New Haven Independent

Posted by: anon | February 26, 2009 11:10 AM

TOC's efforts are great. Next, making class sizes significantly smaller (like 15 students max) and retaining/attracting great teachers should be the state's top priority. Education is more important than anything else the state of CT does.

Ramp up the small competitive charter schools, end the union contracts, fire the bad teachers, reward the good ones with huge bonuses -- hire a lot more. The best teachers should make as much as the best bankers.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | February 26, 2009 2:05 PM

I echo Anon's comments - with one revision.

Class size is not a significant determinant of successful educational outcomes. The issue of class size in public schools has been touted by the unions for years as being the end all and be all of school reform. Why? Because it means more teachers hired and more union dues being paid.

Obviously a class of 10 is better than a class of 40 assuming a competent instructor in both cases. But in most cases today we are talking about a class of 27 students vs. 23 or 24. And in that case, you would MUCH rather take a larger class with a great teacher than have a smaller class with an ineffective teacher.

To your point ANON, teacher quality trumps all other issues including class size, technology, and curriculum design.

So the question is: How do we ensure teacher quality when we have to live with a "tenure" system in our public schools, which only rewards seniority and longevity? It turns out that after 3 or 4 years of experience, there is no correlation between tenure and effectiveness. In other words, it does take afew years for a new teacher to learn how to be a great teacher. But once a young teacher develops into an effective teacher after 3-4 years, additional years in the system do not seem to alter their effectiveness. Whether they continue to become more effective after the first few years depends on all sorts of other variables other than simply time in the system.

One way that TOC can continue to make its historic mark on New Haven public schools would be for parents to push to abolish the tenure system. We need effective teachers for our children, excellent teachers, and seniority has nothing to do with competence!

Posted by: Rita | February 26, 2009 2:52 PM

Why doesn't New Haven have after school detention as a milder form of discipline? It is either no penalty for rules/norms infractions or out of school suspension. Suspension should be reserved for violence, other extreme acts.Class cutters should have after school detention and the school should call the parents the day of a cut to let the parent know the student was AWOL for part of the day.

Posted by: RichTherrn | February 26, 2009 3:04 PM

I think every educator welcomes more parent involvement! I'm looking forward to my 3rd PTA presentation of the year tonight!
-Richard Therrien
-NHPS Science Supervisor

Posted by: fedupwithliberals | February 26, 2009 3:10 PM

You'll have as much luck ending union contracts as you do voting DeStefano out of office!

Posted by: MSM | February 26, 2009 3:57 PM

Real reform will require top-down change. In order to assess the effectiveness of individual teachers you need qualified evaluators provided with the means to do so.

The beginning teacher support system is a failure. This is in evidence with the fact that the state is jettisoning its current program while at the same time "designing" another, the details of which are TBA even though it is slated to go into effect next year.

The bottom line is, teacher bashing is not going to FIX THE SCHOOLS. This is obviously a very complex problem with no easy answers. The question is, is our current leadership asking the right questions? Is it asking questions at all?

I do not believe it is, nor do I believe it is truly interested in solving the problem. The time for change is now.

Posted by: Hood Rebel | February 26, 2009 4:27 PM

Parent Involvement is not just about showing up at PTOs, Board meetings and being "political" --whatever that means!

Serious parents know that you have to read to your children, ask them fun follow-up questions about books, movies, cartoons or any opportunity to get the child to think! Parents have to take children to the YaLE galleries and museums, nature walks, aquariums, children's theater etc...

Parents have to motivate their children every day, every night, every moment with appropriate rewards for success in school and learning.
Consistently TALK to children about valuing education and never ever giving up on educational challenges. Parents need to spend some time in the classroom if possible.

Some parents need help with trying good strategies and also with their OWN literacy. TOC should be trying to help these folks out.

Meanwhile, a GREAT Teacher can make all difference in a child's Learning. Plenty of studies back that up!

Posted by: anon | February 26, 2009 5:15 PM

FIX,

I think you can have (and need) both: very small class sizes and great teachers. 27 students is way too large. Bring it down to a mandated legal cap of 18-20 students, obviously phased in over time to allow for teachers to be hired and trained, and phased in with whatever increased funding is needed to meet that goal. That way most classes will have 15 or so kids. That's a big difference from 23, 25, or 27 kids in a class.

I've volunteered to teach in the NH schools and the classes with 30 or so kids always have a huge group at the back who are not involved. Teachers simply can't effectively teach groups that are that large.

Connecticut would be able to attract plenty of great teachers from crumbling areas into a revamped school system with high salaries, bonus incentives, and small class sizes.

Start with the GOAL (15 students) and then work backwards with a five year statewide plan to make sure it happens.

Posted by: Dr. Rosado | February 26, 2009 8:22 PM

Hi, Mayor, please listen to this group of parents, our children's education is the most important resource of our nation. Thank You, Dr. Rosado

Posted by: Alphonse Credenza | February 27, 2009 1:34 PM

"Class size is not a significant determinant of successful educational outcomes."

