Parents Want Walls

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budget priorities and anti-bullying policies, but what parents wanted to hear was how the district plans to fix the outdated middle school.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.

Parents say they have been asking for changes for years, and nothing has been done.

“We can build a Taj Mahal of a firehouse and an $11 million building for snowplows, but we can’t build a school for our kids,” complained Anthony Gentile, who has a child at the middle school. 

“We all agree there are issues in this school,” said Frank Carrano, who chairs the Board of Education (BOE).

Carrano and superintendent Hamlet Hernandez were meeting Wednesday with the recently-formed Parent Advisory Committee at the middle school, where most BOE meetings are held. They assured the parents that officials are aware of the problems.

“It is clearly being looked at,” Hernandez said.

Carrano said the BOE conducted research on the building and looked at remedies a few years ago, but then the economy bottomed out. ​“We decided it was not the time … so we put it off.” He told the parents he would set up a committee at the end of the year to look at both short-term and long-term solutions.

“These things don’t happen overnight,” Carrano said.

One mother asked if temporary partitions could be put up around the lunch room to muffle some of the noise as a short-term solution.

Hernandez also raised the issue of the aging John B. Sliney Elementary School, which was built in 1929. He said it needs to be replaced. ​“I do believe in 10 years, we could have a renovated Walsh and a new Sliney,” he told the parents. In addition, he plans to move the central administration offices from 1111 Main St. to a new location, most likely the middle school. 

Meredith Gaffney, a committee member representing Mary Tisko Elementary School, asked if a special meeting could be scheduled to discuss the condition of the schools. ​“There are people who are very interested,” she said.

“You’re telling us and we’re agreeing but there are other bodies that need to hear about this,” said board member John Prins. Any spending proposals have to be approved the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting.

When parents asked why the school buildings were not included in the list of budget priorities, Carrano explained that construction issues are part of the capital budget, not the operating budget which the board is currently preparing.

Budget Talks

Hernandez announced that he will unveil his operating budget Feb. 8 instead of Feb. 1. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the high school. The BOE and administrators compiled a list of budget priorities after surveying residents about their concerns.

Of the 720 survey responses, 95 percent said that class size is the most important issue, followed by technology at 90 percent, and the state of school buildings at 82 percent.

Hernandez said he interpreted the survey results to mean, ​“Do not increase class size by reducing the number of teachers.”

Carrano (pictured) said layoffs in previous years did result in larger classes in some instances. ​“I think parents are saying to us, ​‘Don’t do that again.’”

Prins said studies show that larger class sizes for upper grades are not as problematic as for lower grades. He said larger classes at the high school ​“could free up dollars” for other projects.

Gaffney said she is concerned about what happens when students leave the smaller elementary schools and enter fifth grade at the middle school. ​“Maybe that needs to be looked at — that transition,” she said.

“It is unusual for fifth graders to be in a middle school,” Carrano agreed. He said a committee may be formed to look into questions about fifth grade.

Safe School Climate

Hernandez also discussed the Safe School Climate Plan that was unanimously approved by the BOE last week. The plan was mandated by the state as part of the new anti-bullying laws that were enacted by the state legislature last summer.

The new state law addresses cyberbullying for the first time; it directs school officials to investigate bullying whether it occurs in or out of school; and it requires training for all school employees, not just teachers and administrators. In an interview after the meeting, Hernandez told the Eagle that the state had provided no new funds to implement the plan. He said it was an unfunded mandate.

Hernandez said Branford’s new Safe School Climate Plan is not just an anti-bullying policy; it’s a pro-active plan to ensure that all students and staff have a safe learning environment.

Hernandez told the Eagle there were 24 verified incidents of bullying in Branford schools during the last school year. There are about 3,400 students in the district.

“Overall, our students feel safe over 95 percent of the time,” said assistant superintendent Mary Peraro, (standing) citing statistics from a survey conducted by the school district. 

