Hillhouse Principal Transfers To Central Office

That school was SUCH a mess last year.

The superintendent throwing so much money around is truly unsustainable. Love to see a BoE that wasn't so asleep.

The staff at Hillhouse; CCR Academy were never informed of this phase out to begin August 31. We were told that CCR would be operating for one more year. That is the only reason most of us chose to stay on this year. Carabello is absolutely correct in everything she said. Once again those in charge have lied to us. Garth Harries has shown total disrespect to the teachers at Hillhouse. Over the summer alone we have lost a good portion of our core teachers.
Question: Where is our union????

"Harries said the academies were created to help keep students from "falling between the cracks" at one of the city's largest high schools. He pointed to statistics including the increase in the school's four-year graduation rate from 41 to 69 percent as an indication that the structure is working."

That graduation statistic has absolutely nothing to do with the existing academy structure at Hillhouse. That increase has everything to do with the plan put in place under Mr. Carolina.

Come back in 2 years when the statistics reflect the current, disorganized, mess of the school that was created by the powers that be chasing $$$$$$.

Hope they filled the positions of all those teachers that left.

Cheers for Alicia Caraballo! It's ironic that Ms. Carraballo is emerging as one of the main critics of the Central Office merrygoround. As a longtime school administrator I'm sure she had a first hand view of all this, so my read of this situation is that now that she is retired, she wants to make sure the attention is placed on students where it should be. I'm sure she has seen her share of shenanigans happen in the school system, and the waste that goes on with hiring people left and right at bloated salaries. When someone with her background and experience objects to these kinds of "administrative moves", we should all take notice.

Overburdened New Haven taxpayers want their mayor and aldermen to make a concerted effort to cut costs by cutting waste in every city department.
What has been happening at Hillhouse is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars.
The people of New Haven need the mayor, the superintendent and the BOE to answer these questions:1)Why does Hillhouse need THREE principals when its student population is no larger than it was when it operated efficiently under ONE principal? 2)Why are there so many highly paid administrators in central office now performing duties once done by far fewer people?
With three principals and three "academies", Hillhouse is New Haven's most expensive school. What have been the benefits of this costly experiment? Better educated students? Higher test scores? Improved attendance and graduation rates? Better school morale?
One obvious result is the most thoroughly demoralized faculty in New Haven.Student education is adversely affected when teachers are unhappy. This reorganization has resulted in an exodus of many excellent, experienced long-term dedicated teachers and the school librarian who were not happy at Hillhouse.
Hillhouse has been a confused, illogical mess since the superintendent and the Board imposed this experiment on the staff and students.
Every school in New Haven's history has had one principal. Why? Common sense. Anything with three heads is a freak of nature and belongs in a circus! At Hillhouse, the three heads clashed, ego and different styles and personalities conflicted, bucks were passed and the school lacked unity.
Students and staff attempted a "One School, One House, One Hillhouse Family" campaign only to be reprimanded, rebuffed and intimidated by their principals.
This restructuring of the school has not been worth the effort. In the past, Hillhouse had schools within the school. Hillhouse had the famous "Macy Program" and others. This was accomplished with ONE principal in a school that was much larger 20 years ago.

Many people do not know that Hillhouse has three principals and that the school theoretically operates as if it were three separate schools/ academies on one "campus."
In fact, rumors have spread through the community, that the "James Hillhouse" name would be replaced by the names of each academy!
Imagine that? Would we allow a superintendent with no roots or ties to this community in four years undo 156 years of history and tradition of the oldest school and the first high school in New Haven?
Dr. Lonnie Garris, the former principal of Hillhouse who served for 20 years should feel quite proud. The BOE felt compelled to hire three principals to do the job that one man performed.
All taxpayers who are concerned about wasteful spending by this superintendent and this BOE should call the office of Mayor Toni Harp.
Maybe New Haven needs an entirely elected Board of Education instead of just two elected slots.

Thomas Alfred Paine you are SO correct. If only someone would hear the cry and DO SOMETHING.

