Cross, Hillhouse Getting New Principals

This man, Mr. Sweeting, is not and never was an AP at Hillhouse. We received notice of this appointment at 2:30 last Friday. There will be plenty of people attending the board meeting tonight to discuss this appointment.

Omg say it isn’t so Cross has lost an awesome principal,her leadership skills will help many congratulations to one of the best good luck 😘

Is there anything more NHPS than declaring that there is no money and then creating a made up position outside the schools for $170k? The multi assistant superintendents and countless supervisors and directors can’t do professional development? Absolutely shameful. How about using the $ to attract qualified teachers to fill the empty 160+ vacancies in our children's classrooms not to create new positions in central office!

The administrative salaries in New Haven are absurd. Are we getting our money's worth? What do they produce at the end of the day? I understand the principal's have a boatload of responsibilities and pressures but these obscure titles that sit at 54 Meadow? Come on New Haven, pay your teachers and stop wasting taxpayer's money.

Who will be principal of Cross?
[Paul responds: They said a search has begun.]

From a parent's perspective, Mr. Sweeting has been a wonderful assistant principal at Beecher, and he will be missed! He is very passionate about supporting students and extremely dedicated and enthusiastic about his work. I am sure he will bring this with him to his new role at Hillhouse.

Crazy salaries for administrators. How about more $ in the trenches, less in the towers?

Why is the professional learning job now a director position (a raise higher than the old supervisor job by at least $10K)?? Why is another person who was sued in three other districts being rewarded with a central office job? Are we back to the days of hiding problems?

@TFA2013, I agree. These salaries are absurd when we can't keep a teacher because of the pay discrepancy with other cities and towns. (not minimizing the challenges that come with the position).

Director of professional learning and leadership development as of July 1, according to a personnel report prepared for Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. The position pays $171,684 a year. *Are you serious? A new position when we can't keep people in the ones we have, i.e., teachers, paras, etc. Yes, parents get to the BOE meeting and demand a better salary for the overworked teachers. Write letters to the Board of Ed and the Board of Alders. These salaries for the administration of NHPS are incredibly generous. At the same time, we lose teachers left and right to better positions elsewhere in the state for fewer headaches and more money. Get with the program Board of Ed; New Haven has to get competitive with other cities and towns.

the salaries are not monies well spent. New Haven is far from a first-class city, and does not need to pay first-class salaries to attract or keep first class talent. Facts. The money is paid to keep people quiet about the failure to impart first class education to all students. These administrators take it, take it, and run with it. Nothing improves. Ever.

where else can someone get a job for $170K with no accountability for results?

Whole heartedly agree with all previous comments. It is shameful the salaries that are being paid to people who work at central office while NHPS pinches pennies on paying teachers competitive salaries. Teachers in New Haven are some of the hardest working people I know and the salaries far from reflect that. While teachers take pay freezes and lowball offers, administrators and central office workers making 6 figures with no accountability. The students and staff of NHPS deserve so much better. How sad.

No lies detected in these comments. Additionally, staff and families are well aware of the ineffectiveness of that $170K position. We’ve watched over the last couple years where absolutely no positive student outcomes have come of it. Or any outcomes. At all. And now a huge city high school with huge problems is left unhelmed in order to fill this “need” downtown, where there are already obviously and openly at least a million dollars in wasted salaries? And this is all being done openly, publicly, above board. At this point the shame lies with the citizens, staff, families of the city who just refuse to demand better of their “leaders.” I mean good for them, getting theirs. Who wouldn’t, left utterly unchecked like this?

I'm going to ask a question that I think I already know the answer to, but I'm willing to be further educated if someone has a better answer. Have all/any of these senior NHPS administrative positions at 56 Meadow St. made any appreciable difference in the academic and/or social performance of the NHPS students over the last 20 years or so? Looking at any of the historical data available it seems to me that NHPS students have consistently scored very poorly So, how have these very well-paid senior administrators made any difference, and what exactly is their purpose? Who is monitoring the effectiveness of the NHPS, the Superintendent, the BOE, the Mayor? It really seems that the abdication of responsibility has been quite widespread.