Branford Eagle

Schools

Back On The Job

by marcia chambers | Jan 17, 2012 1:31 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 9:23 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 9:44 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 12:03 pm

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 3:43 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 3:11 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.

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Performance Pay? Longer Day?

by Diana Stricker | Nov 3, 2011 1:05 pm

Branford’s school board is facing tough challenges in the months ahead as members attempt to upgrade educational programs and foster better test scores despite the tight economy. 

The Branford Eagle asked the six candidates vying for three seats on the Board of Education (BOE) to answer the following question: Thinking out of the box, what new policies do you have in mind for turning around schools or programs in trouble?  (For example, should principals have performance pay? Should there be a longer school day? Do you have your own idea for helping schools with poor test scores?)

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Schools Look Beyond Test-Score “Snapshot”

by Diana Stricker | Oct 24, 2011 12:23 pm | Comments (4)

“What’s the first thing we have to do when we start a problem like this?” asks a Branford teacher in a video clip of a math class. 

“We have to understand it,” responds a fourth-grade boy.

“Understanding” was the crux of a 90-minute presentation at a Board of Education meeting last week. Branford’s superintendent and five school principals explained how students performed on standardized state tests and how the district intends to address low scores in reading and comprehension in some schools.

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Paraprofessionals Protest Firings

by marcia chambers | Aug 16, 2011 12:05 pm | Comments (18)

A newly formed school paraprofessionals union has filed a series of legal complaints against the Board of Education (BOE), asserting it engaged in anti-union conduct when school officials terminated three elementary school special ed paras, including one who was a leader in the union’s formation last spring. A fourth para was terminated in July. 

The four paras who worked at the Mary Murphy Elementary school were told they lost their jobs because of anticipated “budgetary cuts,” a union official said.  Nonetheless, nine new special ed job listings, including four at the elementary school level, were posted on the BOE website Aug. 1. The union asks that its members be restored to their jobs.
       

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Special Ed Paras Fired

by marcia chambers | Jul 7, 2011 11:20 am | Comments (12)

Shortly after the Branford school system’s paraprofessionals voted to unionize last month, three special education paraprofessionals, two with long seniority, were abruptly fired from their jobs at the Mary Murphy Elementary School.

“There is no just cause here for these firings,”  said. Annie MacDonald, a field organizer for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, Local 222 of the Independent Labor and Police Union. The Branford paraprofessionals and teachers aides joined the local after a campaign this year to achieve a more secure workplace. 
   

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