved not just with their own child but in their school is insulting. These are the parents who should be rewarded and praised.

Time to change the guard.

Posted by: question | August 27, 2007 5:23 PM

Why don't the parents form a group that incorporates other parents, especially of low performing students and ask for support in getting uneduacated parents involved, Then hold a few open hearings where the group can present concerns. I am so ashamed of New Haven politics...folks this administration could care less about the citizens. It was a standing joke in most meetings I attended

Posted by: Sierra Di | August 27, 2007 11:41 PM

Thus far I have supported many of your views; not on this issue.

It is a disappointing fallacy on your part to imply that this is "why New Haven needs to have an elected Board of Education". What your invalid inference shows is that you either do not have or are not taking into account, the experiences that, teachers in our community, (the inner city of New Haven - not Manchester, CT - where you teach or taught), deal with on a daily basis.

Parents at several schools can bypass the principal's office, the administrative staff, (forget security - let's not make that an issue), and proceed directly to the class room and address their concern directly with the teacher.

That is a class interruption that by my experience takes on average a minimum of seven to twelve minutes, (yes that is 7 to 12 minutes). On a bad day if a third of the parents decide to "show up", that is 30 students divided by 3 multiply by 7 to 12. And the result is 70 to 120 minutes (an hour and 10 minutes to two hours) taken away from our children learning.

Do you see the problem Sir? Play with the arithmetic as you please, IT IS A PROBLEM!
One that must have been addressed a long tome ago! Allow me to point out a reality to you and the few parents who are opposed to the changes.

The Parents who are involved.

1) They maintain a schedule of their involvement, which is year round. With the PTA, volunteerism, (which most of the time put them within the classroom), and much more.

2) Their involvement does not wait for a crisis to manifest itself.
Again it is an all year long affair.

3) They do have an ongoing and reliable protocol for communicating with their child teacher, the administrators, (Principal, Assistant Principals and other administrative personnel.

4) The schedules of their involvement as well as the protocol are meant to be cooperative, supportive of the school and mutually trustworthy. They are not confrontational.

5) The schedules of their involvement as well as the protocol are meant to work harmoniously with the school schedule. They will not allow their involvement to take a single minute of teaching time away from the teachers and the children.

6) With the above in place, all crisis are handled by phone preferably, (yes the telephone - not the head thru the door of a classroom in progress), with the office. Not the classroom. Thou shall never interrupt thy child class in progress.

7) Appointments. Yes, the appointments! Any parent who call the principal or assistant principal office can usually get one with a within the next 30 minutes to three hours the same day. If the teacher needs to be present, it get scheduled for after classes.

That is how we want things to works! That is also how parents who are truly involved make things work. Those parents who are truly involved are not "up in arms" about this. They know what works and what does not. How do they know?

They serve!

I challenge you and the "up in arms about the proposal" parents to give us a single scenario where the above protocols & schedules will not work.

While you come up with it, I should mention that my analysis is based on my experience volunteering at Wexler, West-Hills and Hill Central schools.

Hope to read more from you.

Posted by: Michael | August 28, 2007 1:45 AM

I think that the Board's decision, to quell discussion on the actions of themselves and their personel, reflects an ignorance of the fact that personal decisions made by themselves and the people they hire circumscribes their capacity for professonalism.

Simply put, they don't want to talk about it, because some of their decisions have been indefensible. Accountability starts at the top. The attitude that parent's questions don't have to be answered (in the proper venue) suggests an entrenched elitism and a disdain for the people they serve. I suggest the parents get themselves a lawyer experienced in education law.

Posted by: gina | August 28, 2007 6:15 AM

When I worked in New Haven as a teacher, I would have been in favor of parents setting up scheduled times to come into the classroom. Coming to the school is one thing, but coming into the classroom is completely different. Teachers need to be prepared for parents coming in. Once, in my classroom, a parent came in unannounced and berated me and what I was doing in the classroom. She got right up in my face and pointed her finger in my face and told me, in a cold voice, that she didn't approve. Talk about intimidation and needing to create a safe space!!!
My policy was always, as a teacher, "I've got an open door; come on in." I told this to parents every Open House, every phone call I made. But I didn't ever expect for a parent to come in, close the door, and then tell me I was doing everything wrong. If parents want to come to the school, I support it. I support parent involvement in the classroom. But I do think that it's respectful to give a head's up that they're coming, is all. To show up unannounced and contribute positively is great; but in the middle of the day to scream at a teacher is completely unacceptable. I don't care WHO you are; you just don't do that kind of thing. Teachers need to feel like they're inviting people into their homes--because the classroom is pretty much a home during the day--NOT allowing parents and open invitation to criticize.
I think parents will be welcomed with open arms if there is a clear understanding about what is acceptable to do when they come to the school. There are right and very wrong ways to go about expressing concerns.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | August 28, 2007 11:32 AM