Classes of 40 or 80 or more are common throughout Asia. Yet in many subjects, especially math and science, students test much higher than in the US. The kids are, also, without a doubt, far more diligent and hard-working than students in the US public school system. The teachers also push them harder so they achieve more. American public education is a stroll through the daisies. Fat, happy and stupid! That's what we've become.

Posted by: anon | February 27, 2009 5:28 PM

What's your solution, Al? Paying good teachers more and firing the bad ones immediately? I'd support your run on that.

Posted by: 88465 | February 27, 2009 9:07 PM

More vague than "political" is the idea of a "good" teacher. An excellent teacher where students are well-equipped to learn (using AC's example, say, Japan) would often fail miserably if given a classroom where students are, understandably, troubled. The greatest civil rights issue of our time, as those partisans fond of rhetoric like to say, is equally about dismantling unions (i.e., reducing wages and benefits so they are as lousy as those in the private sector) than teaching kids. The trade off is that we'll have a moderately better educated population who are reduced to working for peanuts with private retirement plans backed by Wall Street. More a Republican utopian dream than what most people would consider education reform.

Posted by: henry | February 27, 2009 10:01 PM

This is a B...S.... group, if they really wanted to help they would try and get to the truth about educating all of our children. Do they really understand education and education in an Urban setting. Do they really understand hungry children coming to school everyday, children who's early vocabulary does not include 5000 words coming from home.
New Haven has an excellent school system, a very dedicated faculty and staff. Grant you they could be better but for the most part they are Great.

This group fathered by ConCan are just looking to make trouble. Grant you they need to do something, but find something to do do to make life and education better for our children by working together with the education centers in Connecticut. They are just like the others who have come and gone, nay sayers. They should take the Comer, School Development Program training at Yale.

The are parents or non-parents of New Haven Public Schools who themselves had negative school experiences. They need to fess up and try and do better for themselves and their children.

Posted by: NHPS Parent | February 28, 2009 8:44 AM

Here we go again with this crew of Graustein/Charter funded glory hounds. Their negative, divisive actions are as much distasteful as they are unnecessary.

As a parent who is involved in my PTOs and has attended every parent teacher night and most school events with my kids I can state without doubt that virtually everything this group has "succeeded in creating" already existed.

They demand add ons at taxpayer expense like personal translators from their high horse yet have an English-only website themselves. The fact is I have seen spanish versions of everything from parent handbooks, to report cards to newsletters to lunch applications, etc. for years. Any one who wants or needs translation (or an entire instruction as an English as Second Language Learner or enrollment at one of the dual language schools) gets it.

While they were plotting their "political" strategy they missed some great events at New Haven Public Schools such as the coat drive/parent teacher conference night at Fair Haven attended by hundred of parents or the CMT breakfast rally at Ross Woodward attended by students, staff and many bus drivers or the celebration at John Daniels (a dual language school) where they celebrated the unveiling of a mural and another award for this international school of excellence with staff, students and parents.

Perhaps their paid organizers and marketers would be better served to lobby against cuts to education. I guess that would be too inconsistent with their true agenda and would mean an end to their funding and celebrity status on the Independent.

Posted by: Catherine Rose | February 28, 2009 9:37 PM

I am the mother of two New Haven Public School Students and it is my observation that all of the stated goals of TOC have already been met by the Board of Education!

NHPS schools have for years emphasized anti-bullying and tolerence for all people. My sons have participated in several programs including one run by the anti-defamation league -a great experience!! Academic evaluations seem consistent and thorough. Teachers write detailed assessments and of course, the children are given standardized tests. My children's teachers have always been very detailed about their academic progress.

As for discipline, a policy is handed out at the beginning of each school year. It describes the consequences for a number of infractions including fighting, drug use, insubordination...It is not ambiguous.

Finally, Almost all of the documents we recieve from NHPS are in English and Spanish. Do TOC want these documents translated into more languages? Perhaps international Yale students would be willing to volunteer to do translations?

I remain curious why this group is spending so much energy fighting for what already exists in the schools.

My kids love school and their teachers! So I say keep up the good work NHPS teachers and Dr. Mayo. Thank you putting our kids first!!!

Posted by: John Tulin | March 1, 2009 11:02 AM

Alphonse - For once, I agree with you....to a certain extent.

The reason they can get away with that in Asia is because of their culture. The respect the teacher as much as or mare than anyone in their community, as well as their elders in general. This is based on 2500 years of Confucian tradition. Now, I know we are not supposed to criticize some cultures, but we can praise Asian tradition(i.e. culture) for their academic drive and success. If New Haven students, or more appropriately their parents, adopted this 'culture' or value system or whatever you want to call it, maybe we could have 80 in a class (we have it in US colleges). As long as some NHPS students feel entitled to curse in your face and tell you that you you need to get out of theirs....Until this 'culture' (or lack of) is eradicated, class size ABSOLUTLY matters.

