In Defense Of Moore

Dr. Mayo, I have a few questions:

You said, "Ms. Moore did not disappoint. Under trying circumstances, she has done an excellent job in her first year, producing concrete and measurable academic and school climate results." Maybe you haven't been talking to the right people. Her performance disappointed me and just about everyone I know. By no measure did she do an excellent job; in fact, by no measure did she do even a passable job. As for school climate, the district's own school climate survey is strong evidence that climate isn't good; even Garth Harries was quoted as saying that everyone wants climate to improve at Cross.

Further, student scores on the three assessments you mentioned were in no way attributable to Mrs. Moore, who has provided no direct leadership in instruction that I ever saw. Also, those are only three of many assessments. What about the others? Student attendance went "all the way up to 84%? Please. That is absolutely horrible attendance.

Disciplinary and behavioral improvements? If the only measure of success were the number of suspensions, you would have a point. However, discipline was not good. You should walk the halls for several minutes after students are supposed to be in class, and you will see that very large numbers of students haven't even tried to get to class yet. Hats and radios and cellphones, all of which are clearly banned by school rules, are displayed throughout the school; almost no one even tries to enforce the rule anymore. Many teachers have stopped trying to enforce these and other rules because they want to avoid blatant disrespect. You see, suspensions will decrease if rules aren't enforced.

You haven't justified your statement that she has required greater academic rigor. I haven't seen evidence of that either.

I am left speechless by your statement, "But as the initial shock of change has worn off, Ms. Moore has begun building strong relationships within the school community that will enable her to take the school to the next level." I'm sure that many at Cross are equally speechless.

Dr. Mayo, I will be respectful of you, as I have been toward Mrs. Moore, but I take exception to your statements.

Mr. Mayo maybe right about her accomplishments but going after a student for speaking up about what he sees as a problem within the system is just being a bully.Is this coming from Meadow St or does she not know about our 1st amendment.I for one applaud this young man for having the courage to stand up to the system.With so many of our youth running our streets and getting in trouble is this the way we want to treat one of the good ones.

others not as well. Its academics need to improve for all students. The student body is remarkably diverse with students from all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups, a strength that also brings challenges.
-------------------------------
Finally downtown realizes this! these overpaid out of town supervisors and assistants get all excited about AP students and their teachers (wonder why?) and those of another color get left behind! Does Dr. Mayo know the real reason why he and THIS principal and us local NH born teachers are bashed all the time? Take a guess!

Cross has been working under a grant that supports increasing enrollment in AP classes; these are not classes for a select few and there is a push to encourage as many students as possible to participate.

As for your intimation, please note the positive coverage of many, many others in New Haven Public Schools, including principals Mr. Carolina and Ms. Lott.

The wagons are circling as they always do, to defend the indefensible, to say that black is white, the sky is purple and manna falls from Heaven every Monday morning at 9AM. What passes for a defense of WC Principal Moore by Dr. Mayo, is now an indictment of the man who leads the system.

@solsbury, Dr. Mayo has been at the helm of this failing school system for years. That's why he gets bashed. Did you read his interview in the Advocate back a few years ago? His defense was basically 'what do you expect me to do with the students I have to deal with'? If we are going to talk about race, what I find most offensive is that a man of color would allow his system to fail children of color so badly.

"I Strongly Disagree" hit the nail squarely on the head in his or her comments. I will add that the increase in the graduation rate mentioned by Dr. Mayo is the result of the controversial credit retrieval process whereby students do a few hours of work online to get credit for a class that they previously failed. Hardly an improvement to boast about.
The more bothersome claim is that of the "strong relationships within the school community". With whom? The students who feel alienated by the student council election annulment and the attempt to curtail graduation speeches? Or the teachers who made it clear in the survey that they don't feel respected or supported?
I will work with Ms. Moore to try and improve the school but it is counterproductive to alienate teachers, students and parents, and claim progress where there is none. Hopefully we can start the new year in a better spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

This article is well-written and remarkably nuanced. Its tone was measured and even conciliatory. I very much appreciate hearing from the head of NHPS. I have difficulty reconciling the language of this text with many decisions and actions I have observed over the past years. I request that our Superintendent of Schools begin to deal with all of his people, or employees, in the same fair-minded and responsible manner as inferred by the language of this article. Then, school reform here in New Haven will take off like a rocket; all that is missing is light instead of darkness.

Solsbury, I'm just going to take a guess but I suspect any "bashing" you receive is coming your way because you're a teacher with incredibly poor grammar who claims that students of "another color" can't succeed in AP.

It's admirable that Doctor Mayo is publicly supporting his subordinate. I can only hope that behind the scenes he's having a very serious conversation with her about her poor attitude towards her staff, students and the community.

The most comforting thing about this statement is that even the administration admits Peggy Moore wouldn't have been their first choice for Cross and was only pressed into a position for which she is unqualified and ill-suited as an emergency option.

Doctor Mayo talks about the improvements at Cross but seems to have taken his lead from Peggy Moore by not once mentioning the teachers who have made this happen. Apparently despite ignoring and in many cases undermining those dedicated teachers actually working with the students Peggy Moore is prepared to take all the credit for any improvements while throwing teachers and students under the bus for all the problems she's caused.

