Branford Eagle

Schools

Nineteen Bucks

by Diana Stricker | Feb 8, 2012 11:04 am

As the state legislature convenes today and begins its battle to fix Connecticut’s ailing education system, State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D-Branford) is promising to fight for Branford’s share of state funding, no matter how meager it is. That was on Monday.

As it turned out, Branford’s piece of a proposed new $50 million statewide pie is $19 per student. That announcement came today.

Gov. Dannel Malloy announced early today that he plans to increase state education funding by $50 million, with the largest amounts going to the lowest-performing districts. According to his proposal, not all districts would receive additional money.

Branford, with a current enrollment of 3,326 students, would receive an additional $19 per student, bringing its total share to $397 per pupil.  The district currently receives about $1.8 in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funds.

Guilford, which would not receive any additional funds, had 3,706 students in 2010 and currently receives $3 million in ECS funds. Click here to read a CT News Junkie story on Wednesday’s developments.

Reed’s long-term goal is to revamp the archaic funding system to make it fair to all districts, she said.

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$50.7M Branford School Budget Proposed

by marcia chambers | Feb 8, 2012 4:45 am

UPDATE—Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez put forth a $50.7 million school budget for the 2012-13 school year last night, a budget designed to emphasize universal pre-kindergarten, world languages at the 4th grade level and hiring an instructional coach in needed areas—for example, writing and reading comprehension.

He also pressed for additional technology learning, both for teachers who still “don’t feel comfortable” with technological advances and for students who do. His aim is to give students at each level the technology best suited to their needs. He said he would not give up on books. 

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Parents Want Walls

by Diana Stricker | Jan 27, 2012 12:30 pm | Comments (7)

School officials at a parent advisory meeting spent most of the evening talking about budget priorities and anti-bullying policies, but what parents wanted to hear was how the district plans to fix the outdated middle school.

Parents say the open classroom concept, that was popular when the Francis Walsh Intermediate School was built in 1972, is no longer conducive to learning. They say the lack of walls between the rooms results in high noise levels and too many distractions for students.

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Police Probe Branford Teacher-Knife Episode

by marcia chambers | Jan 18, 2012 3:16 pm | Comments (4)

After talking yesterday with top school officials, Branford detectives have initiated a criminal investigation into the actions of a Branford High teacher who flaunted a long kitchen knife in front of her social studies class last Thursday. She apparently told a student to duck and made a throwing gesture.

School officials confirmed they confiscated the knife.

The tenured social science teacher has been suspended. A substitute has taken her place.

Schools Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez moved quickly on Friday to inform parents and guardians of those students in the teacher’s class of the event that unfolded Thursday. He wrote them last Friday that the proper authorities will be investigating. Click here to read that story.

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Back On The Job

by marcia chambers | Jan 17, 2012 12:31 pm | Comments (1)

Four special ed paraprofessionals, abruptly fired from their elementary school jobs last June after their new union was formed, have their jobs back.

Back in July, Annie MacDonald ( far left in photo above), a field organizer for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 222 of the Independent Labor and Police Union, which represents the paras, said:  “There is no just cause here for these firings.” Click here to read a story about the firings.

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Teacher Suspended After Wielding Knife In Classroom

by marcia chambers | Jan 16, 2012 8:23 am | Comments (10)

A tenured social studies teacher at Branford High was put on administrative leave last week after she allegedly brandished a knife in front of her students.

Within hours of the incident, the school’s principal and the superintendent’s office removed the teacher from this class and all others she taught and told parents why. 

The teacher, who has been at Branford High for a decade, was placed on administrative leave after she displayed the knife last Thursday in a freshman history class. The circumstances that led her to display what was described as a long cutting knife have not been disclosed.

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Parents Protest BOE Move

by Diana Stricker | Dec 22, 2011 8:44 pm

It appears the school superintendent may get his wish to move the Branford School District’s administrative headquarters to Walsh Intermediate School, despite pleas that the targeted space is already being used by several school groups.

“I’m very confident we can work out the scheduling and space issues,” said Hamlet Hernandez, who is serving his second year as superintendent.

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Bullying Plan Drafted

by Diana Stricker | Dec 16, 2011 11:03 am

Branford school officials are seeking input from parents, teachers and students as they prepare a “safe school climate plan” to meet a number of new state requirements connected to the new school bullying law. 

Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez said the surveys will be distributed before the holidays to enable the district to complete the plan in January and submit it to the Board of Education for approval.

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Stringent Teachers Contract Reached

by Diana Stricker | Dec 7, 2011 2:43 pm

The Branford Education Association and the Board of Education have reached a contract agreement for the district’s 308 teachers that freezes salaries for the first year, and awards increases of about $700 per teacher in both the second and third years.

“It was a compromise from both parties,” Board Chairman Frank Carrano told the Eagle. “We were hoping to come in even lower than that, but it wasn’t realistic. …And they were looking for more.”

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From Graduation To Gateway

by Diana Stricker | Nov 21, 2011 2:11 pm | Comments (1)

More Branford High School students have chosen to attend Gateway Community College after graduation than in previous years, according to a new analysis put together by the high school. The number of students attending four-year colleges has held relatively steady, indicating that the increase appears to be coming from a pool of students who previously got jobs or joined the military.

The economy has affected trends in college attendance for Branford High School graduates, with a marked increase in students attending two-year colleges, according to information presented at the recent school board meeting.

“You can look directly to the economy for that (increase),” said Branford High School Principal Lee Panagoulias. The guidance department concurred, stating in the report that “The current economic climate has affected trends in the application and attendance college process.”

Of a total 277 students in Branford’s 2011 graduating class, 50 are currently enrolled at Gateway Community College in New Haven. Twenty-one students are at the University of Connecticut and 15 attend Southern Connecticut State University.

Continue reading ‘From Graduation To Gateway’ »

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