@ getoutofhillhouse.
You couldn't be more right. I find it insulting that Garth thinks we're all dumb enough to believe that the data from 2009-2014 can be applied to the 2015 school year and the changes he made. It's down right insulting! And I would bet 75 percent of those teachers are gone. Replaced by TFA and other green rookies who are being bullied into passing all students under the guise of Mastery Based Leaning! Without Nguyen I'm really scared to see if there is a working schedule in place. It's going to be a big mess! But honestly, I feel relieved knowing we have 3 Principals to clean it up. I know this teacher is done cleaning up for 0 pay and no recognition. Let's see what the numbers are from 2015 - 2020 with Garths new system! Good luck getting teachers on board now that you've insulted them, pushed out their friends, and lied to them again! One thing Garth should try to learn from Kermit now that he's got him in central office is managing relationships 101! And Garth, be a good student and pay attention! Because under the new MBL report card we at Hillhouse got you at an NR! I'd explain what that means but I just figure the readers of this comment should know how parents feel when they see a report card! Asking the question WTF!!

Over the last two years the superintendent has let Hillhouse fall into disarray. The teachers has been lied to and Bullied. A lot of good teachers have left the district or transferd to other high schools. With the departure of Mr. Carolina and Mr. Nguyen more will follow. Why isn't anyone paying attention? How many teachers have left Hillhouse in the last two years BOE?

The Union has allowed the teachers to be disrespected and be treated as second class teachers. David how many teachers must leave before you stop giving lip service and start supporting them. (David - Union president). Maybe we need a new Union president. David may be to busy reading his press clippings.

The student are being short changed with long term substitutes.

WHAT'S the end game Mr. Superintendent, are you trying to run Hillhouse into the ground so you and David can privatize Hillhouse.

I think we, as teachers at Hillhouse, should file a lawsuit against the Union leadership for failure to do the job they are paid to do.
Also, Kermit Carolina and John Nugyen left us high and dry. They did not have the class to notify us before hand. As much as we may have liked them they were classless for not being upfront. Every man and woman for his or herself, I guess.

This makes NO sense. If graduation rates are REALLY a up then why change course AND leadership? Shouldn't to hints remain the same? Something smells fishy.

The point of origin for that "smell" is 54 Meadow Street; New Haven, CT.

How can the public have any confidence in any statistics reported by a school administration mired in a grade changing scandal?
I agree with Mark Twain:
"Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.""

• Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review.
  And to paraphrase Shakespeare: There is something rotten in the state of Hillhouse and the office of the superintendent.

The BOE, the Mayor and especially the superintendent, now Harries, never seem to learn, not even the hard way. Every year the school system is in a state of flux, moving shaking changing coming and going. No organization can be successful under this kind of static confusion.

The tried and true method to successfully teaching students lies at the student level, through the strengthening of its teachers. Harries who has never been a teacher and Harp who has never been an administrator are fledgling around in musical circles, more interested in having a top heavy administrative staff in order to satisfy the federal and state education departments with fanciful analysis reports and bull $hit, in order to keep the money flowing.

Ask yourselves how does an education system repeatedly fail to meet average goals receive more money for their efforts.

The BOE (1200 employees) FY 16 budget is 425M, the city of New Haven (1600 employees) general fund budget in contrast is $508.7M.

This year New Haven taxpayers contributed another $3.3M to the BOE for teacher contract salary increases. However, in this story the only increases we here about is for administrators and directors.

Ms. Caraballo who opposed the superintendent's decision to add new positions provided the correct commentary response which compliments my comments and other commenter's to this story as follows:

"Central office is now composed of "a lot of chiefs and supervisors," she said. She called the decision to create a new supervisory position "irresponsible": "It's another example of where what we need to do is ensure resources are getting to the students."

To be sure, that is not happening!