It's ironic that Doctor Mayo would mention the Cross valedictorian and salutatorian and their accomplishment of attending Yale when one of the "sensational highlights" he's clearly referencing was Peggy Moore's decision that those hard working students didn't represent the student body and shouldn't speak at their graduation. Is this the type of "change" Doctor Mayo believes is necessary?

It's extremely telling that Doctor Mayo references people focusing on the "negative and highlighting the sensational" in regards to Peggy Moore but then chooses not to identify those well publicized issues or offer a defense for her actions. This is clearly because her actions, specifically her immoral and shameful handling of the recent student council president elections at her school, are utterly indefensible.

That Peggy Moore has proved herself willing to abuse her power to silence student criticism ( http://bit.ly/lo7c8M ) makes it all the more important for the rest of the New Haven community to continue to speak up against the damage her poor attitude, control obsessed personality, and incompetence are causing Cross and the greater New Haven community.

Doctor Mayo has obviously issued this, rather weak, defense of Peggy Moore on the eve of a holiday weekend in the hope it will go largely unnoticed while people are busy with vacations, barbecues and fireworks. The number of comments here compared to those on other similar articles shows the tactic has so far proven effective. It's important we don't allow this story to fade away in the summer sun.

I applaud the New Haven Independent, The New Haven Register, City Wide Youth Coalition and everyone else who has helped publicize the unacceptable manner in which Peggy Moore has chosen to run the largest school in New Haven. It's only by coming together as a community that we can effect the change so clearly necessary at Cross.

To Mayo: Why is it that whenever you, your office, or your principals are taken to task for incompetence, there is always some excuse made by you, your office or your principals?

How come "trying circumstances", as well as the "challenges" from socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups are never considered when teachers are evaluated?

Teachers are in the trenches. Yet when they express concerns about a shortage of support staff, lack of parental and student accountability, limited supplies, broken technology and administrators who don't follow their own CSP, they often are brushed off by administrators and downtown as mere complainers making excuses.

The numbers you cited are nothing about which to boast. Teachers who make the same progress in their classrooms are placed on "plans of improvement" for failing to show enough gains, for crying out loud!

Better get your $79K-per-year publicity director on this one! For as one incompetent principal under your employ always tells staff: "No excuses!"

Meantime, HEY PEGGY: Now that Mayo's put it in writing that you are so great, you should DEMAND A RAISE!

lame!

It is commendable that Dr. Mayo has come to Mrs. Moore's defense; factually, what choice did he have? I hope he does not dig in his heels as he did at Roberto Clemente for 9 years until it was too late and the school had to be turned over to a private company at the costs of $456K per year in additional expenses; this is at a time when the City of NH is in dire financial straights.

Of course, we also remember that Central office administrators who told the BOE last Dec. that they were retiring in June also got an extra $10K on top of the $99,600 retirement income. Yet, students at Wilbur Cross had to protest not having enough text books to take home to be adequately prepared for exams, etc. We all know what happened to the students who participated. Now we are to believe the $79K NHPS spokesman (Hoffman) that the disbanding of the Political Action Club at Cross and the faculty advisor's sudden resignation had NOTHING to do with the principal behaving like a dictator! Isn't it odd that two advisors to student groups involved in civic activities mysteriously resigned or could not attend a meeting for the students' election?

Isaiah Lee's participation in the PAC had everything to do with the club being disbanded and the nullification of the legitimate Student Council elections. Then she threatened to prevent the Valedictorian and Salutatorian from speaking! Outrageous! Why hasn't Dr. Mayo addressed these issues? This is really adding insult to injury.

As a refresher, I invite everyone to read the article in the New Haven Advocate of April 12.
http://bestof.newhavenadvocate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67786&catid=1&joscclean=1&comment_id=1597&Itemid=342. And read also the article published in the NHI

Snubbed Students Vow Standardized Test "Strike"
by Melissa Bailey | Apr 18, 2011 7:41 am
(27) Comments | This is what got the autocratic principal and Central Office steamed

This matter cannot be swept away with data spun to highlight the positive. We agree 100% that she must have done something right; we certainly hope so. However, she has caused a great deal of problems and these MUST be addressed in a manner that is respectful and thoughtful of teachers, parents and students, and in ways that will make it easier for everyone at WCHS to move forward in a constructive and hopeful manner.

Lastly, offering on-line classes that might not improve learning, and doing other things that do not improve education but simply booster graduation figures is an injustice equivalent to robbery. Parents, while it might be great that your child is getting out, it is even more important to ensure that your child is being prepared for college. Your child needs to be in class where we hope learning is taking place; where he/she can ask questions and interact with other learners. Maybe the records at WCHS needs to be audited.

When a principal of color makes a decision, the comments are all about political connections, or which church they go to.
Too long comments here talk about the Cross "honors" program... and it's only THIS school that gets coverage on "student issues", because of that population. Teachers and parents didn't care when the man running the school let scores slide and grad rates drop for YEARS. As long as no one took cell phones away from THEIR students, or increased THEIR honors class size, or affected THEIR chances of getting into Yale.
I have to deal with ALL students, how many of these comments are from teachers that would never dare ask to try to teach a class of 27 minority New
Haven students. But that is most of the classes across the city.Cometeach at my school. Yet we continue to not even to stand up and demand our curriculum, courses, and schools , and leadership reflect that....

