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Teacher Tenure

July/August 2014

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Task Force releases results

Essex Public Schools

Kelly B. Moyher

Patrice A. McCarthy

Senior Staff Attorney, CABE

Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

A California state court case has sent ripples around the country on the issue of teacher tenure. The state court in Vergara v. California determined that Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tenure protections for teachers are unconstitutional and deprive minority and low-income students of an equal education. The group of students and parents who brought the suit took issue with the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;last in, first outâ&#x20AC;? approach to firing teachers based partly on seniority.

Unions across the country may have similar battles to face as Student Matters, a group that provided funding for the students and parents in the California case, have said they intend to file cases in other states including Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Oregon.

The American Federation of Teachers and the California Teachers Association,

The Task Force to Study the Provision of Behavioral Health Services for Young Adults recently released its report containing 47 recommendations. The Task Force was established pursuant to Public Act 13-3 (Section 66), entitled An Act Concerning Gun Violence Prevention and Children Safety, and was directed to focus on behavioral health services for young people ages 16 to 25 years old.

The Task Force found that in Connecticut, about 10% of adolescents and young adults ages 16 to 25 years have experienced at least one episode of a major depressive disorder in the past year, about 20-25% of trauma-exposed youth will meet current mental health diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorders, 6 to 9% have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and between 8% of adoles-

an affiliate of the National Education Association, have vowed to fight the California state court decision. AFT President Randi Weingarten stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This will not be the last word.â&#x20AC;? And CTA

President Dean Vogel promised to appeal â&#x20AC;&#x153;while teachers continue to provide all students a quality public education every day.â&#x20AC;?

See TEACHER page 9

See TASK FORCE page 2

State approves preschool funding

Connecticut Association

The State Legislature in May approved $105 million in total bonding over the next 10 years to increase preschool openings in Connecticutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public schools.

The CABE Journal recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Myra JonesTaylor, Commissioner of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recently created Office of Early Childhood (OEC), about some of the particulars of the program, including the application process.

Beginning in 2014-15, all school systems in the state will be able to apply for funding for preschool slots provided they also have a full-day kindergarten program, according to Jones-Taylor.

Jones-Taylor stressed that the bond funds eventually rewarded and paid out to districts will be a reimbursement for capital improvement costs they incur. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Districts can apply for it but really would be reimbursed,â&#x20AC;? she explained. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A school can say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;We have this room and we want to convert it to a PreK classroom and we

just need to change the sinks or put in new desks,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; things like that. So thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the first part of money that would come out this year [in 2014-15].â&#x20AC;?

However, before districts can apply for funding, the Office of Early Childhood must first design and send a document to districts called an â&#x20AC;&#x153;unmet needs report,â&#x20AC;? according to Jones-Taylor; from there, her office will make the decision on what districts receive funding. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the legislation, we have to create an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unmet needs reportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and districts will submit this report to the Office of Early Childhood to show that there is actual need in their community,â&#x20AC;? explained Jones-Taylor. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And this is a way to safeguard against what is often called, or increasingly called, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;crowd out,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which is

the idea that community programs would be crowded out of the pre-K system as districts increasingly enter into this field.

So, that is what the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;unmet needs reportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is intended to prevent from happening.â&#x20AC;?

According to Jones-Taylor, the state would then collaborate with school systems with respect to timing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We would need to work with districts to figure out how their timing works, in terms of their own budgetary process and figure out: is it helpful for them to apply for the bond funds first before they have gotten approval from their board of education to go ahead and include this in their budgets? So there is a lot of sequencing that has to happen,â&#x20AC;? said Jones-Taylor.

According to Diana Lejardi, Director See STATE page 11

Anti Nutmeg Bullying Board Program

Policy Corner

Book Reviews

School Safety

PAGE 4

PAGE 6

PAGE 7, 8

PAGE 10

of Boards of Education Inc.

Reporter, CABE

81 Wolcott Hill Road Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242

Chris Seymour

PAGE 5

Periodical Postage PAID Hartford, CT

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014 PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

Life lessons I am writing this article in the beginning of July and I sincerely hope my fellow board members are able to relax and unwind a bit this summer.