When Kermit Carolina became the principal of James A. Hillhouse High School in the 2010-2011 school year, he inherited a school that had a tradition of graduating minority students who had been admitted to some of the best schools in America (Yale, Harvard, West Point, Wesleyan, Hampton, Howard, Morehouse). Hillhouse already had small learning communities, an accelerated program for gifted students, interventions for at-risk students, and a rich co-curricular program that addressed the range of needs of its student body. Dr. Lonnie Garris Jr., his predecessor initiated many of these reforms building on the work of Eugene Vitelli, Emma Ruff, and Red Verderame.

During his tenure, Carolina officially voided Dr. Garris' attendance policy and assigned credits to students who had violated the 160-day rule in the 2009-2010 school year when Dr. Garris was principal. In effect, he altered a standing policy at the school based on a meeting he had with Marie Block (counselor who replaced Mrs. Joyner). There is no evidence to suggest that he used a hearing (standard practice) for credit restoration or that he had permission to overturn actions that had taken place before he assumed his position. The 160-day rule was on his letterhead despite his assertions that he did not believe in it or enforce it. Chronic absenteeism is defined in education policy throughout the nation as a 10% absent rate (Attendance Works http://www.attendanceworks.org/about/why-it-matters/) this translates into 18 days in a traditional school year. Twenty school days is a school month. Carolina was explicitly endorsing a low standard for his students, that when translated to the workplace, would find them jobless and struggling with all the effects of such status.

He increased student athlete's grades and changed course titles to enhance student eligibility. One student lost a scholarship to UConn because of fraudulent grades. He and his assistant principal convinced a Hillhouse math teacher who was

Dear Conscience, Thank you for the history lesson. Old news! The new concerns has been going on for the past year. We need to do something to address and fix those issues. There has been a total lack of support from the superintendents office and teachers union. They have left Hillhouse out to dry.

The Superintendent needs to support these three women principals do not abandon them. They are good Women you need to show up for them more than just a photo opportunity.

Mr. Teachers union president, you need to listen to the teachers at Hillhouse. They really do love the students and care about the school. Not all the teachers are disgruntled. You need to listen and continue to listen to their concerns. Most teachers when they get out of bed in the morning want to come in and do the best job they possibly can. Do not sell them short.

BOE members, I challenge you to visit Hillhouse. Please take the time to talk to the students and the teachers. You will see and hear a lot of great things. Please do not only listen to what your told at the board meetings. You need to see and hear the truth for yourself.

Parents these students are your babies. I beg you to hold the superintendent, BOE members, the principals and the teachers accountable. Show up to board of Education meetings, show up to parent night, show up to report card night, show up to your child's activities at school, show up unannounce.

The Hillhouse math teacher gave the student a grade in an audited class despite telling the administrators she had failed. Course credit at the local community college in an audited class became a grade on a Hillhouse transcript, which caused the NCAA to put Hillhouse on a watch list that affected all the student athletes at the school. Putting Kermit in charge of anything having to do with stats, and protecting the interest of young people, is like putting Bernie Madoff in charge of the treasury. Shame on people who serve on boards and commissions to rubber stamp ill conceived resolutions and shame on pseudo-educators who build careers on the backs of vulnerable communities using counterfeit data. The world has always relied on a few stout souls to save it. Looks like Alicia has reported for duty and we can only hope that she will inspire the others to sign up. In the meantime Lord Garth is running the district in the ground and who knows how long it will take for the powers that be to see this and do the right thing.

To Jones: Old news (history) is relevant because it documents past practice which contributes to the current reality. Both Carolina and Harries are responsible for the ongoing decline of our beloved Hillhouse. Add this to the school board who has signed off on all the changes. It appears that the leadership of the teacher's union is complicit, as well as every single teacher at Hilllhouse who will not speak out. There is no outrage because the people affected are silent. Invite the school board candidates to speak at the school and ask them hard questions about fixing some of these problems. Hillhouse parents must also get involved. If not for "old news' we will never know the origin of things. By your criteria the Montgomery Bus Boycott is old news. I would argue that there is a connection to the boycott and the Charleston Massacre, and the removal of the Confederate flag on state grounds in South Carolina. I hope you agree and will take steps to do your part in changing the school.