It's time, Dr. Mayo. It's time to tell the truth, and the truth is that you know that appointing Mrs. Moore to the principalship of WCHS was a terrible mistake. Anyone can make a mistake, but it takes character to admit it and to rectify the error. ..

Mrs. Moore may or may not have been a good principal at BRAMS. She controlled the students and staff, and she probably kept the parents in line, but that isn't any informed person's definition of a good principal. Still, she did it and she got away with it for years, probably because her behaviors made life easier for her superiors. Unfortunately, it didn't serve the school well. I note that the climate survey for BRAMS has improved since her departure, and I expect that it will continue to improve.

In her year at Cross, a very different school, her focus hasn't been on learning the school, its students, its staff and its parents, probably because her assumption is that she could go to Cross and run it like a larger version of Betsy Ross. Somehow, she seems not to recognize that her thinking has been badly flawed, but that may be because she has never had an honest exchange of ideas with parents, students or teachers. Her approach has been to conceal her insecurity beneath a steely armor that keeps everyone at a distance, reminding all that Cross is her school and that it will be run as she sees fit.

Anyone who sees even the potential for success with Mrs. Moore as principal is uninformed or isn't paying attention. Do what is right and replace her.

I work in New Haven at a K-8 school which I love and I am proud to work at. My principal and assistant principal are excellent, hard working and give 100% to our school especially the students and staff, with that said I think a lot of these negative posts are coming from teachers at Cross who may have been asked to work harder than they have in the past or perhaps not use their cell phones during instructional time. Ms. Moore walked into a mess and is doing her best to clean it up, it is by far one of the toughest jobs I can think of, change takes time just wait next year will be a much better year at Cross!

The joke is the assistant principals, so much talk about how many there are assigned to Cross a closer look should be at what they do and don't do. I work at Cross and trust me there are two assistants who work endless hours and are versed in their knowledge the rest need to have someone truly evaluate their effectiveness.... Another two are assigned simply to lunch waves that is a lot of money for lunch supervision!!!

While I agree that the triumphs Dr. Mayo highlights are not very impressive, and while I too wonder about Ms. Moore, I think it is important to recognize that school culture also plays an important role here. Ms. Moore took on the unenviable task of running a school with seriously entrenched problems. When teachers have gotten used to letting disciplinary infractions (like phones, hats and radios) slide for fear of disrespect, I have a hard time imagining anyone fixing the school in a year.

There is no question here that Dr. Mayo is using the same kind of tepid statistics the district always uses to claim achievement where only mediocrity exists. We have a long way to go as a district to improve, and claiming success when the evidence points to at best an absence of failure, won't get us very far.

That said, this defense of Ms. Moore is a bit of a double edged sword. If she is responsible for the successes of her school (marginal improvement in test scores, two students out of 1200 working their butts off to get into Yale, improved disciplinary numbers) then we must also hold her responsible for her failures (a school where a scant 40% of teachers believe the school has high academic expectations, where 26% of teachers believe the school helps students find the best way to achieve, 34.2% trust the principal, and a whopping 27.6% of teachers agree that the principal makes the school run smoothly).

Whether or not Ms. Moore is the devil some commenters would have us believe, the public should expect much better growth in 2011/12, if we are to be comfortable with Ms. Moore sitting in that seat in 2012/13...

No surprise that Doc would defend Moore. They are both peas from the same pod... The rules for admins and teachers are so very different. Teachers in NH are generally treated with disrespect from their administrators. Teachers as a rule show respect for their superiors but are not given the same respect back.

Many Teachers are treated as if they are loosers if they have difficulty teaching their curriculums while attending to the many extreme discipline problems in the classroom. This year I taught an intervention reading class of 21 students. The class consisted of 6 special Ed students and 15 basic and below basic language arts students. My task was to bring them up to the proficient level or above. The problem was that 21 students with significant reading problems, special ed needs, and a variety of discipline issues made it almost impossible to make significant gains. I spent most of my time putting out fires. The disrespect shown between students was nearly impossible to change. But i did make progress, small gains, but progress nome the less. I would challenge Doctor Mayo, or either of my principals to do any better. As I see it, my reading intervention class was nothing but a dumping ground for low achieving
students with behavior issues.

Dr. mayo, Peggy Moore, and many other administrators engage a bullying mentality. Rule by fear is their strategy. Unfortunately, this does nothing to improve a school's climate. And Garth, don't think for one second you are getting a true picture of a school when you are walked around by administrators who are acting like entirely different people in your presence. It is a common joke in the staff room after you leave.

Peggy Moore should step down and so should Doc Mayo......now that spells REFORM!

To I Strongly Disagree, Noteworthy, et al:

Many strong voices have commented on this article. Unfortunately, most are trained on denouncing a principal who for decades has dedicated herself to her profession. Perhaps those lobbing shots should consider switching professions and try to make it as the principal of an city school like Wilbur Cross.

