Board of Education Meeting Minutes

February 26, 2008

BOARD OF EDUCATION

SPECIAL MEETING

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2008

ATTENDANCE: Susan Hamilton, Chair; Jody Bishop-Pullan; Glenn Iannaccone; Bruce Kimmel; Greg Burnett; Jack Chiaramonte; Rosa Murray; Shirley Mosby (7:52 p.m.)

STAFF: Dr. Salvatore Corda, Superintendent of Schools

OTHERS: Ms. Deborah Richards, State Education Department Bureau Chief of Accountability, Compliance and Monitoring; Dr. Michael Wasta, External Consultant to the State Education Department; Mr. Warren Logee, Staff Member of the State Education Department of School and District Improvement; Ms. Susan Kennedy, State Education Department Bureau Chief of School & District Improvement; Nancy McGuire, Rowayton School PTO Co-President; Cathy Nash, Rowayton School PTO Co-President; Leslie Lawrence, Rowayton School PTO Grantwriter; M. Jeffry Spahr, City Attorney and Norwalk parent.

I. CALL TO ORDER – 7:45 P.M. – CITY HALL COMMUNITY ROOM

Ms. Hamilton called the meeting to order at 7:50 p.m.

II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Ms. Hamilton led those present in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. SPOTLIGHT ON NORWALK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Mr. Iannacone read the following statement:

Nathan Hale Middle School is one of the schools invited by the New England League of Middle Schools to continue in the process as a NELMS spotlight school. Officials noted Nathan Hale’s application materials were excellent and indicate that the school is worthy of this distinguished recognition. The school was selected because of its record of powerful learning and its consistent observance of middle school best practices. The process will continue with a visitation from one or two members of NELMS.

The New England League of Middle Schools through its vision, leadership, and programs, provides a network of services for learning about and implementing developmentally appropriate practices for young adolescents that will serve them in their ever changing world.

IV. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Cambridge Education Report

Dr. Corda said that the Superintendent’s Report will be a report given by the representatives from the State Education Department about the recent assessment the district received done by Cambridge Education. He said that the Cambridge Report puts things in context and provides information as they work to ensure that all the students meet the necessary levels of achievement.

Ms. Mosby joined the meeting at 7:55 p.m.

Ms. Deborah Richards, the Bureau Chief of Accountability, Compliance and Monitoring from the State Education Department, introduced Dr. Michael Wasta, External Consultant, Mr. Warren Logee, Staff Member of School and District Improvement, and Ms. Susan Kennedy, Bureau Chief of School and District Improvement. She said Mr. Adrian Wood, a consultant, was not present but is assigned to the Norwalk team. The team will continue to work with Norwalk on an on-going basis as they move forward to the second phase, or the improvement process, which is the most important phase of their work.

Ms. Richards explained that in the Spring of 2007, there were significant changes in Connecticut and the landscape of education in general. A new commissioner conducted a reorganization of the Education Department, and legislators struggled with many requests for increased funding in order to address student achievement needs in Connecticut. She said there is a huge challenge for the entire State of Connecticut, as it has one of the biggest achievement gaps in the country. State legislation was passed which required the Department to have more significant involvement with the local school districts around the achievement gap issue. Norwalk was in the group of districts, which started with 12, that used the criteria established by NCLB and were in year 3, in need of improvement.

Ms. Richards went on to explain that they don’t see the report as an indication that Norwalk is a failing district or school, or that the State is here to take over Norwalk. She said that the State Department of Education has a responsibility to Norwalk to do the best they can for the students, and they consider it a reciprocal relationship, or reciprocal accountability. Part of the interaction with Norwalk over the next year or two will be to assist the State Board of Education with identifying the real challenges in creating systemic change.

She said that the role of the Board of Education is being a clear partner in working with the school district. The challenge is being clear about defining what the role of the Board of Education is, and assisting with that effort to move forward. Parents are a key constituent in this process, also. She mentioned that throughout the entire process, none of their improvement efforts will be successful without the community and district support of the teachers.

Ms. Richards provided a handout to the board that listed the recommendations, activities that have already taken place, and questions/next steps.

