Principals Worthy, Johnson Leaving District

It is no surprise that these gentlemen left because NHPS would never allow them to go any higher than principal. The loss of Glenn and Joe is big for NHPS. Wake up Dr. Tracey.

This is just the beginning of the exodus from public schools. NO one will stay in a system where they can be arrested after THEY are attacked by students. Do you blame them?? Watch .

It's unfortunate that NHPS can't keep any male administrators and especially Men of Color! They just don't get promoted to Central Administration - Dr. Johnson, should have been promoted last summer, and Mr. Worthy should have stayed at Adult Ed or been given another admin job. From a community perspective, our homegrown people are forced to leave and are not promoted in NHPS. Our son's science Teacher at Hill House, who has taught 2 of our kids should be a principal or something! She helped one of our kids get into college! I always say to her, why don't you become an administrator? I see why now! Principal burnout! Central Administrators should be required to work in schools daily to see what's going on! Also, administrators should be rotated every five years. As -well - as directors, supervisors, and coaches. Their positions should not be lifetime positions! As community activists, we are sorry to see these 2 talented Men leave our community as Educational Leaders! It's a sad day in New Haven when these gentlemen can not be promoted within the NHPS and the yet out-of-towners who do not know the community are hired in to do the wrong surveys and people that use the N-word gets to be over student teachers! The community is upset over losing these wonderful Educators!

I’m very surprised that no one has mentioned that these two very well paid men are leaving the students in the middle of the school year. Where is the loyalty to our kids?

“ Glen Worthy is resigning as Hillhouse principal as of March 15 after leading the school for six years, to become chief of educational services for the state Department of Children and Families. In that role, he will oversee education in all the state’s juvenile detention facilities.”

• Congratulations to Mr Worthy! I hope you will transform education in the juvenile detention facilities with academic learning as well as teach social-emotional learning, and create access to therapy for detainees, and otherwise inspire and motivate juvenile detainees to improve their lives through academics and personal interactions, and making better life choices. You will have a tremendous opportunity to guide those young people to overcome their past behavior and to aspire to change for a more promising future.
  Congratulations to Mr Johnson! Hopefully the lessons you learn as an assistant superintendent in the Waterbury school system will lead you to return to New Haven’s school system with fresh ideas and plans to guide the NHPS in the future.

I too want to point out my surprise that these two highly qualified educators leave students, staff and community in the middle of the academic year… this is unimaginable and do hope that central office takes notice.

I wish both of these men well in their new endeavors.
When opportunities of advancement are offered that will benefit an individual's career, and benefit them financially, they have a right to seize those opportunities when they are offered. Not one person whining about these men leaving the district before the end of the school year would abandon the chance to earn 20, 30 or 40 thousand dollars more in a different position. Not one.
Ideally, it would be nice if their dedication and commitment to the schools and students would have compelled them to stay until June, but when money talks people walk.
Unless some of these commenters have some inside information, how do they know that these two principals were denied promotions to central office positions? How do they know they wanted such jobs? Mr. Worthy himself said he thought he would have remained at Hillhouse until he retired!
The New Haven Public Schools does face a serious problem of attracting and retaining good teachers and administrators. Pay, benefits and working conditions are serious factors. If NHPS cannot compete with suburban districts, such exoduses as we have seen for years will continue.
We must pay our educators more, and come up with strategies to better reward, respect and retain them.
We must also do what we can to attract graduates of the NHPS to enter the teaching profession in their own community.
Whatever the problems causing these matters we must work together as a community to address and resolve this dilemma.

I can tell you for a fact that I would not leave my position mid year for another job no matter the increase offered. Look, integrity is important, far more important than money.
We are also assuming an awful lot when we assume they were head hunted. Maybe just maybe all is not what you may think.
I don’t think tears are being shed at JHHS.

I do not know anything about these men so can’t comment on them but it does seem strange they are leaving in the middle of the school year. My only surprise is that the Independent is not blaming Mayor Elicker for their leaving.

My experience as a current Hillhouse parent is that the administrators at this big high school, with such a diversity of needs from its students (and teachers), do not get enough support. They ask for things from the district that are routinely ignored (water? Spanish-speaking clerk?) and then have no choice but to carry on with very minimal "back-up". Hillhouse's needs during and coming out of the pandemic are more than they were before (more than other high schools), and resources have been less. Hillhouse has so many strengths, especially in its diversity and straight up perseverance and doing more with less, and it is constantly disrespected and underestimated by many New Haveners, including many within NHPS. But it is functioning at full capacity and burn-out is real. The school is stressed, and it is neglected by the district. It is treated as if its challenges are big enough that they are not worth trying to address.

Yes, there have really positive developments over the past few years (and initiatives that Mr. Worthy has started) but the day-to-day at Hillhouse is really tough for many and the burnout is real. Not everyone in the building or the district would agree with me on this, but I've been in the building and know from my kid and from others that there is a capacity issue that is always less than what it needs to be.

I wish Mr. Worthy well and in his new role, and I hope he will get the support he needs. I, too, wish it were not in the middle of the school year--just so much harder for the kids, parents, teachers etc. The engaged staff at Hillhouse are routinely performing Yeoman's work; at the same time, many are unhappy, unsupported and are leaving (or honestly should leave). Maybe central office will now pay more attention to our needs. Maybe they will listen more, communicate better. The students, staff and families of Hillhouse are not "problems". We are people asking for accountability, and this leadership change is an opportunity for that.