I am a WCHS graduate. I was also a New Haven teacher at Betsy Ross, under Mrs. Moore. I now work in ed policy. The uncomfortable fact is that it takes a strong character and discipline to inveigh order on a school like Cross. Just as with other urban high schools, there's a reason that a competent new principal couldn't be found to assume the position - it's an extremely demanding job that requires skills that would be well-compensated in the private sector and no one was willing to take it on for the salary offered. Hence, the need to raise salaries to attract talented school leaders - a keystone to improving schools like Cross.

Alas, students at Cross chose to vent their frustrations about administrators' salaries. I understand the unseemliness of having administrators make six-figure salaries amidst funding cuts. However, while attempting to quash the student rallies was an overstep, Mrs. Moore is only acting in the best interest of her most important stakeholders - students.

If those here in the peanut gallery wish assail Mrs. Moore for her approach, I say show us you can do better! Why don't YOU become the ideal transformational leader you desire to see working in our public schools? The world would be a better place for it, surely. And if you abstain from the challenge, please ask yourself, in a rigorously honest way, why you chose not to seek such a profession. The hours? The stress? The pay? The potshots from the hotshots online who swear they know how to run your school better but don't walk the walk?

I hear a lot of criticism but don't hear anyone talking about what they would do to realistically improve student outcomes at my alma mater. Putting down Mrs. Moore does not lift any one up. It is not constructive. It only detracts from the important work that needs to be done.

Last, I would like to include the words of Believer, who is probably spot on in his/her analysis of the situation:

"I think a lot of these negative posts are coming from teachers at Cross who may have been asked to work harder than they have in the past or perhaps not use their cell phones during instructional time. Ms. Moore walked into a mess and is doing her best to clean it up, it is by far one of the toughest jobs I can think of, change takes time just wait next year will be a much better year at Cross!"

Dr. Mayo

You did the right thing and this whole thing has snowballed against Ms. Moore who is only trying her best to restore Cross. I would like you to encourage you to look at the huge expense of all the assistant principals at Cross, Hillhouse and not to mention the one on special assignment at Fair Haven!!! Do we really need assistant principals soley doing lunch duty??

@believer in NHPS:

Your use of irresponsible speculation in saying, "I think a lot of these negative posts are coming from teachers at Cross who may have been asked to work harder than they have in the past or perhaps not use their cell phones during instructional time" is very insulting to me and probably to every other person who posted here. ... You dismiss my expressions of legitimate concern by suggesting that the complaints are grounded in laziness and unprofessionalism! What I have expressed on this site is based upon my personal observations and experiences, and many other posters have confirmed what I have expressed.

Many of the very best teachers at Cross have remained at the school because of a deep sense of commitment to urban education, as well as to the belief that Cross has some unique strengths. In fact, my colleagues and I have made one another stronger. It is this belief in Cross that has made us so passionate about the most unfortunate direction the leadership of the school has taken this year

Your suggestion that we give Mrs. Moore another year to make things work would be soundly rejected if this were a school in the affluent suburbs, where parents have the expectation of excellence among their school leaders, and where they would sharply rebuke a superintendent who said, this was the best he could do under the circumstances.

Furthermore, another year will only deepen the damage. I have seen no improvement that gives me even the slightest hope that she will be better in year 2. Cross students deserve no less than do their suburban counterparts.

It's telling that the few people who've come here to support Peggy Moore have embraced her bullying tactics.

Rather than attempt to offer any actual defense for any of Peggy Moore's inexcusable behaviors (clearly listed in previous articles and here in the comment sections) her defenders have decided to simply throw wild insults and accusations at her critics.

According to them, all the teachers here just lazy bums who'd rather talk on their phones than teach while the community members are either racists or "hotshots' who apparently don't deserve to comment because we're not high school principles ourselves.

It's a sad and desperate tactic to take against dedicated teachers and community members who are simply concerned about our schools, our students and our community.

To Mark Beasley-Murray:

I wasn't going to chime in until I saw your post. I am a teacher at Cross and I can assure you that most of my colleagues and myself work extremely hard and are extremely professional. We are treated with little to no respect from our administration, and are left to fend for ourselves in most circumstances. Fortunately, I am extremely passionate in the subject that I teach and I have a great rapport with my students and I love teaching the kids.

From what I've seen and can tell you, Ms. Moore's leadership is based on fear. These are people's livelihoods and teachers ARE scared. The end of the year, all teachers had a meeting with Ms. Moore and you saw teachers sitting in chairs in the main office, as if they were students awaiting "discipline". It was a very unpleasant experience. While I was not at BRAMS and cannot speak to Ms. Moore's successes or failures, I can tell you that the dynamic of High School is much different than a K-8 magnet school. However, am I saying I could do her job, absolutely not!

When you make comments like that, questioning our professionalism, it is very insulting to me and our hard-working, highly qualified staff. In the future, please be mindful of this.

"Reginald Mayor Reporter"???
I have heard Reggie Mayo called many things, but "reporter" was not among them. You do your readers a disservice presenting him as a journalist when in fact he is merely writing a self-serving opinion piece.

Figure out a way to separate opinion from journalism. PLEASE.

