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Newly appointed school administrators.
New leadership is on its way to Conte West Hills Magnet and King-Robinson Magnet Schools, as well as in central school district offices.
The New Haven Board of Education voted to approve two principal appointments and one supervisor of math at its regular virtual Monday meeting.
The board appointed veteran educators Tessa Gumbs-Johnson and Kenneasha Sloley to principal positions, along with appointing two teachers, four paraprofessionals, and three non-instructional staff, in a 7 – 0 vote.
Hill Regional Career High School Assistant Principal Monica Joyner was also approved in a separate 5 – 0 vote for the promotion to replace district Math Supervisor Ken Mathews, who plans to depart at the end of this school year.
Before approving the appointments the board discussed the perception of the Joyner appointment, as she is the daughter of board Secretary Edward Joyner. The debate was not over her qualifications, but rather the voting process.
“I have a fundamental problem with an opposition to administrator positions being promoted with family members sitting on the board,” said BOE member Darnell Goldson, who abstained his vote for the Joyner appointment at the Monday meeting.
“We can’t limit a family members’ opportunities just because there’s a member on the board,” Mayor Justin Elicker said. “New Haven’s a small place.”
Board Vice President Matthew Wilcox suggested that in such situations board members give their decision “extra scrutiny” to avoid the perception of nepotism. He said he did research before voting in favor of the Joyner appointment to be sure the appointment does does not violate the board Series 4000 policy on nepotism. (View the policy here on page 4210.)
Monica Joyner.
“I see a person with 20 solid years of experience as a math teacher and then administrative appointment at various levels that also included oversight of math instruction in the school,” Wilcox said.
Monica Joyner has served as an administrator at Wilbur Cross, Hillhouse, Troup, Conte, and Career over 30 years of service in the district
Superintendent Iline Tracey said the appointments went through the typical application process, which included four individual interviews.
Monica Joyner was appointed in a 5 – 0 vote. Ed Joyner recused from the vote and Goldson abstained.
“I’m excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead to help our students reach the enormous potential that lives inside of them,” Monica said after the vote.
Kenneasha Sloley.
Kenneasha Sloley will replace current Principal Dianne Spence, who plans to retire this year. Sloley has taught in Hartford and Guilford for the past 20 years.
“I’m honored and am extremely excited to continue the legacy and excellent of Conte,” Sloley said.
Tessa Gumbs-Johnson has been an educator for 24 years. She will transfer from being the district’s supervisor of professional learning to principal of King-Robinson Magnet School to replace Joseph Johnson, who recently resigned as principal in order to move on to be assistant superintendent of Waterbury’s schools.
“I accept this responsiblity in honor of all the people that have poured into me becoming more of who I am today,” Gumbs-Johnson said.
Watch the full meeting below.
Covid Updates
NHPS
Meanwhile, city Health Director Maritza Bond updated the board during the Monday meeting with current Covid rates and the federal metrics for New Haven’s risk level. (Click here to read about Bond’s previous presentation to the board.)
She reported that the city has recently seen a 100 percent increase in seven-day case rates from a post-Omicron low, with 31.4 cases per 100,000 and a 3.1 percent positivity rate in recorded PCR tests. Within the past week hospitalizations have increased to 23. (View the presentation here.)
The city is also monitoring for resurges of the BA.2 variant of Omicron.
One in 12 students has tested positive for Covid this academic year, which translates to 1,900 student cases. There have been 462 staff cases reported.
Forty nine percent of the school district’s 5 – 17 years old have received their first vaccination dose; 42.2 percent have gotten their second dose.
Bond told the board that the mask mandate remains in place in New Haven schools — unlike in surrounding districts — because of the district’s 40.1 percent of high-risk students with medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, life-threatening food allergies, cancer, cystic fibrosis, and/or obesity.
She added that over 60 percent of the district is made up of Black and Hispanic students and staff.
“We know that masks remain an important part of this multi-component approach to preventing covid-19 within k through 12 settings,” Bond said.
Bond debunked serval Covid-related myths based on national data, including that youth are not at risk of being hospitalized due to Covid and that Covid is not as serious as the flu.
She reported that nationwide, pediatric hospitalizations were at the highest point in the pandemic mid-January 2022. More than 1,200 children died from Covid; before the pandemic fewer than 200 children died from the flu each year, she said.
Goldson Seeks Benchmarks For Masks
Board member Goldson suggested that the district and health department collaboration consider establishing metrics and guidance for when the mask mandate will be safe to lift in schools.
“Some of our metrics are not going to change for, for instance, high-risk students,” Goldson said. “Is that the metric that we’re using to keep us masked? If so, then we’re never going to go maskless.”
“I understand the need for masks,” he said. “I just want to be able to give the public who we serve an idea of where we are going and how we get there.”
Elicker agreed offering the public with a sense of predictability would be preferred. But, he said, “the reality is with this pandemic, every two weeks things seem to change.”
The city does not want to commit to keeping or lifting a mandate for a set time period and take options off the table as case levels change weekly, Elicker said.
Also Monday night, the board voted to approve next year’s 10-month school calendar.
The board voted unanimously in favor of calendar option two, which was endorsed by the teachers union. The approved option sets the first day of school on Aug. 24 and the last day on June 14, six days earlier than option one’s June 20. The approved calendar also shortens the district’s winter recess in February to two days rather than four. (View two calendar options here.)
The first day of school looks like is Aug 24 for teachers (it's Aug 29 for students).
It appears that the net effect of recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday has been to make the school system decide to finish before that day, since it makes no sense to have a holiday on the Monday of a final partial week of school. So, its net effect seems to have been to kill February vacation week to fit the required days in. It's great to recognize Juneteenth, which is a really important thing to do and I'm 100% in support. But the way it interacts with the school calendar is unfortunate.