The seven commendations follow:

1. Instructional specialists provide good support to kindergarten through grade 12 school programs, particularly in mathematics, language arts and science. Instructional specialists are highly regarded by schools, and are frequently mentioned as the strength of the district.

2. There has been some progress in raising levels of achievement in recent years, although not for all students in all grades. In order to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), improvement needs to be faster, particularly for socio-economically disadvantaged students.

3. The district has a good department of Information and Instructional Technology with a positive culture, instructional focus and well-constructed, phased program to schools. This department is doing its best, with limited resources, to improve the level of technology to support student learning in schools.

4. There is a well-managed and efficient school transportation system, focused on student achievement and welfare, which makes effective use of its resources.

5. In recent years, there has been a high level of investment in school buildings, facilities and resources, resulting in an attractive physical learning environment in most schools.

6. The district has recently started to provide high quality student assessment data to schools to enable them to evaluate issues and identify priorities more effectively.

7. There is a high quality teacher evaluation process which is rigorous and focused on student achievement.

The six recommendations follow:

1. Improve communication with schools, parents and the wider community. This should include more opportunities for listening to the views of stakeholders, encouraging participation in decision making, and ensuring the district’s values and policies are clearly and consistently communicated to, and embraced by all stakeholders.

2. Improve the district culture and climate which is regarded by many people in schools, central office, and the community (including parents) as lacking in openness and authenticity. Many staff and parents feel undervalued, disempowered, and isolated. District senior leaders need to take action to improve the district’s culture, in part by improving communication as noted above.

3. Focus greater attention on closing the achievement gaps between socially and economically disadvantaged students, including African-American, Hispanic and ELL students, and more advantaged students. This focus should include more differentiated programs to meet the specific needs of those students.

4. Ensure that the pace, range and implementation of curriculum and instructional change meets the requirements of all students and schools.

5. Commission a full program and fiscal audit of the pupil services department conducted by an appropriate external agency to determine key priorities for improvement. This will assist the newly appointed director of pupil personnel services in operating more effectively and equitably in supporting pupils with special educational needs. It will also bring benefits to schools and improve the quality of advice available to the district’s senior leaders.

6. The board of education and the superintendent should develop more effective and transparent processes for evaluating and making senior district staff more accountable for district performance. This relates both to student performance and the annual budget process.

Ms. Richardson asked if Board Members had any questions.

Mr. Kimmel thanked the representatives for coming out in bad weather, and for returning his phone calls. He asked about the test scores and the achievement gap, and why it didn’t talk about the scores of special education students. He didn’t want to conclude from this that they were satisfied. Ms. Richardson said that they weren’t satisfied, and she said that the other recommendation calls for a more comprehensive audit.

Mr. Chiaramonte asked about recommendation #5, and if the State would recommend an external agency. Ms. Richards replied that there are numerous agencies that could do the work. It’s not just about fiscal outcomes, but about program outcomes and student outcomes also. The RFP will identify what the pieces are that the review needs to consider.

Mr. Iannaccone asked when the district will be re-evaluated, and when the board will get updates. Ms. Richards said the next piece would be to look at the district improvement plan and to help to develop an accountability system in the district. The board’s role is to hold the district accountable to implement the improvement plan to see if the benchmarks are being made. The team that works in Norwalk will be available to come back and provide updates, but she assumed that Dr. Corda will be providing updates on the accountability and monitoring work on a regular basis over the next two years.

Mr. Burnett asked about technology, and in order to close the achievement gap they would have to have a strong technology infrastructure in place. He asked if this was an area in which they should continue to make a major investment in, or what specific areas should they be making the investment in? Ms. Richards said that the challenges with technology quickly change, and she asked if they had an infrastructure and a funding cycle that allows them to keep up with the changes, which is most likely an 18-month cycle. The appropriate software has to be in place as well, along with access to data.

Ms. Mosby asked about the curriculum, and if someone would come in and offer different approaches for teaching to enhance areas that are lacking. Ms. Richards replied that this was one of the first requests they had received from Dr. Corda. She said that the people she has already identified from the State Department are the people that will be working with Norwalk on an on-going basis with the district improvement plan, the accountability system, and the data teams. She assured them that the people have permission from the Commissioner to access any resource in the State Department of Education that a district needs in order to address the recommendations in the report. Ms. Richards said that the subcommittee on curriculum would be an appropriate place for them to get updates from the consultants in the department and from Dr. Lang.