Maybe Mrs. Moore should be returned to her previous school. While there, I read no negative articles. OR make her an assistant principal at Cross where she will be responsible for lunch duty. Then the students will have their constitutional rights of freedom of speech and to organise restored. But most importantly, replace Mayo and Destefano for change one can believe in. They are the two most detrimental components to New Haven and NHPS system.

I must reply to "Mark Beasley-Murray."
If you are indeed a Cross graduate, have been a teacher and are now in ed policy, then surely you must have experienced what truly ails our schools here in New Haven. It is not a lack of physical facilities or even books. It is not a lack of academic degrees or certifications. It is not a lack of money. It is not even a lack of leadership. IT IS A LACK OF A SERVANT'S HEART WITHin THOSE WHO RUN OUR SCHOOLS. There is no light in the upper environs of NHPS. There is only a group of executives who are as disinter-mediated from our classrooms as can be. For once I agree with Michelle Rhee, it is too much about the adults and not enough about the kids. As someone in high management at Waterbury Public Schools commented to me during a meeting, "Boy, they really know how to play the game in New Haven." Or as another ed executive said to me, " New Haven has the parents in their pocket, unlike those poor bstrds in Bridgeport." Running a school system is not like running a business. A business has revenue as its bottom line. A school system , especially an urban school system like ours, has a much more complex dynamic as its "bottom-line." My suggestion to you is to take a another look at Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." And, please do not assume that those of us who criticize NHPS management are less aware or even less qualified than yourself.

If people ever wonder why the NHPS just can't seem to succeed, even after an infusion of an enormous amount of money for construction and the development of innovative restructuring plans, and even with the huge amount of funding from the school improvement grant, it's a story like this that provides the explanation. Cross, although not a magnet school, is fertile ground for impressive reform, but even though the superintendent and all of his support staff know that the school's principal is a detriment, they put her there and will leave her there. To do otherwise would require an admission that they had made a mistake. So they will continue with their creative (but dishonest) spin, telling a story that overlooks the heart of the problem: the lack of leadership. But this is worse than a lack of leadership; it is the antithesis of leadership.

This is a principal who doesn't engage with teachers, students or parents. She rules from the throne room, (the main office), where she can meet with her close associates, look at her computer and talk on the telephone. How does that give her a good sense of what is happening in the school? How does that provide her with open and honest feedback from those who might provide insights that might help her to make good decisions? It doesn't. This principal who never worked in a high school before the recent school year is satisfied learning about the school from a couple of close associates who sometimes do venture out into the school.

Here is what I see happening at WCHS in the coming year: Mrs. Moore will continue to fail at communicating with her school community, leaving them uninformed about what is happening or about to happen in their school. She will continue to treat students and teachers and parents with disdain, attributing her attitude to the need to clean up the school and to run it "the right way." Not understanding the meaning of leadership, she is satisfied with absolute control. However, if she knew anything about adolescent development, she would know that the degree of control she wants over students is harmful. If she knew anything about leading adults, she would know that they are less productive with her at the helm, not only because some great people are demoralized, but because a reign of terror causes staff to take only the safest courses of action, keeping their heads below the line of fire. If she knew anything about working with parents, she would know that they have insights and ideas that can help the school staff. If she knew anything about leadership, she would understand the need to lead by positive example. If she knew anything about leadership, she would know that the leader should focus more on what is right with the school, encouraging more of it, than on being incredibly negative and unhappy all of the time.

Cross deserves so much better, but I expect that people need to get used to this as the "new normal." And in a couple of years, we'll be trying to analyze why Wilbur Cross is still failing its mission to educate all students.

posted by: believer in NHPS on July 3, 2011 9:14am
"I think a lot of these negative posts are coming from teachers at Cross who may have been asked to work harder than they have in the past or perhaps not use their cell phones during instructional time."

--------------------------------------------

"I think" and "perhaps" are neither facts nor measurable. Moore's school climate results and poor handling of Isaiah Lee are.

You wouldn't think it fair if I said: "Perhaps you love your job because your principal allows you to attend professional development sessions during instructional time while other teachers must wait until after school for PD."

What's most amusing to me about this is that Mayo thinks he has any credibility or that we should trust his evaluation. He has proven that he is incompetent as the superintendent by the fact that he has to bring in outsiders to run things. This would be most comical if it wasn't doing such a disservice to not just our young folks but to everyone who lives/works/plays in this city.

I'd be curious to know how many of the folks committing the crimes and other 'antisocial' acts are graduates of NHPS. What years did they attend and how was the school graded at the time? I know of several who attended Clemente during the 9 years it was on the federal fail list. I never connected till now their behavior (mostly stemming from a lack of hope leading to really bad choices)and their public education.

Indefensible Moore,

If you are in favor of seeing New Haven public students excel, then we are on the same team. Please allow me to put my comments in context.

First, let me say I have no firsthand knowledge of what has transpired at Cross with Moore at the helm. What I can say is that, when I was a student there from '94-98, the school was in near-crisis when I entered - race riots, school shootings, a P dropout rate, fireworks in the hallways. These things changed substantially under the leadership of Kerry Bryant, a tough-talking Aussie who came to the helm in '96. Students complained. Teachers complained. Yet despite complaints, the school improved considerably. Not dramatically, but there wasn't a climate of, for lack of a better word at the moment, wildness. Five students were accepted to Yale my senior year, for whatever that's worth.

