New Haven Independent

Posted by: terrapin | November 6, 2009 8:54 AM

Yikes! Docking the student's grades for the parent's poor parenting? You end up either punishing a kid who's doing well despite the (apparent) lack of parental involvement, or parents, or you further push down a kid who is not doing well because of the parent's lack of involvement. If you want to punish the parents, fine, but don't take it out on the kids.

Posted by: Gretchen Pritchard | November 6, 2009 10:06 AM

"She spoke with a Caribbean lilt that belied her origin, the British Virgin Islands."

"Belie" means "to give a false impression of, to present an appearance not in agreement with,"
"to show (something) to be false or wrong, to run counter to or contradict."

It does NOT mean "reveal, give away," which is what I think you intended to say.

[Thanks -- FIxed.]

Posted by: katie rohern | November 6, 2009 10:27 AM

Fortunately, Mr. Harries understands that negative consequences, like punishing students for lack of parent involvement, is not the kind of productive reform we need in our schools. Let's get back to some meaningful positive reinforcement in the schools that truly help our kids learn and become better citizens. That includes eliminating some of the current punitive rules that exist within the school walls that are counterproductive, and treating the students (especially the older ones) and parents like respected members of a community.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | November 6, 2009 11:00 AM

Parents don't fall for this trap.This is not going to happen.Lets us take a look at funding for this. President Obama says Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. The problem with grant funding is that what happens when there is no more grants to fund this program. Rember this is part of the stimulus package,What happens when Obama leaves and a new Adminstration comes in and
says we can't afford to fund this program anymore
than what are you going to do. There is talk about funding from Big Corporate Backing, Forget it this type of funding is starting to dry up and also you have to beware of what corporate backing
you get your funding from.Look what happen to the Harlem Zone.They got funding from Bernard Madoff's and now they are Having money problems.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275804805311965.html

Also Thursday, officials announced that two parents, Mary Rosario and Erik Clemons (LEAP’s executive director), have been named to the committee that’s overseeing the mayor’s school reform drive.

Who name these parents to the committee.Was a election held and if not why not.

Bottom line this is nothing more than a ULTIMATE 3 CARD MONTE BET Rember the hand is quicker than the eye. Rember the Red ACE is the money card and King john always Controls the card deck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqWcYuIRSKc

Posted by: what | November 6, 2009 11:49 AM

3/5th

Right on!!! Who appointed these parents? Are they representative, or just another mouthpiece for Mayo/DeStefano?

Posted by: Cross Teacher | November 6, 2009 12:06 PM

When I was growing up, we had a half day on parent-teacher conference days. Parents made appointments to see teachers. Times were available in the evening as well.

Parents could drop by without an appointment in case there is an opening.

I'm not saying it's the answer, but it's a possiblility.

Posted by: invite parents? | November 6, 2009 12:40 PM

"The school system decided who was to be invited." How is that PROMOTING parental involvement? It wasn't even announced at the PTO meeting I attended!

Posted by: Leslie Blatteau | November 7, 2009 8:10 AM

cross teacher: i work at ct scholars. and while i realize we have a much smaller school, we began using the "make an appointment" technique with parents this year and so far it is working wonderfully. at scholars each teacher serves as the adviser for 10-12 students. teachers work to get those students' parents in for events at our school. for "meet the teacher" night i saw 10 of the 12 families im working with. and most teachers saw similar results. thats a huge improvement from the 10-15% of parents we have seen in the past. parents DO want to be involved in the education of their children. i know this is true because i see it in action everyday at my school. we have to be willing to come up with new models that actually work if we are going to commit to parent involvement.

Posted by: Morris Cove Mom | November 7, 2009 5:34 PM

Who represented Nathan Hale? Why weren't any of us told of this? Those of use who are very involved in our kids' lives should be given the chance to attend this, too.

And punishing a child's grades when their parents don't attend is akin to cutting off the heat when the bill isn't paid. Don't make the kids pay for the sins of the parents.

Posted by: anon | November 9, 2009 1:41 AM

"Obama leaves and a new Adminstration comes in and says we can't afford to fund this program anymore"

Of course. But "afford" is a relative term. That's why Obama says we need community organizing. He has a point - without it, social goods will continue to be allocated within the general status quo and value structure. People create long term systems change, not programs.

This is a nice theory and inspiring in a certain sense. However it is missing a critical piece. Organizing cannot happen when, to use just one example, the community has no way to get to these PTA meetings without a car (which few urban households own or can afford to use; this issue would be compounded in neighborhoods where they literally do not feel safe leaving their own homes).

If we create livable communities that don't discriminate against people and make them sick by their very design, our other problems will take care of themselves.

Posted by: Distressed Educator & Parent | November 9, 2009 8:18 PM

Tesha Todman has lived in this country for some time; she knows that life in the Virgins Islands and life in the USA for poor parents are VERY different. The type of familial support system that traditionally exists in the islands exists to a much lesser extent here; even in the islands these support systems are now breaking down due to poor economic conditions and a change in the social structure. However, there is still more of a family and community network than exists in the poor communities in CT.