Ms. Murray asked what benchmarks are used to identify improvements and what expectations they have with regard to improving communication with schools, parents and the wider community. Ms. Richards explained that a portion of that will be the discussion they have as the district works on the district improvement plan. They will work with parents and stakeholders to determine what the measurable outcomes are. It relates to parental participation and involvement, and how comfortable parents are being in the school, calling in to the school, etc. She said they are looking into how to reach out to parents that don’t speak English.

Mr. Kimmel asked improving district culture and climate, and the need for more open and transparent communication, which was listed on page 5 of the handout. Ms. Richards said that it is not a quick fix and it is a process that they have to go through as a district.

Ms. Mosby asked about how they would address what is going on in the district with regard to the atmosphere of mistrust, two-way communication, people feeling like they don’t have a say in certain areas. Ms. Richards said that it was identified as a priority need throughout the report. The district has already put some plans in place, and they would review the system of accountability for strategies, implementation, and level of success.

Dr. Michael Wasta, former Superintendent of Schools for Bristol, CT and now an external consultant for the State Department of Education, faced the same issues as Norwalk did. Seven years ago, they launched a nationwide search for a more forceful theory of action. They became associated with Dr. Douglas Reeves, of the Leadership and Learning Center of Denver, Colorado. Dr. Reeves’ initial work is all about accountability. Bristol, CT had remarkable success in improving student achievement. As a result of that, the State of Connecticut adopted Dr. Reeves’ model called CALI (Connecticut Accountability for Learning Initiative).

Dr. Wasta explained that the critical component is the holistic accountability system, in which the community determines the goals for the students in the district. It is an approximate 6-month process, all data-based, and Norwalk would determine what the products would be to come out of the system. He said that what gets focused on, gets done. A comprehensive accountability system starts with a broad-based task force identifying the outcomes that are being looked for, limited in number, based on data. The standard gets set, and then gets passed to the professional educators. It is then the professional educator’s job to devise the strategies that will achieve the goals that have been established by the community.

Norwalk has 56 action items listed in their current plan. Bristol, CT had 6. Norfolk, VA had 2.

Dr. Wasta said the next immediate step is to work on the district improvement plan, turning it into a laser-like focus, doing less but doing it in a more meaningful way and more effectively. He said the process will be to have the community of Norwalk decide what is important to them, what they want to have come out of this process. He looks forward to working with Norwalk, and he said he was encouraged by Dr. Corda’s openness and willingness. He thanked him publicly for that.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that she has been on school boards for many years and has heard similar plans that never got translated into action. She wanted to be assured that this wouldn’t happen again. Dr. Wasta replied that the system is based on transparent and open accountability. He said they will set a series of benchmark indicators that the board will respond to. He said that this is a 5-7 year process, with an unwavering commitment. While it will be extremely challenging, there is documentation and proof that this approach works.

Ms. Richardson invited the board to the CT Association of the Boards of Education three-part series, specifically designed for the 12 districts that have gone through the Cambridge assessment process. It will be at a central location near Meriden or Cromwell, from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. She said the invitations should arrive within a week. She thanked everyone and looked forward to their partnership with Norwalk.

Dr. Corda wanted to share some observations. He felt it was important for the community to know that Norwalk is not at ground zero. Work began on the curriculum revision seven years ago, and elements in the Centers for Performance Assessment’s model have been utilized. He said that the improvement of student performance is a process that had to occur. He will keep the community and the board updated.

V. PUBLIC COMMENT

Ms. Nancy McGuire, Rowayton School PTO/PTA Co-President, said that there are 118 children who qualify for free or reduced lunch. She said that there are also about 100 children who are assigned to the Rowayton School from the South Norwalk District, which doesn’t have its own elementary school. She said it is difficult to understand why these children can’t benefit from any of the Title 1 funding. She said other schools have close to the same amount of children as Rowayton and they benefit from the approximate $100,000 from Title 1 funding. She said they were told that Row 6853 is a wealthy district. She said that the onus is on the parents to pick up the slack for funds. She encouraged them to take a second look at the funding for Rowayton School, as the parents can’t raise the funds any longer. She mentioned that the educators and parent body are wonderful there. After they lost the Title 1 funding three years ago, they developed an after-school program for academically needy children. In one year, 22% of the third grade who had help with their homework increased an entire level in the writing portion of the CMT’s. She thanked everyone for their time, and said that she hoped the board would consider the Rowayton School budget, because they are running out of sources for grants and funding.

