Board of Ed Lays Out A ​“Vision”

What was supposed to be a straightforward Board of Education presentation turned into a spirited discussion, as parents, teachers and board members shared their views on a new vision statement.

The new plan explains recent structural changes and more clearly outlines staff, student, parent and community functions in collaborating to improve the public school system. Attendees at Monday night’s meeting, at Career High School, offered input on how to improve the board’s operations or asked questions about existing or upcoming initiatives.

In addition to the general statement, which broadly calls for ​“engag[ing] the whole child — their academic, learning, social-emotional growth and physical health” …

… the document lays out a ​“collective responsibility” vision in which the Board of Ed, school administrators, and community ​“stakeholders” like parent and student groups work together.

That’s laid out in a chart.

Board member Alex Johnston, former CEO of ConnCAN, repeatedly called for more specificity in the vision statement. Instead of describing an existing mission, the statement should articulate the board’s strategy for the next several years, he said.

“This document speaks in generalities. I feel the need for a more concrete, specific plan,” he said. ​“People should know what we’re intending to do.”

Board President Carlos Torre said the document was intended as a ​“conversation starter.”

There are many more initiatives in development than appear in the document, Superintendent Garth Harries added.

At the previous board meeting, members voted on a new organizational structure, which will break up its two standing committees into three. Instead of their previous primary functions of approving contracts, the new committees — governance, finance and teaching — will discuss and keep the community abreast of major financial and logistical decisions. In the ​“Teaching and Learning” Committee, all members of the board will gather to discuss important issues.

The overall purpose of the new structure is to ​“make sure the board acts as powerfully as possible,” Harries said.

On being presented with the new plan, parents, teachers and board members all clamored to chime in. In fact, the resulting discussion was more appropriate for the ​“Teaching and Learning” Committee meeting than the general meeting, Harries said.

Chris Willems, a science teacher at Metropolitan Business Academy who is beginning his 11th year in New Haven classrooms, expressed his concerns a lack of board transparency. Willems said teachers and staff members have been ​“frequently omitted from conversations on policy,” including discussions on the new vision statement.

Including teachers, parents, and students in the process from the beginning ​“would save a lot of time,” he said.

Both Harries and Torre agreed that they would like more transparency going forward. But Harries added after the meeting that teachers have been included at every step of the way of developing the new structure.

“Sometimes discussions have to be smaller,” but they are always followed by public forums, he said.