Thank God for Caraballo! We have lost any and all control of our education system... Dr. Joyner can't get on that board fast enough. He will straighten this out!

At conscience:

It's really unfair to call out teachers at Hillhouse for not speaking out. We have spoke out. We have invited Garth and Dr.Tracey to Hillhouse on several occasions to listen to our concerns but they don't care. They think we are the problem and since our union President seems to only care about protecting his own political interest what are we supposed to do?We don't have tenure protection like you used to have. We are constantly bullied, lied to, and guilted with the phrase "kids first". And you want us to speak out publicly. Well Kermit tried that and looked how it turned out. And let's be honest, things were not better under Garris. The hallways were crazy and our attendance sheets and our rosters were inconsistent. John Nguyen cleaned up the roster and organized the schedule which was seriously lacking under Garris. And I liked Garris but I can't sit here and listen to people romanticize his tenure. I'm sure if someone audited the Garris years you would find some seriously inconsistent stats. For over 20 years all central office cared about was keeping Hillhouse at bay. Say what you want about Kermit but he was good at recognizing talent and allowing those people to do want they do best. He brought in Nguyen and put him in the back of the house and let him handle the logistical nightmare that is Hillhouse. I know every year Nguyen would be at Hillhouse until midnight getting those classes scheduled because the districts waits until last minute to dump all their toughest problems on Hillhouse. And after Garris left my rosters actually matched up with the kids in my class. That's one of the reasons the graduation rates increased, because Kermit put someone in charge who was intellectually competent enough to handle the logistical nightmare. Dr.Garris is a good man but let's not act like Hillhouse went down hill when the facts say otherwise! Things were getting better and now Garth and his New York ideas are putting us back to where we were!

In the past year I visited Hillhouse several times to talk to teachers about their views of state of affairs at Hillhouse. I urge the mayor,Board members,parents,and local press to do the same thing. Hillhouse teachers wanted to meet with the mayor to discuss their grievances. They called on the superintendent, but it appears he rarely visited the school. They tried to speak out but felt threatened.
Prior to the reorganization,Hillhouse was a school in which most of the staff made a serious effort to provide excellent academic instruction for their students. There was such a sense of cohesion among the staff that they referred to the staff as the "Hillhouse family." I do not mean to paint a picture of perfection, but the staff generally worked well together under one building leader.
Now the staff is divided into three parts with three principals. As a result there is more strife and confusion than ever before. The principals butt heads over authority, power and discipline. There was no unity in leadership. There was inconsistent application of rules and policies across the academies. There were even reports of different grading standards in the academies.
Here is a classic example of a chaotic situation which violated state law.
One of the principals ordered a fire drill, a regular standard procedure. When the alarm was sounded, one of three principals failed to have their students evacuate the building, while the rest of the students left. The fire chief, the chief of security, the superintendent and the mayor should have investigated this serious violation. What if that had been a real emergency?
Every person I spoke with at Hillhouse was depressed and demoralized. One long-term staffer told me she never considered ever leaving Hillhouse until now.
Several teachers left before the end of the school year, leaving kids with a substitute or no teacher at all for months. Many more have left since June.
Hillhouse has serious problems which must be addressed now.

Unfortunately it's worse than you think. There was a Real Fire in the wood shop and two Principals fought over the decision to pull the alarm. It was never pulled and all students and staff were left in the building. As a sidenote the wood shop teacher had to many students in his class and when he spoke up about it he was forced to leave mid year. His students were left without a teacher and divided up through three different academies into classes and study halls!

Is anybody listening to all of this??? This is not just teachers complaining over petty stuff; this is the real deal. The problems are SERIOUS and maybe someone should send all of these posts to Central Office. I just received another email from an excellent teacher who just took a position at another district. That makes, how many this summer alone, 10 and add to that the 7 or so that left during the school year and you have a REAL ISSUE at Hillhouse.
Also just found out much of the scheduling is not even begun!!!!

