nothin Mayo To Tackle Morale, Tame Truancy | New Haven Independent

Mayo To Tackle Morale, Tame Truancy

Markeshia Ricks Photo

Mayo, back in charge.

Returning temporarily to the helm of a school system he ran for over two decades, Reginald Mayo said he hopes in eight months to turn over to New Haven’s next superintendent a district with higher faculty and staff morale, fewer absentee students, and a narrowing achievement gap.

After sitting through a shorter than average Board of Education (BOE) meeting Monday, where he was named the interim superintendent of schools, Mayo spoke about what he hopes to accomplish in the less than one year that he has to lead the district.

The former long time superintendent, who will be paid for a maximum 174 days at a per diem rate of $750, or $130,500, said it will be a challenge, but he’s excited about coming out of retirement to suit up for the home team. (Mayo will continue to collect his pension while serving as interim superintendent, according to district spokeswoman Mercy Quaye.)

Mayo is taking over from the man who was his successor when he retired in 2013, Garth Harries. Harries tendered his resignation in September after enduring more than a year of criticism from both the board and the public. His last day is slated for Nov. 1. The BOE is on the hunt for Harries’ permanent replacement.

I think there is a morale issue in the schools,” Mayo said after the meeting Monday. I’m sitting here listening to negative, after negative, after negative. You wallow in that sometimes.”

During the public comment section of the meeting, Mayo sat in the audience and listened to a parent who called for more accountability for students with individual education plans and a community member who seemed to suggest that the district is failing to teach reading and math. He also heard a continued call from paraprofessionals to not be used as substitute teachers. He heard about a lack of resources and culturally appropriate learning materials.

Mayo also got to hear teachers, instructional leaders and administrators push against what they saw as misinformation, particularly when it comes to data and student performance.

The perception is that schools are bad in urban America,” he said. You’re always fighting that tie. You always have to fight to put positive things out there. But we have some of the best curriculum in the state — in the country. And it’s done by teachers. It’s engaging and we change it every five years.

He said New Haven is progressive in making early childhood education a priority, pointing out that some school districts still don’t have full-day kindergarten. He also pointed to the reading and math specialists in every K‑8 school. New Haven has done well,” he said. There are urban districts that just can’t believe it when we talk about some of the resources we have.”

Harp: Time to highlight the positive.

Mayor Toni Harp, who also serves as BOE president, suggested that it might be time to start highlighting the positive at board meetings. Mayo agreed.

We’ve got to stop people from just talking up the negative, because it starts catching on,” he said. We’ve got to turn this thing around, otherwise morale will stay low. We’ve got some hardworking teachers in this school district. We have some very, very capable people, competent people in this school district. We have competent administrators in this school district and we’ve got a lot of parents who just don’t care about their own children. They care about all the children. Let’s take those human resources and get some positive action out of it.”

He said part of that starts with him, but it also starts with a a board that functions in a more positive way.

I think you have to realize that if you’re at the top and you’re positive — I really believe it filters down,” he said.

Cicarella: New Haven teachers have earned their swagger.

New Haven Teachers Federation President David Cicarella alluded to the need to not only recognize the good that is happening in the district, but to remember how far the district has come. He said when he speaks to new teachers at orientation he’s honest with them about the state of the schools before the district undertook a reform drive.

I say to them that years ago, it really wasn’t all that great to be a New Haven teacher,” said Cicarealla, who was a classroom teacher for 22 years and instructional coach for six. He pointed out that back then, teachers worked in decaying buildings, we had low test scores, morale was low. People tended to go other places and they would look down on us.

It was a very different place,” he said. Now buildings are newer, morale is much different, and the school reform work has been a centerpiece of it. The joke I make to the new teachers is that you walk with a swagger if you’re from New Haven. Everyone knows us and that we do good work. Despite the bumps in the road, we have done very good work along the way. It’s time to move on from where we are now.”

Claudine Wilkins-Chambers called for more truancy enforcement.

Mayo said part of moving on will involve setting the stage for the next superintendent. He credited the outgoing Harries for making sure the transition is smooth and said he hopes to do the same for the next superintendent. In his mind that means not only focusing on morale, but also making sure that students come to school, that parents are involved and that everyone is pulling in the direction of closing the achievement gap.

I think as I look around and in talking with the board we’ve got to continue with [closing] the achievement gap,” he said. That’s the core and the basic elements of what we’re here for. It’s teachers, educators, curriculum and instruction. It’s teaching kids how to read, write and do math. That’s always number one in my mind.”

Cousin: The district needs a vision that people believe in.

Attendance is important,” he said. It was important when I became superintendent, and it still is. If we can’t get them to school, how can we teach them? They’ve got to be here.”

Before laying out any specifics, he said, he wants to get reacquainted with the school system and how it has changed in the three years that he’s been gone.

Harries and Mayo chat before the BOE meeting

But he’s optimistic about the challenge, which includes student testing coming up in just four months. He said he hopes that eight months from now he will help facilitate a similarly smooth transition.

Garth has given me a great transition,” he said. It’s the kind of transition I hope I am able to lay out an equally smooth transition so that the next superintendent can hit the ground running. I want to have it orderly and laid out — everything in curriculum, instruction, data, financially. But I’ve got to really catch up quickly.”

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