I see many of the same traits in Mrs. Moore as were in Dr. Bryant. It's unfortunate that's she's apparently stepped on toes and hurt some feelings, and perhaps infringed on students' rights to mobilize against school policy. But in the first few months as a principal there, I can forgive her for forgetting that high school students are not really just older eighth graders. Still, the public debate on Mrs. Moore is too lobsided, and I think it is because folks do not know what it is to walk in the shoes of Wilbur Cross principal. There's a reason for the high turnover.

It's not easy being the principal of an urban high school like Cross, but it is easy to attack one. Apologies for suggesting non-principals do not have the right to criticize Mrs. Moore. You do. But the biggest thing people have here against the lady is that she shut down a pesky student group and made more than a few folks feel insulted? This just doesn't seem to merit so much attention and negativity, which is why I had hoped to provide some balance - I also apologize for the negativity in my own comments.

Look, Mrs. Moore was a good, hard-working principal at Betsy Ross. She wasn't interested in holding teacher's hands (that's what instructional coaches and other supplemental staff are for). She wasn't interested in kumbayah. She just wants people to do their jobs and do them well, knowing that if this is the case, then the school will function well. Teachers who didn't do their job well complained. Students who were out of line complained. Betsy Ross flourished.

To Mark Beasley-Murray:

Please read the specific issues described in the many postings about the failed leadership of Peggy Moore. Those of us who have worked in other challenging urban schools under effective principals know what a principal can be and do.

The WCHS you described doesn't describe the school today, but that has nothing to do with Peggy Moore because it wasn't like that last year either. There have been incidents this year, as last year, but the utter chaos you described ended long before Mrs. Moore's arrival.

For some reason, you seem fixated on her lack of her having "stepped on toes" and having "hurt people's feelings," attributing people's unhappiness to that. I don't know any staff members who judge her as ineffective because they have been wounded by her behaviors, and you should give the faculty credit for being better than that. Teachers know that the principal doesn't have to be their friend, just as teachers don't befriend students. The concerns expressed are of far greater substance than that. Have she and I been in disagreement on issues? Yes. Has she hurt my feelings because of it? No.

Just as she wants teachers to do their jobs and to do them well, so do teachers expect that of her. The principal doesn't have to be a hand-holder, but the principal does have to be a person with vision and an instructional leader. In order to be that, the principal needs to know the students, the staff, the instructional program, as well as the organization and the operations of the school. She needs to be directly involved in instructional improvement (which she is not), and she needs to communicate. She needs excellent interpersonal skills, especially in a large organization like a high school, because she has to have many people doing the work of the school. Peggy Moore fails on all counts.

Leaders are communicators because the followers need to know the direction they are taking. She is not a communicator.

Leaders don't waste their time formulating excuses for their failures. They acknowledge them and they remedy them. Based upon her behaviors, she is the same person now that she was when she arrived.

Leaders don't spend their time bemoaning the difficulties of the job and complaining about the disadvantages they have suffered. No one is forcing Peggy Moore to be the principal of the school. She has said that teachers who are unhappy with (complete the thought with whatever the discussion happens to be at the time) can just get out. Yet, she appears to be the most miserable person in the building, always looking overwhelmed and unhappy. How can someone like that inspire anyone?

Please don't trivialize our concerns about the direction (or lack thereof) of the school during her principalship. The urban high school principalship is a very challenging job and it requires a special person to do it. Peggy Moore is not that special person.

I speak from the perspective of a parent who has two children at Cross, plus another recent graduate.

During my children's tenure at the school, there have been three different principals, which is not a good thing in itself.

My impression is that the principal's position at Cross has been a way station to retirement. I find it noteworthy that they can't find (excuse my ageism) a younger principal who could make a ten-year commitment to the job.

A small, but telling point about Moore is that she apparently can't be bothered even to make the informational recorded calls that go out to parents regarding subjects such as exam schedules, vacations schedules, and other news about the school. I found that receiving a phone call, "Hello, this is Principal Coggins.." at least put a voice to the position, and made a kind of virtual connection.

More important, studies consistently show that the performance of a school and the achievement of students is associated with the level of the principal's involvement with the educational mission of the school.

One source among many



http://mdk12.org/process/leading/p_indicators.html

"Effective principals are strong educators, anchoring their work on central issues of learning and teaching and continuous school improvement. According to Mike Schmoker in his book Results: the Key to Continuous School Improvement , the combination of three concepts constitutes the foundation for positive improvement results: meaningful teamwork; clear, measurable goals; and the regular collection and analysis of performance data. Principals must lead their school through the goal-setting process in which student achievement data is analyzed, improvement areas are identified and actions for change are initiated. This process involves working collaboratively with staff and school community to identify discrepancies between current and desired outcomes, to set and prioritize goals to help close the gap, to develop improvement and monitoring strategies aimed at accomplishing the goals, and to communicate goals and change efforts to the entire school community. Principals must also ensure that staff development needs are identified in alignment with school improvement priorities and that these needs are addressed with appropriate professional learning opportunities."

Does this describe the current leadership of Cross?