TOC - I hand out student work weekly to suspended students. I NEVER get any back from suspended students. Maybe that is because they are bad students who get suspended and don't do any work while in school in the first place. Maybe it is because their parents don't care about their education. I don't know. My only point being is: get over the homework for suspended students issue, that is just posturing on your part, and get on the 'talk to parents and kids about NOT GETTING SUSPENDED IN THE FRST PLACE' issue.

Posted by: FIX THE SCHOOLS | March 1, 2009 6:17 PM

NHPS can absolutely work for parents like Catherine Rose who sounds like she is very involved in her childrens' education. She is satisfied with the culture and the academic evaluations. This is great. If you are a teacher or an administrator, it is not difficult to work with someone like Catherine because she has the inclination and ability to work with her kids at home. No doubt her children are on the road to college and a probably a successful future.

What we need to understand is that there are lots of children who do not have the kind of support at home that Catherine Rose provides. We want them to have it, we can moralize all we want that they SHOULD have it, but they don't have it. And despite our protests, most never will.

Mr. Tulin can rant all he wants about parental responsibility, as he so often does. But we as a society will never be able to overcome the ravages of generational discrimination and poverty UNTIL we take responsibility for educating a new generation of children. If that means taking on more responsibility from parents who cannot - than so be it.

But what we will never do is to somehow create educational role models out of parents, many of whom have no better than the equivalent of an 8th grade education.

The current schools system was set up a long time ago for another age and time. We didn't suffer from the international achievement gap that we suffer from now. The world has caught and surpassed us. And while we have always had a shameful domestic U.S. achievement gap between whites and minorities, we just didn't give a sh*t about it. Before Brown v BOE we didn't even fund education equally. And since Brown, we throw money at urban education but never insisted on any outcomes whatsoever.

Well, finally we ARE insisting on outcomes. We now have a President (and perhaps a mayor) who understands that we need to do whatever it takes to close both gaps.

Hopefully this means that we will:

Implement national educational standards;

Vigorously promote high quality school options for every parent and child;

Close chronically failing schools;

Have "money follow the child" such that when a child leaves one school for another, the money follows the child to the new school.

Invest in school models which have demonstrated the most success in closing the gap;

Give more money to those schools which are successfully teaching kids with the toughest problems.

Extend the school day by 3-4 hours;

Create a year-round school calendar;

Dump politicized local school boards (whether elected or appointed) and replace them with professional administrators who we will be held accountable for performance;

Recruit, train, reward, celebrate, and continuously manage and develop a new cadre of teaching professional.

Break down any and all political barriers currently preventing Connecticut from becoming the most progressive state on education policy ( Instead of being one of the most regressive).

Posted by: Teach Our Children | March 3, 2009 8:01 AM

Our Superintendent, Dr. Mayo has promised to translate the school district's web page once it has been updated.

We have begun the process of translating our own and hope to complete that process very soon.

www.teachourchildren.org

Posted by: RichTherrn | March 3, 2009 1:06 PM

A good alternative while waiting is to use google translate. It doesn't do a perfect job, but it is usually enough to get the idea across.
translate.google.com

Posted by: Nestor Makhno | March 3, 2009 9:42 PM

School administrators, professional or otherwise, are comparable to insurance companies in the world of healthcare--they skim funds off the top that would be better spent doing something productive. And a "cadre of teaching professionals," with its military connotations, sounds like something from which we should shelter children, unless progressive education is intended to equip them to take shrapnel in foreign lands. Lastly, extending the school day another four hours seems more an effort to gear up children for a 50-hour work week than a true effort to fix the schools. Perhaps this is a pragmatic approach if you want your children to do little more than grow up to be soldier-like, "yes sir" men best suited to dutifully serve the whims of their employers.

Posted by: NHPS_Teacher | March 5, 2009 5:38 AM

FIX THE SCHOOLS:

We agree that city leadership needs to send strong signals that it will not continue to tolerate failing schools. As many have pointed out, this is most likely a well-choreographed political dance... but so be it - it's good if it improves the education of our neediest in the radically segregated state of CT. (However, if Mayo attempts to take any credit for positive outcomes, I think I'll wretch. We're going nowhere while he and his inept cronies reign.)

As a very dedicated member of the NHPS teaching corps, I would like more information to help me inform colleagues, and work to influence decision makers.

Can you share links to data from districts, similar to New Haven (not only the selective/exclusive charter schools), that have successfully tackled the items on your list:

"Implement national educational standards; Vigorously promote high quality school options for every parent and child; Close chronically failing schools; Have "money follow the child" such that when a child leaves one school for another, the money follows the child to the new school.
Invest in school models which have demonstrated the most success in closing the gap;
Give more money to those schools which are successfully teaching kids with the toughest problems.
Extend the school day by 3-4 hours;
Create a year-round school calendar;
Dump politicized local school boards (whether elected or appointed) and replace them with professional administrators who we will be held accountable for performance;
Recruit, train, reward, celebrate, and continuously manage and develop a new cadre of teaching professional."

I truly want to know what district(s) you think New Haven should look up to as a model for reform.