Ms. Cathy Nash, Rowayton School PTO/PTA Co-President, said she has two 7 year-olds in second grade, and is impressed and satisfied with the remarkable energy from the parent body. She said they know that they don’t make the 30% cut for Title 1 funding. They have run out of fundraising sources. She feels disenfranchised by having a $42,000 operating budget, because if they received Title 1 funding, they would have to get a minimum of $50,000. She said that all but two of the elementary schools get Title 1 funding. She knows that they benefit from a generous community, a highly talented parent base, and a highly talented teacher base. She asked the board to find money for the school.

Mr. Iannaccone read a letter from Mr. Paul Blumenthal. It follows verbatim:

“My name is Paul Blumental, I live in Norwalk, and my two children attend Rowayton Elementary School.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Deborah Richards and look forward to her Bureau’s participation in helping to make Norwalk a model school system.

At this point, with mandates and help from the state and an in-depth review of our district, we should be poised to take the action necessary to reach that goal.

And while it is critical to improve our schools quickly, and a measurement of that success, we must never lose sight of the importance of helping children learn how to think and nurturing their thirst for knowledge.

One of the most important issues we must address is that it is no longer possible to educate only the children. We must, in many cases, educate the parents as well, giving them the tools and understanding to help them help their kids.

Parents are called “stakeholders”, but this doesn’t really describe our position. We are really owners of the system. The schools are ours, the desks are ours, all the dedicated individuals are employed by and for us, and our children. With so much at risk, we must have more meaningful dialogues with those, whose decisions can often change the course of a child’s destiny. With so much at risk, we must have a greater role in the system.

And finally, we must find alternative ways to meet our children’s needs. Whether it is collaborations with successful schools or colleges, help from retired CEO’s and Financial Executives, or parent volunteers. We cannot let the lack of money restrict the resources needed to give every child a promising future.”

Ms. Leslie Lawrence, a member of the grant-writing committee at Rowayton School, said she spends a lot of time thinking about the after-school program. A large part of their efforts is to raise money (scholarships) for those students who need to attend the program but can’t afford it. The school’s interesting demographic consists of the local children, on the high end of the demographics, and the students that are bussed in, who can’t afford the after-school programs. She said that the 118 children on free and reduced lunch don’t get the advantage of the Title 1 funds because they are bussed into a relatively wealthy school district. There is a significant achievement gap at the school, with 20% of the black students scoring at goal in reading, vs. 93% of white students in 2007. It was the same for writing, with 91% of the white students scoring at goal. She said the after-school issue should be addressed during school. They rely heavily on the community for funding. She asked the district to look at the 118 children who have the misfortune of being at Rowayton School who are missing out on funds that other children at other schools are getting.

Jeffry Spahr, a parent of two children in the school system, and the attorney for the City for the past 21 years, said that he felt the school system might be downplaying the importance of the Cambridge Report. He referred to the Superintendent’s Friday letter, the cover of the website, and quotes in the paper. He feels that there is more than perception that needs to be addressed. He was encouraged by the changes in the membership of the board, and the mention that they will work vigorously to offset some shortcomings. He feels that there is a huge problem with communication between the parents and central staff, and he referred to page 15 of the Cambridge Report as it was addressed there.

Mr. Spahr said he was unhappy with the way he has been treated, and he referred to several dates of correspondence that went unresponded. He also felt that the Norwalk public schools website that had a single page regarding special education was abysmal. He said he wants to participate by offering parental input so they can work together to make the website acceptable to parents of special needs children.