Yes, maybe it is too easy for parents not to show up to report card night; therefore, there needs to be a thoughtful and collaborative process of how to correct this. Having someone in a far more priviledged position declare what should happen to those less fortunate is so representative of the arrogance that exists in socially stratified situations typically found in the islands & here.

"Dock students grades if their parents don't show up to report card night. And make the parents learn to use computers" Are you and the NHPS system going to purchase the computers & teach the classes Ms. Todman? Do you know what it is like to have to work three part-time jobs to feed your children? You cannot even begin to understand the darkness that is ignorance. We need to teach people the value of education and engage them positively not punitively. The Hillhouse parent has a solid idea; parents would know how important it is if they had to go to school to get the report card. It would be an opportunity for the teacher and parent to talk.

It seems that the NHPS system only wants participation by parents it selects: a cheering squad rather than an independent-thinking group of committed parents whose contributions will be valued, and a group of parents who need help in how to become involved. Those who are already involved are NOT the ones who need this most because they will continue to be involved. Ms Todman and other committed parents should think about reaching out to those who do not know how to be positively involved for the benefit of their children. That would be constructive. There are many parents who are intimidated by, and do not know how to converse with teachers or others in authority. Others do not understand that their involvement is critical to their children's success in education and in life overall.

"The school system decided who was to be invited." How is that PROMOTING parental involvement? It wasn't even announced at the PTO meeting I attended!" This is exactly my point; if in fact an invitation was not extended to all parents - why is that? It could not be that the NHPS system was afraid of being over run because the complaint is that parents are not participating! Who decided which parents should get an invitation? Why was the Citywide PTO allowed to go defunct since mid 1990? Why is it that the parents are the only ones being blamed now? What about the teachers and the administration's role in maintaining the PTO?

"Who represented Nathan Hale? Why weren't any of us told of this? Those of us who are very involved in our kids' lives should be given the chance to attend this, too." Yes, you should have all been informed about this education event.

"And punishing a child's grades when their parents don't attend is akin to cutting off the heat when the bill isn't paid. Don't make the kids pay for the sins of the parents." Amen again!

There are parents in NHPS District who are afraid to challenge rules in the school that adversely affect their children! Why is that? Why are they afraid? What are they concerned will happen to their children? The fact that they perceive that they have reason to be afraid is a little scary. We are talking about a school system!
The BOE of the NHPS system needs to really take a close look at the messages and the not so silent dictates that come from the board itself and from the offices of the directors and supt. The fact that this school reform program was launched without any input from parents speaks volume about the leadership style and the lack of a comprehensive infrastructure for this reform program.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | November 9, 2009 11:01 PM

Distressed Educator & Parent

Well said!!! Parents you better wake up.
Also this is what Garth Harries will try to do Here.

http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3749

Posted by: Seth P. | November 10, 2009 9:15 AM

I am so hapopy happy to see that there is some dilogue amongst schools ans parents in regard to school reform. Absentee parents who rely solely on the teachers to educate their children are significant contributors to the failure of the public school system. There must be parent involvement, especially from paretns who expect to see their children attend college. Parents have no choice but to become involved when money is on the line.

Posted by: Concerned Citizen | November 10, 2009 1:53 PM

This statement form Seth P. is quite depressing. "There must be parent involvement, especially from parents who expect to see their children attend college. Parents have no choice but to become involved when money is on the line." Seth, I sincerely hope that parents care for the total well-being of their children and want the BEST for them whether they aspire for a college education or not.

Children who do not go to college also need to be educated to be successful citizens. All parents, but particularly those who cannot envision a college education for their children, need to be taught the value of education as a foundation to a good life. These are the parents who need to be convinced that regardless of their circumstances their children can achieve success through education. These are the people we need to work with most diligently so as not to continue the cycle of hopelessness.

As a "civilized" society we all have a vested interest in the success of all children whether we are aware of that or not. When a significant percentage of people in the state are unemployed or under-employed we are all affected indirectly. When people lose their homes and there are multiple properties where the govt. cannot collect taxes, those of us who can pay have to pay more. When people are unemployed, more of our tax dollars go for unemployment or other subsidies rather than to building better roads or to providing better quality support to our public education system and other state services.

When many in our public schools fail to get an education, and businesses cannot find the skilled services they need in the state they have to purchase them elsewhere. American technical jobs are constantly being exported; yet, many of our young people cannot find jobs right here. As a community, instead of looking down our noses on those who are ignorant and ill-informed, please let us advocate for effective public education and committed parental involvement for ALL children. We need the next generation to be well equipped to support themselves and their families. It will raise the standard of living for all of us because we are all interconnected.

Remember, education is about total enlightenment. We need to teach children how to think critically and make good, responsible decisions. If more parents are involved in the schools they too might learn how to be better parents. We can all benefit from having a more committed, enlightened and educated population.