What Do You Expect From The School Board They Are Nothing More Than Ventriloquist Dummies And There Voice Is King John!!!

Posted by: Sierra Di | August 28, 2007 12:28 PM

Mr. Sumrall,

My comments, (posted above bellow yours), were addressed to you in response to your posting, as well as the parents outraged by the proposal.

Thanks for your reading and hopefully upcoming comments.

Posted by: Beverly | August 28, 2007 2:02 PM

My husband and I are active and concerned parents who are in our child's school year round and for the seven years that our child has been in New Haven Public Schools we have worked well with our teachers and administrators. We are proud supporters of our child's school and have never been denied access to the school or the classroom, yet we are "up in arms" over these policies as they are currently written.

Each year at the begininning of school, expectations of all parties, students, teachers/staff/administrators, and families should be clearly stated. When everyone has a clear understanding how the system will work and of their obligations in the process, scenarios of irate parents disrupting classrooms will probably be minimized as will the reasons caused the irritation in the first place. The arguement that appointments are a matter of security sounds to me more like a reflection of poor building management, especially when our schools (even the elementary schools) are staffed by security guards and police officers. On several ocassions I have walked into a school building to hear an instructor yelling at the top of his/her lungs at a child. Such behavior not only models poor coping skills for children, but being berated in front of peers in such a manner shatters a child's self-esteem. As a concerned and active parent, I consider this a security issue.

Why is the New Haven BOE even wasting time on such limiting policies instead of focusing on holistic approaches to improving academic growth and achievement? Parental involvent and community involvment are key components to any successful education scheme.

All parents want is to be recognized as equal partners in our children's education. However, there needs to be an understanding that our lives don't and can't always revolve the 8:30 to 3:00 school day, so please don't dictate to us what "active participation" is. Each of us needs to define for ourselves, based on our personal situations, how we can best contribute to the educational process. Limitations and barriers that are erected by policies such as those proposed by the BOE, only serve to hinder our participation.

Posted by: Daniel Sumrall | August 28, 2007 2:17 PM

Sierra Di, I hear what you're saying, and I'm not saying you're wrong. I think though that I'm speaking to a different facet of the issue than of what you are thinking.

Truth is some parents lack the simple ability to adhere to social rules of decorum (as Gina's example above demonstrates). I've taught public school in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country (and I teach community college now). You'll always encounter these types of parents.

My comments come from the point of view that to muzzle parents (even belligerent ones with no respect for protocol) sets a poor precedent that will only lead to further troubles. As educators, we have to take the high road even if our gut tells us otherwise and we have to endure the occasional ranting/raving from parents. It's hard and it never gets easy.

I always dreaded dealing with parents when I taught public school for the reasons that you and Gina point out. Nevertheless, there must be more give-and-take in the parent/school relationship, more intimacy not less, because parents and teachers make up the majority of a young person's contact with adults. Heavy-handedness (from parents or administrators) is not a trait to encourage.

I'm of the stance that an elected Board of Education would create a scenario where parents would have to "put-up or shut-up" and City Hall administrators would have less dictatorial powers; it would spread out responsibility.

I consider the BoE's proposal to be antagonistic and that sort of things should not be coming out of the BoE because it sets back progress.

Posted by: robn | August 29, 2007 1:17 PM

Isn't it a good thing when parents to want to be involved in their childrens' education? I see no problem with parents visiting their kids at school as long as visits (other than family emergencies) have something to do with education, and as long as they don't interrupt other childrens education. They most certainly shouldn't be allowed informal access to classrooms because that makes it impossible for teachers to do their jobs.

Posted by: silly | August 30, 2007 8:39 AM

It is just like city hall to waste human resources and force busy parents to organize over a blatantly self-serving policy that would be thrown out of court as illegal.