ACTIONS

A. Consent

1. Personnel actions

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO APPROVE THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS. ** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

B. Budget transfers

** MS. BISHOP-PULLAN MOVED TO APPROVE THE BUDGET TRANSFERS. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED. ** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

C. Approval of minutes (February 4, 2008)

** MS. MURRAY MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 4, 2008. ** MS. MOSBY SECONDED.

The corrections to the minutes are as follows:

On page 5, under Personnel actions, 3rd paragraph, Ms. Bishop Pullan said her comments were “Ms. Liberatore had come in to fill the shoes of Mr. Puccino and she had done a great job.”

On page 1, “Regular Meeting” should be changed to “Special Meeting”.

On page 3, under Public Comments, 3rd paragraph, change “Alonzo Burnett” to “Alonzo Virgil”.

** MOTION PASSED AS AMENDED.

D. Approve selection process for Columbus and Jefferson magnet schools

Ms. Bishop-Pullan asked for the resolution to get a point of clarification. Dr. Corda read the following:

“Resolved, upon the recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, that the Board of Education approves the process for the selection of students at the Columbus and Jefferson Magnet Schools as explained at the Board of Education Meeting of January 15, 2008 as a pilot for the 2008-2009 school year. The Superintendent shall provide a report to the Board of Education about the results of this process no later than September 30, 2008.”

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO APPROVE THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR COLUMBUS AND JEFFERSON MAGNET SCHOOLS. ** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan expressed her support for the resolution as a pilot program.

Mr. Burnett supported the resolution, as it is in support of a pilot so they do have the opportunity to go back and review the selection process.

Ms. Murray asked for the actual legal opinion that this is based on, and Dr. Corda said it was provided by the attorney and was part of the presentation at a previous meeting. Dr. Corda will provide her with a copy.

** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

VII. INFORMATION AND REPORTS

A. Expansion of Norwalk Smiles to elementary school

Dr. Corda said he sent correspondence in the Friday report regarding the expansion of the Norwalk Smiles program to the elementary schools first and then the middle schools. It would be at no cost to the district.

Ms. Gordon from the Community Health Center was present, and she said that it has been a great experience working with the children. They are in Brien McMahon High School, they are now at Briggs, and they will be at Norwalk High School after the construction is done.

Dr. Corda asked the board if they wanted the expansion of the system to be throughout the system (K-8) for now, or to do one expansion phase at a time.

Mr. Kimmel said he was in favor of having the program expand throughout the system, but to do the elementary level now.

Mr. Burnett said that he supports the expansion for the district, but he requested Norwalk Smiles to provide updates on a quarterly basis.

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said she was in favor of the district expansion (K-8).

B. Policy 6146 – Graduation Requirements

Ms. Bishop-Pullan said that there is a recommendation from the instructional specialist in science to have all graduates take and pass 1 lab science. The graduation credit for business math would be removed, as it is not taught by a certified math teacher.

C. CGS Diploma

Dr. Corda sent the board the letter that will be going to parents and students that if they were to make such a choice, the board would have to see it before it the resolution.

Mr. Burnett asked what provisions would be made if situations change. He didn’t see any mention of flexibility. The rationale is to make the decision by the end of 10th grade.

Ms. Mosby asked if Ms. McCarthy could address the area of the valedictorian qualifications. She needed verification that if the child is out of district and ranked high, that the other students wouldn’t be affected or bumped out. Dr. Corda clarified her question, that if a student chooses a diploma from his home school, does that have any bearing on our selection of valedictorian in Norwalk. Or, if a student chooses a diploma from Brien McMahon, could that student be valedictorian at Brien McMahon.

Ms. Murray asked about the impact of the ratio of staff/counselors at CGS. He said that they currently don’t have their own counselors, but next year they have asked for funding for an additional 6/10th of a counselor at BMHS and the CGS grant will fund 4/10th of a counselor at CGS. He will ask Ms. McCarthy for the responsibilities of the counselors.

D. Board members’ announcements

Dr. Corda said he will have results of the feedback on the four drafts of the calendar at the next meeting.

Ms. Mosby wanted to confirm that the Superintendent’s Search process will be on next month’s board meeting agenda.

Ms. Mosby asked about the workshop, and Ms. Hamilton said that she sent out information regarding the change in time. It is March 6 at 7:30 p.m.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT

** MR. IANNACCONE MOVED TO ADJOURN.

** MR. CHIARAMONTE SECONDED.

** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn Marr Telesco Secretarial Services

Category: Minutes