More simply, an effective principal is always visible, knows the names of the students, and is a presence in classrooms--even keeping a hand in teaching a course or two.

I don't know what Moore's vision is for the school. She never communicates a vision, but I can say that even if she has a great vision, she has failed to communicate it to the staff or students. The widespread animosity towards her is not a sign of effective "stepping on toes." It's a sign of stepping on toes to no identifiable end.

Compare and contrast Kermit Carolina at Hill House. Somehow--also an outsider to his school's culture--he has managed to shake things up while gaining, not losing respect, in the process.

I work in the mental health field. While I was a student in training at a psychiatric hospital, a supervisor of mine, said at a staff meeting,that it would be a good idea to lock all the professional staff out of their offices so they would have to spend their days with the patients. Unfortunately, the hind-bound culture of the hospital leadership couldn't accept this, and my supervisor was fired shortly after--for that statement and a host of similar ideas. But it would be a good idea to lock Moore out of her office to force her to engage in the life of Cross, and if she can't stand that heat, leave that kitchen.

MBM,

Stopping students from lighting firecrackers in the hallway is "discipline".

Censoring students who speak out against fat management salaries is abuse of power.

To everyone who has responded directly or indirectly to my comments: there are more complaints about Mrs. Moore than I was aware of. I would love to address each one on their merits, but I don't have the time.

Responders make it sound as if Mrs. Moore has burned out or is nearly there. I don't know if that is true. But if it IS true, then it can at least be said her flame burned hot.

I appreciate the very high level of expectations for performance the responders have for whomever occupies the Wilbur Cross principalship. I sincerely hope Mrs. Moore and her successors meet them.

"I would love to address each one on their merits, but I don't have the time."

Yeah.

If only Dr. Mayo showed the same loyalty to his primary constituency, the students.

The superintendent, his central office allies and the mayor talk about the need for reform, which means that people have to do business differently in order to get better results, but the CO continues to do some of its business the same old way, i.e., assigning ineffective people (often long-time allies or friends) to key administrative positions. How can they expect different results?

Case in point: Mark Beasley-Murray wrote in his last posting, "Responders make it sound as if Mrs. Moore has burned out or is nearly there. I don't know if that is true. But if it IS true, then it can at least be said her flame burned hot."

Mark is in a better position than I am to say that her flame once burned hot because he worked with her back then. Because I have worked with her at Cross, I am in the position to say that she doesn't have the requisite attitude, interpersonal skills, instructional background or understanding of the functioning of a high school to be an effective principal at Wilbur Cross. Her attitude seemed only to deteriorate as the year progressed and she became resigned to her unhappy assignment. No one can teach someone to have a new attitude.

Instead of passion for the role she has been assigned, she has demonstrated hostility. Further, her judgment in addressing both student and staff issues was very poor. Her lack of interest in establishing a relationship with parents has been disgraceful.

I don't know what will come of this, but I surely hope that teachers, parents and students aren't going to fall silent once this blog stops publishing articles about Mrs. Moore.

To Mark Beasley-Murray, your support of a former colleague who you felt was being unfairly attacked is commendable.

It would certainly be reasonable to chalk up her crushing of the student activist group as simply an overreaction from someone still finding her way in a new and unfamiliar position. Sadly her recent ham-fisted decision to throw out the results of the student council elections, and trash the reputations of the students on the council, simply because she did not like the results proves her earlier decision is in fact in line with her values.

Peggy Moore has now repeatedly and throughout the school year abused her power in order to bully bright caring students who were trying to work within the system to improve their school. If this was her one and only failure at Cross it would be a serious issue deserving a public uproar and a swift response from her superior.

But it's only one of Peggy Moore's many failures of leadership, competency and character this year at Cross.

There's no reason why you should have been aware of all of them, especially when more and more are revealed every day, or that you should have to respond to them.

That's someone else's job.

The problem here is that Doctor Mayo is very aware of Peggy Moore's numerous failures. But, rather than find a solution, and there are clear and obvious ones, he's chosen instead to try to issue the above "defense"... but without addressing even a single one of her indefensible actions.

Like you said, addressing each and every problem Peggy Moore has created at Cross would be a long and time consuming process. Still, Doctor Mayo gave Peggy Moore the job and as her supervisor it's his responsibility to offer students, parents, teachers and community members either explanations or more importantly solutions.

Now not every problem has a simple solution and being the Principle at Cross or the Superintendent of New Haven Public Schools can't be easy but when you make a clear and obvious mistake it's your job to at least try to fix it.

Peggy Moore and Doctor Mayo still haven't even taken the very simple, and clearly correct, first step of restoring the results of the legitimate Cross student council elections Peggy Moore decided after the fact to simply throw out.

The only solution is for students, teachers, parents and community members to continue to come together and simply refuse to accept this total failure of leadership.

Allow me to sidestep the controversy surrounding Mrs. Moore. As some in this audience appear interested in education policy research, I thought I would share a link to a 2009 article in the journal Education and Urban Society. The article, "The Influence of Salary in Attracting and Retaining School Leaders" gives a description of the dynamics for the school administrators labor market.

The article gives ammo to neither side of the Moore debate, but it does shed light on pertinent issues - why cocouldn'tsuitable principal be found at the rate offered in the first place? Why the large administrator salaries that begat the student protests? - albeit drawing from various research from across the nation, which is only so relevant to New Haven's circumstances.