At Loquacious truth: John Nguyen inflated data, did not teach while he was a teacher, and used another administrator's pass code to enter the computer system to increase a student athlete's grade. He was suspended for that. These are facts. Kermit ran all the veteran teachers out and Lord Garth put extra principals in the school because he is a one trick pony that cares nothing about the public's money.

Dr. Garris's record speaks for itself and the halls were relatively clear under his tenure. My children felt safer and Hillhouse had a more family like atmosphere. There were no adult sanctioned fights in the bathrooms and no hip hop played over the PA system. You have drank the Carolina and Nguyen kool aide. If they were doing such a good job then Lord Garth would have kept them there. By the way, you sound sincere but few would believe that Kermit's appointment was good for the school. It was certainly not good for the kids that had their lives affected by his malfeasance.

Garth and Dr. Tracey will find out where the real problem is when all those new teachers come in; the new administrators; and let us see how it all goes. I am not being negative; but when you have a school with no direction and no one who knows how to give direction; not to mention no equipment; texts, supplies, working computers, etc... Fasten your seat belts because this is going to be a very bumpy year.

It appears that most of the cards are on the table now. As we move forward. We need to keep our eyes on the prize. In my opinion that is Hillhouse and the Students. I Love Hillhouse and I'm praying that as we move forward things will get better. Once again we must give our support to the three Principals Val Jean Bélton, Zakkiyah Baker and Fallon Daniels.

Mr. Superintendent I hope you read or heard some of this. These are real problems and not just a handful of malcontents. You have big picture Idea's, but there has been no substance or support for Hillhouse. The administrators, teachers, and students are tired of being lied to and misled. Why not invite the teachers who have left in the past two years back, not as a gripe or bitch session but have a honest and open conversation about why they left.

Mr. union president show up for your teachers. If not maybe it's time for you to step down. Support your teachers so they can do their job, teach.

LoquaciousTruth Thank You for giving both sides of the story. The good the bad and the Truth. You spoke for the teachers who have been disrespected, Bullied, intimidated, and walked out the door this past year. The rest just left, and most of them wanted to stay.

May peace be with you.

It is clear from the comments on this topic that Hillhouse has been neglected for the past several years both from within and without. Jones is right about dealing with the immediate problems, but the past is always an issues because it helps us understand the origin of the problem. Yet,Jones is right about moving forward to help the young women who are currently running the three schools sharing a common building. You cannot expect any guidance from the top. If he knew what he was doing it would be evident by now. You need to put Kermit and John in your rearview mirror and concentrate on building relationships within the building to create one Hillhouse. If the two younger principals can humble themselves enough to rely on Ms. Belton, they will be able to find their way back. She graduated from the school, was an exemplary teacher there, and knows the children and families well. She is also courageous and a class act. All three have strong community ties and should use them to get support for the school renewal process. You will need some protection against the data BS because once the truth comes out, the data will not look as good, but everyone will be better off
with the truth. Both Goldson and Joyner have strong Hillhouse ties. Invite them to a school forum and ask them questions to determine if they will, if elected, support you. Focus on repairing the hurt, build a sense of community across all the academies, and impress upon the kids the need for pride, character, and hard work. Push the academics and get all the kids hooked on books. You can ask Diane Brown, the urban librarian, for help. She is the best. You also might want to ask some of the old-timers to come back to help. Activate the Hillhouse alumni. Tell the parents the truth going in. Pray. See the glass as half-full. You can and will overcome, but it will be a struggle. Walk together children and don't you get weary. Trouble don't last always.

While Conscience's advice is uplifting, it's not possible. Even when principals and other building personnel receive buy-in and respect from teachers, parents and colleagues, they have no authority to deal with the small or large issues that emerge. The schools are mismanaged and micromanaged (is this even possible? Only in New Haven). it's amazing that our children do as well as they do. I'm looking forward to having Dr. Joyner join Alicia Caraballo on the Board to finally have some hard decisions made on how we are going to move this district forward.

