5 NHPS Administrators Reappointed

this is a lot of money. and not a lot of detail about what these people actually do and will actually do.

Maybe these salaries are part of the reason why there is a need of an increase of funding… not for money that will go directly towards materials for our children. Top heavy school system we have- who will hold them accountable? We seem to have a BOE that gives the green light to everything that does not improve the daily environment and classroom climate and education of out children.

Of course the leadership team of the school board will be rewarded with contract extensions and huge salaries. What other group of leaders could have a 5 year streak of some of the worst performing schools in the country. It is an incredible achievement, worthy of national recognition. Perhaps a trip to the White House.

Mses. Keisha Redd-Hannan, Linda Hannans, and Gemma Joseph Lumpkin are intelligent, hardworking, and committed educators. I know this to be true. I don't know Mr. Whyte and Ms.Flegler. The hard work and commitment of professionals in any organization are some (but not all) worthy indicators to use to guide rewarding and retaining people over the years. But, the assumption is that success will follow if you're smart, work hard, and long enough. Of course, that's not always true. The missing factor here seems to be at least slightly obvious: "Where is the success?" We all know public education is a function with many moving, constantly changing parts. Still, it's OK to think, "$862,509 is a lot of money," and still, it's OK to ask, "Where is the success?"

While I understand the need for staff retention to carry on administrative duties, why retain all of these jobs/people if the district is consistently underperforming and broke? There are schools now that don't have PAPER. And they've been told they won't get any more because the budget is frozen. So kids suffer but not the people at the top? If the way they've been doing things has failed, why aren't they looking at restructuring? How are they paying all of their obligations THIS year, before extending expensive contracts for next year? They know they don't have the money to cover this year's budget, they know they aren't getting enough money to cover the budget they submitted for next year, but they still keep rubber stamping these high end salaries into the mix? When not all schools have all the teachers they need? Make it make sense.

The lowest salary listed above is 4 times that of a teacher in New Haven....let that sit in your mind for a minute.

I just received an email from my principal. Not only was this letter nonsensical but it was grammatically outrageous. This individual wants to be referred to as Dr. What exactly are the requirements to obtain an Ed.D??? Guessing a command of the English language and proper usage of said language isn’t one of them.
So, the person who made the comment concerning the inflated salaries has a point.

Great points made about job performance. Or test scores consistently very low and no accountability on these administrators who continue to make big money. Always focus on teacher accountability not that of administrators. In the private sector where most people work they would never be employed based on their job the past years. They are masters of spinning numbers and pretending that our children are making progress during meetings. A+ for the skills of deception.

So NHPS is working on yet another "new reading curriculum"! How many different reading curriculums has NHPS gone through in the past decade? . . . at least three that I can remember. Perhaps if the teachers spent more time on a reading curriculum and stuck to it we might see some improvement. However if the "targets" are constantly changing because the curriculum is different, what are we trying to accomplish? In the meantime we have students who become teachers, some become administrators, some get the title of "Dr." appended to their names, and . . . they still can't spell or write grammatically correct memos! Can't make this stuff up.

Also, a reminder that New Haven teachers STILL are not allowed to give kids a failing grade, even if they don't do any of the work at all. The lowest grade they can give is 50. So the district is passing through kids who have learned nothing.

Anyone see the story about the Waterbury school superintendent? The board of Ed voted to extend her contract for 3 years, then the Mayor vetoed it. It's about time someone has the guts to hold someone accountable. Here are some quotes from Mayor Pernerewski: Pernerewski said he has been made aware of serious communication issues between Verna Ruffin and the school district's teachers and administrators. He notes that the results of a school survey reinforces this, calling it disheartening. "It is absolutely abundantly clear that a large number of our students struggle to achieve, as demonstrated by test scores well below state goals and state averages." The mayor said the district's test scores are not satisfactory and "we cannot be complacent about them." "I find it troubling that a majority of the Board of Education did not consider this more seriously," This is exactly how New Haven's Mayor and Board of Alders should be addressing the school board. But no one takes this seriously.