From the publisher:
http://eus.sagepub.com/content/42/1/25.abstract

From a link I will keep active for one week:
http://mazzatur.com/pijanowski.pdf

Abstract:
This article examines the salary trajectory of teachers as they move up the career ladder into leadership positions. The issue of compensation is set in the context of a principal shortage that has been widely reported and discussed in the literature. Urban schools are shown to experience the principal shortage differently from rural schools. District size and school type show significant differences in the additional compensation offered for moving from teaching to various leadership positions.The influence of salary is discussed in concert with the changing role of the principalship and candidate's concerns about increasingly less desirable working conditions for school leaders.


Conclusion (final paragraph):
The pay changes at different stages of the leadership pipeline are less sig- nificant as people grow closer to the job. If fiscal incentives diminish as stress increases (the transition from assistant to principal) compensation will be less of a motivating factor. Although the disparity in pay found across dif- ferent types of schools is worthy of further study, it is important to consider compensation and working conditions together. Policymakers must consider the overall cost of restructuring the job of the principal to provide more sup- port, enable better connections with students and staff, and reduce stress. That cost can then be weighed against the expense of training more teachers to lead (despite the trend that many will never serve as school leaders), and funding pay incentives for a job that is growing increasingly undesirable.

Why "sidestep the controversy surrounding Mrs. Moore" in an article about exactly that topic?

No qualified applicants?
I daresay that one damn fine choice was a woman who graduated from Cross, spent her entire teaching career at Cross as an exemplary educator, spent far beyond the usual one year as an administrative intern (which means teacher pay with administrator duties)because she wanted to stay at Cross, was an extremely effective AP for more than five years and had the support and respect of the majority of the teaching staff at Cross in her application to lead the building. Icing on the cake is that she's now Dr. Sherban-Kline. There was and continues to be no one in the district who knows the students, staff and Cross community better than Dr. Sherban-Kline. And she wanted to lead the building. Dr. Sherban-Kline is apparently very qualified to run the new teacher evaluation program (actually, she's very qualified to do so), but run the building she's devoted her entire professional career to? Nope. Completely unqualified.

Jane Q,

You forgot to mention that Mrs. Sherban-Kline also attended Cross as a student and was head of the cheerleading squad.

But just because she has inhabited the building for most years of her waking life does not mean she is the ideal person to run it. ... I don't see how she'd be an improvement over Mrs. Moore, and your post did nothing to explain her leadership virtues other than to explain the woman has earned her doctorate. ...

You should re-read Jane's post. She made some very valid points about Dr. Sherban-Kline. A strong bond -- built on trust and open communication -- among administrators, teachers, parents and students is key to productive learning environment.

Principals who rule with an iron fist without respecting the input of teachers, parents and students will only get a school so far. There may be some initial improvement in test scores, but eventually, the growth ceases because people grow tired of the lack of professionalism and often leave the school, meaning the school essentially has to start over every time such turnover occurs.

The new Celentano (PK-8) is a prime example. It opened with a principal who had a strong elementary and middle school background, having taught for nearly 20 years and received "Teacher of the Year" honors in New Haven. Parents loved her and staff went through walls for her because she never asked anybody to do anything she wouldn't -- or didn't -- do.

She led by example. She invited input from teachers. She demanded hard work from all staff members -- and herself. She had no connections downtown. She loved the students. And the school's test scores, despite owing the highest SPED population in the city, were not alarmingly poor.

Her mistake? She spoke out to downtown whenever she believed something wasn't in the best interests of her students, teachers or support staff. Downtown "punished" her by transferring her and constantly nitpicking her performance.

Celentano now has a principal who has received two straight poor school climate evaluations (THE DATA DOESN'T LIE!), and run out many talented teachers only because they had the intelligence and courage to call her on her ourageously inappropriate directives that would have been detrimental to ther best interests of students.

This principal has less than 10 years of teaching experience and only at the high school level. How that qualifies her to run a PK-8 school is anybody's guess.

But that's New Haven. "Kids First" -- yeah, right!

...The way the student government was handled was wrong but to suggest random other leaders for this position is not the place to do so. I think it is bizarre that Dr. Mayo wrote this article

Congrats to the Cross teachers for all their hard work year and to the students leaders who are trying hard to make their school a better place. I wonder how much of all this - Moore's appointment to the principalship Cross, her attack of students who criticized administrative salaries, Mayo's unprecedented public defense of her - have to do with post at the helm of the School Administrators Association of New Haven - the union for administrators. Yes, NHPS school administrators have a union. Fascinating that in spite of so much coverage of teacher's unions we know and hear so little about the administrator's union.

Interesting note in this article (http://bit.ly/r875fe) on political contributions to the mayor's campaign...

"Peggy Moore, principal, $150 new, $550 to date"
Despite her repeated failures of leadership and character as the principle at Cross the administration continues to offer blanket support for Peggy Moore.

$550 is a small price to pay for a six figure salary and zero accountability.

I know many in the New Haven community who would gladly pay twice that to have Peggy Moore removed from Cross, who do we contact about that?