“The number one area of concern in the middle and high school was cyberbullying — - that came out loud and clear from students and our staff,” Peraro said.

Board member Michael Krause commented last week that he is pleased that the district will be addressing cyberbullying. He said it seems to be more prevalent and difficult to monitor as the years go on.

Hernandez said the schools will be looking to parents to help monitor cyberbullying. ​“The biggest tool against cyberbullying is the parent….if you’re monitoring what your children are doing.”

One parent said that is not easy to do. ​“When you think you’re monitoring their Facebook page, then they have an alias Facebook page,” she said.

When asked about cyberbullying, 53 percent of students at the middle and high schools who responded to the survey said they felt it was a problem at their school.

During the BOE meeting last week, Dianne Dadio, the dean of students at the high school and the safe school climate coordinator, explained how the new procedures will work and outlined the time frame for reporting and investigating incidents. A log of verified bullying incidents must be kept and must be available to the public. Dadio and five other colleagues attended the BOE meeting, along with Peraro. They constitute the newly formed safe school climate team.

“This is probably one of the most … phenomenal, comprehensive reports,” Prins told the board last week. He said the survey results at the end of the report ​“could be very telling.” 

The survey was sent to students, teachers and parents in December to assess perceptions about schools and personal safety.

One survey result questioned by the BOE last week was a response from elementary teachers indicating that only 82 percent felt the culture and emotional climate of their school was positive and supportive. Hernandez told the board the 82 percent number troubled him and that it was something he would look into.

A total of 71 percent of elementary teachers who responded said there are clear-cut practices and procedures to address behavior and discipline.

But Peraro said the response level from elementary teachers was low. The survey response rate from staff at Mary Murphy School was 59 percent; John Sliney School, 12 percent; and Mary Tisko School, 29 percent.

In the data analysis included in the report, it was noted that some teachers are not addressing behavior problems that occur out of their classrooms, which they must do according to the new law. The survey said that 14 percent of elementary teachers and 9 percent of middle and high school teachers disregard misbehavior outside the classroom.

Peraro said staff and district employees will have a training session regarding the new policies March 21, and they hope to eventually provide a session for parents.

The 60-page Safe School Climate Plan and the survey results can be found on the district’s Web site.

ELL

Another budget priority discussed Wednesday was how to address the expanding population of students who are learning to speak English, typically referred to as English Language Learners (ELL).

Hernandez said there has been a 65 percent increase in ELL students in the past few years. ​“We really have ballooned up.” He said there are more than 40 different languages in Branford’s student body, but there is no one dominant foreign language. He said many Yale employees from other countries live in Branford and their children attend the local schools, resulting in a wide diversity of languages.

Hernandez said ELL classes are currently staffed by aides, not certified teachers. He said there are insufficient funds in the current budget to meet the ELL students’ needs.

Other budget priorities included expanding curriculum development, increasing after-school enrichment programs, expanding online options for high school students, and increasing the use of technology.

“These priorities are all important,” Carrano said. ​“It’s going to be our challenge to go back to town (officials) and say, ​‘We want them and we need them.’”

Hernandez told parents he appreciated their attendance at RTM meetings when the budget was discussed last year, but he said they also need to attend Board of Finance meetings when the budget is initially approved. ​“Your advocacy needs to happen at the Board of Finance,” he said.

Hernandez was referring to an outpouring of parent concern over teacher budget cuts that occurred at RTM meetings last year. Sandra Reiners, then the chair of the RTM’s Ways and Means Committee, told the group that the last budget hearing of the RTM is not the place for parental input. By law, the RTM cannot make those changes. Click here to read the story.

Reiners noted that pleas to take additional money ​“from an undesignated fund balance and increasing the budget by a million dollars” is not within the authority of the RTM. ” It is not within the power of the RTM to increase the budget beyond what the Board of Finance has. It is not within our powers. I just wanted to set that straight if you chose to address that issue.”

Marcia Chambers contributed reporting to this story.

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