Conscience think we, the faculty, should help these young women run the building??? Maybe I'm missing something here. When someone is put in the position of "principal" is it not assumed that they are capable of running the show?? They get paid to "run the show." We, the teachers, get paid to
teach. Putting people in positions they are not qualified to handle may be one of the big issues. This is a public school not a mom and pop store where you bring in the neighbors to help out. Great amounts of money are being spent on administrators who seem to not know what they are doing.
Hillhouse needs a strong leader. One strong leader not a triumvirate. Anyone who knows a little bit about history knows that never ends well.

To Alice B and ElmCity Voice. I am in complete agreement with your last comments. Hillhouse has to be restored to one principal and history does record that triumvirates do not work. But for the next school year, the House will have three people running three academies in the same space. This will be an entire year in the lives of the students there so we have to make the most of this until the mayor and the other school board members can stop the madness. The board will should have to answer for turning over the controls of this school district to someone who views urban kids as subjects of experiments. Harries continues to make bad decisions that are then passed by all but one board member. We are witnessing the dismantling of our school system because no one has the courage to stop it. If Joyner and Goldson are elected, they and Ms. Caraballo will be seen as malcontents. Knowing them I am sure they will wear this title proudly and fight for what is right, even if the mayor and other board members vote against them. If this happens, the people will have to rise up and support their efforts. This will not be easy. But you are right about the three principals organization. It is a misuse of public funds and just plain stupid. The combined salaries of the three principals is ,when combined with fringes, over a half million dollars. This is a colossal waste and indicative of the mind of an entitled, unqualified superintendent who is "playing" our city with the consent of a school board that should be managing him.
It will take a long time to get this right. The longer Harries is at the helm, the more likely we will continue this downward spiral. In the meantime, you will have to work together to do the best you can while pressing for a regime change.

Just read the sheet from BOE meeting tonight. Val Jean is not coming to Hillhouse. She is going to Co-Op. But the most interesting thing is she is also getting approximately 9000 more dollars going to Co-Op!!! The sheets had her getting 134,000 going to Hillhouse. Now they have her getting 147,000 going to Co-Op!!! Amazing. My salary was frozen back in 2000 for three years. I am now making 20,000 less than all those hired at my same number of years. No one ever adjusted that inequality!!! Just saying

Val Jean is getting 13k more not 9k. Sorry. But David Diah is getting 14,000 more than one month ago when he was appointed assistant principal. Now as an interim principal his salary went up 14k and he hasn't lifted a finger. By the way Val Jean is going from a permanent principal at Hillhouse at 134,000 to an interim at co-op and 147,000. Am I missing something???

If Alice B's report is correct and Val Jean Belton, a former Hillhouse teacher and Co-op administrator is not coming to Hillhouse, who is? We are days away from the beginning of the school year and apparently our BOE has not decided who should be the next one-third principal of Hillhouse High School!
Belton knows Hillhouse, graduated from Hillhouse, taught at Hillhouse for years.
Her coming to to Hillhouse brought some glimmer of hope to those watching this horrid nightmare exposing itself to the New haven public.
The BOE had plenty of time to decide what they wanted to do with Mr. Carolina. They had months to select his replacement. Now school is about to start and one-third of the grand Harries Hillhouse triumvirate has not been selected!
If this report is correct who made the decision to change what was announced, Mr. Harries or Ms. Belton?
Did Ms. Belton consider that the quagmire at Hillhouse was a challenge she did not want or did someone offer her more money to stay at Co-op because there are forces who want Hillhouse to fail? How does an administrator get $9,000 more for going to a different New haven school? (Aren't administrator salaries based on seniority and degrees like teacher salaries?)What in New haven is going on here?!?!
WE NEED TO KNOW NOW what is the plan for Hillhouse?
Is Mayor Harp on vacation? Or is she a Cross graduate?
Parents need to read up, wake up and speak up!
And every taxpayer from Westville to Newhallville to the East Shore need to do the same thing!
THERE NEEDS TO BE AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT OF THIS WHOLE SAD, SORDID HILLHOUSE MATTER!

Did the Independent cover the meeting last night. Can you please give us any updates that were discussed?

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