Hauser Wants Data, Involved Parents

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by Paul Bass | Jul 6, 2010 2:32 pm

(5) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Schools, Campaign 2010

Allan Appel Photo Math and science-literate students. A closed achievement gap. Better data on student performance. Help for parents to get involved in their kids’ schools.

Debra Hauser (pictured) said Tuesday that the state should focus on those four goals in improving public education. She promised to help make that happen if she gets elected state representative from the state General Assembly’s 96th District. Two-thirds of the district falls in east side New Haven neighborhoods; the rest falls in Hamden. Hauser is one of two New Haven Democrats seeking the seat, which incumbent State Rep. Cam Staples is vacating.

Hauser’s campaign issued an education policy statement Tuesday morning of which the four goals are the cornerstone. Read the statement here.

In the statement Hauser called for linking school aid to measurable results on student achievement. She called or creating a state “student/school performance database and a cost-benefit analysis for school funding” based on a system of “Results Based Accountability.”

Especially in lower-income communities, the state needs to help jump-start parental involvement in schools through supportive programs like such as the Family Learning Initiative, which “approaches student literacy as a family-school team effort,” Hauser said.

To prepare students for the workforce, she called for including businesses in crafting “strategic long-term” curriculum plans that emphasize “literacy, math, science, and technology.”

And she called for boosting early-intervention plans to close the achievement gap.

Paul Bass Photo Hauser’s opponent for the Democratic nomination, Roland Lemar (pictured), reacted by “welcoming” Hauser to the education debate, although he dismissed her release as “generic bullet points.”

“I’m thrilled that she’s actually engaging on the subject finally,” said Lemar, who claimed Hauser has been “relatively mute” on the subject in debates and on the trail.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t about who’s got the best plan on a website, or who wrote a press release,” said Lemar, but rather about “who’s got the ability to bring about the radical reform and changes that we need.”

Lemar has called for full state funding of the Educational Cost Sharing program, plugged New Haven’s school reform initiative, and backed a measure proposed by New Haven State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield and Bethel State Rep. Jason Bartlett aimed at bringing some New Haven-style reforms to a statewide plan to tackle the achievement gap.

Comments

posted by: Do as I say, not as I do - Deb Hauser on July 6, 2010 3:09pm

If Debra wants to improve the public schools, she should start paying her mortgage and take her kids out of Foote school. We could use her on the Hooker or East Rock Magnet School PTO.

posted by: streever on July 6, 2010 4:07pm

@Do as I Say
That is a low blow. There is much that can be criticized about Deb’s platform without attacking her personal finances/life decisions. Would you choose a school based on political reasons or because you want your children to have a certain education? Please try to be nice.

posted by: Foote Alum who wishes his parents had donated the on July 6, 2010 4:17pm

As a Foote School alum I can safely say that the majority of parents who send their children there are doing so for protection not education.

IMHO: There is nothing that Foote School offers that New Haven Public Schools do not offer less cultural shelter from their parents’ sometimes exaggerated fears of the rest of New Haven.

Sorry Deb, you seem like a nice person but not the right person for office here in New Haven.

Your opponents own daughter is a shining example of the talent and open mindedness that can come with a public school education in New Haven when backed by good parenting.

posted by: Foote and Wilbur Cross Alum on July 6, 2010 4:44pm

As an alumnus of both Foote School and Wilbur Cross, I can safely say that I have had both the New Haven public and private school experiences. The sad truth is that, as the national statistics indicate, our public schools are terrible. It is not impossible to get a good education at them, but having done so is an indicator of unusual drive, not of a quality institution.
Anyone that can afford to send their children to private school should do so for their children’s sake. Public school teachers choose their profession because they are too inept to do anything else and enjoy the power trip. I had one teacher at Cross that assigned Chariot of the Gods for an ASTRONOMY class. There is no contradiction in calling for education reform and sending your children to a private school, nor is there any grounds for criticism. American public schools pump out barely literate drones that have been taught an aversion to intellectuality by teachers that do not deserve the title.

On review, this reads as hostile to all public school teachers. I do not intend it this way. There are plenty of inspiring teachers at public schools, and plenty of garbage teachers at private schools. The difference is in the probability of getting one or the other. At Foote, I can promise you will find at least several inspiring teachers that love their jobs and teach out of a love for students and their subjects. The same cannot be said for public school teachers where the unions refuse to instate standards and insist on preserving a cushy environment for sub-par teachers.

Sending your child to private schools simply means you are willing to pay a private institution for the quality controls so sorely lacking in public schools. There need not be any cultural component or fear of the larger New Haven population involved in this decision. It is purely rational from the perspective of trying to provide your children with opportunities and inspiring adults that they will not have in a public school.

posted by: Threefifths on July 6, 2010 5:01pm

What is Both of there position on having a elected school board?

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