History-Making Schools Chief Starts Listening

New Haven’s first-ever Latina schools superintendent greeted Ecuadorian-born student Bryan Panata with an ​“Hola,” made a Puerto Rican geography connection with Wilbur Cross junior Lunaa Omar, and remarked on how bilingual education has advanced since her childhood days working to learn English in a basement classroom.

Madeline Negrón did that Thursday on the morning after the Board of Education voted unanimously to hire her to succeed retiring Supt. Iline Tracey starting July 1. She began a planned ​“listening tour” of the city’s 41 public schools by popping in on Lincoln-Bassett Community School and Wilbur Cross, where 65.3 percent of the 1,625 students are Latino. Districtwide, Latinos make up the largest demographic group of students, at an estimated 48 percent and rising.

Students and administrators greeted Negrón at Cross, where her daughter Gabriela graduated last year.

The history-making nature of Negrón’s appointment was not lost on Yale-bound senior Chelsea Coronel (pictured above), one of the greeters. ​“I feel excited,” she said. ​“It’s really nice to see another Latina in a higher position. It makes me feel I can do the same.”

After treating his new boss to a snickerdoodle scone prepared by Cross’s award-winning student culinary program, new Principal Matthew Brown brought her to two ​“sheltered content” classrooms that weave English language learning into other subject matters. In the first class, in a bright room on the second floor, Negrón spoke in Spanish with (from left above) seniors Axel Gonzalez of Guatemala and Jheenly Valeria and Bryan Panata, whose families moved here from Ecuador.

Kate Errico (pictured), one of the class’s two teachers, was asked if she had a message for the new superintendent. ​“Support your teachers,” she responded. And: ​“We need more teachers.” She and her co-teacher in this class have 15 students, ​“a beautiful number.” But because of a shortage, the number rises to 27 in another class, which makes it ​“hard to manage” at the students’ varying levels. Wilbur Cross currently has 12 teacher vacancies, representing 10 percent of the budgeted positions.

“It felt like home,” Negrón said after leaving the classroom, thinking back to when she was 10 years old. Her family had moved to Willimantic from Puerto Rico. She spoke only Spanish. She, too, found herself in an English learners’ class. Only that one was ​“down in the basement by the boiler.” And once she advanced to mainstream classes, without the continuing support and integrated curricula found at Cross.

In the second ​“sheltered content” room, a science class taught by Andrennecka Daley, Negrón chatted with junior Lunaa Omar (pictured), who was excited to learn that he and the superintendent hailed from nearby municipalities of Puerto Rico: His family from Toa Baja, hers from San Lorenzo.

Negrón began the morning greeting pre-K‑8 students arriving at Lincoln Bassett. Elected officials (including Alder Richard Furlow, pictured) above …

… and presidents of the three public schools unions — teachers’ rep Leslie Blatteau (pictured above), administrators’ rep Sequella Coleman, and paraprofessionals’ Hyclis Williams — showed up, too. They pledged to work with Negrón to improve public education. ​“We are all rooting for Dr. Negrón’s success,” Mayor Justin Elicker declared. ​“We are all united. New Haven’s coming together because we care about our children.”

Negrón spoke with second-grader Diane Flucker while making the rounds of Mercedes Ellis’s second-grade classroom …

… then sat in on a ​“school quality review” held in a different classroom. Principals had gathered there from schools across town. They heard how test scores have risen dramatically thanks to extra efforts made to help students who had fallen behind; how out-of-school suspensions have dropped to 15 this year; how 70 students are showing up for after-school ballet, zumba, robotics and other activities that last until 5 p.m. Principal Rosalind Garcia (at right in photo) said a looming challenge now is figuring out how to help students already performing at grade level; their scores have not shown the same improvements. The principals prepared to observe several classes, then return to the room to share observations about how to make that happen. In between, they were treated to a batch of Lincoln-Bassett music teacher Kevin Farrell’s coveted homemade chocolate-chip cookies.

Such collaborative school quality reviews resumed last month in New Haven after a three-year pandemic pause. Negrón said she was glad to see them still going strong; she had helped organize some of the early ones when she served as principal of Hill Regional Career High School. Negrón, who is 50 and began her education career 28 years ago, worked as a teacher, principal, and district administrator in New Haven before moving five years ago to an assistant superintendent post in Hartford. She was asked if she had ideas about how to strengthen the ​“quality review” ​“instructional rounds.” At this point, as she returns to New Haven’s schools, she’s ​“listening,” not ordering changes.

On her way out the door, she watched high-energy parent involvement coordinator, Keith Young, teach Mayor Elicker the multi-step handshake patented by the ​“Batman Bunch,” an informal mentoring network he formed for the school’s young men. Negrón promised to give it a try, too — in a future visit.