I am currently teaching golf to 5 - 12 year olds at junior golf camps in Northeast Connecticut. To teach children the game of golf one should include what we call “life skills”. Golf is the only sport that does not employ a referee or umpire, so players need to be honest about their scores and games.

We teach the kids that if they break a golf rule they need to call a penalty on themselves. While we are teaching the proper techniques for putting and driving the golf ball, we are also stressing the need to care for their surroundings, particularly the putting green and tee box areas. The greens and tee boxes are incredibly expensive to build and maintain. Our young golfers are taught the proper methods to care for the putting surface while using it at the same time, this is also true of the tee boxes.

The campers are encouraged to use these life values of honesty and respect for their surroundings in school and at home. Honesty, integrity, courtesy are three words that have come to represent the spirit in which the game of golf is played. The spirit of golf dictates that players make sure they give others on the golf course, often opponents, a fair chance to play the best shot they can.

Repairing divots on the course or being quiet and still while another player is preparing to hit their shots are just two examples of what integrity means on the golf course. We teach that maintaining your composure and etiquette even when others are not watching is the true definition of integrity and should not be confined to just the golf course.

I would love to see golf become a regular feature of elementary school gym classes. The life skills that are a part of the game would be beneficial for all children. I know of at least one charitable organization Richard Murray that has inschool golf programs. For more information, contact me and I will forward it.

The CABE Leadership Conference, in Old Saybrook, will have taken place by the time this Journal edition will be published. I hope that I will have seen many of you at the Leadership Conference. I am sure the fall election season will have a particular focus on public education. Common Core, teacher evaluation, and the recent court ruling on teacher tenure may all be part of the public debate leading to Election Day in November.

It is vitally important for board members to stay current with the issues facing public education even if those issues may or may not be directly affecting our local districts. I hope all of our budgets have passed muster with the voters; it took four iterations in my community before the budget referendum finally passed.

Good luck to all and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Task Force releases results (continued from page 1) cents and up to 24% of young adults report alcohol and/ or illicit drug use within the past year.

Among the goals the Task Force recommendations aim to accomplish include enhancing mental health capacity in schools to address safety, student behavioral management issues, and early identification and treatment.

The following recommendations specifically impact school districts: • Expand the current pool of in-school social workers so that all school districts have social worker capacity and the optimal ratio of one social worker for every 250 regular education students is achieved, compared with the current ratio of one social worker to 530 students.

• Expand the number of school psychologists to minimum national standards.

• Provide “in-service training in mental health competencies” to school-based social workers and psychologists, as well as to other school personnel (administrators, teachers, and resource officers) so that they are able to: 1) provide needed assistance to teachers who may not be experienced enough to deal with behavioral problems or mental health concerns of their students as they occur; 2) change school protocols so that the response to children with behavioral problems is not out-of-school suspension, but in-school evaluation and treatment or mental health referral; and 3) identify and utilize appropriately those services in the community available for mental health treatment (outpatient services, emergency mobile psychiatric services (EMPS), and case management services).

• Expand the presence of school nurses in elementary, middle, and high schools, and expand comprehensive school-based health centers, both in number and to support the inclusion of mental health services in all school-based health centers.

• Make available to the behavioral health and developmental specialists located within each school in each school district a regional hub of mental health professionals under contract or memorandum of understanding (MOU). Private elementary and secondary schools as well as colleges and universi-

ties should also have access to this regional hub, so that services can be coordinated. This will require the development of MOUs between school mental health providers and any network of collaborating mental health professionals, in order to support any technical assistance activities.

• Support the use of telemedicine in order to reach those districts that are geographically isolated.

• Expand the capacity of school mental health personnel to work and collaborate with teachers and administrators in identifying those children, adolescents, and young adults who are most at risk and in need of early screening and identification in order to refer to higher levels of mental health treatment, through specific, required training.

• Require, as part of teacher preparation in undergraduate or graduate level education, coursework on the issues of mental health, early identification, and how to deal with safety and classroom management issues in the school setting.

• Require statewide across all school districts a standardized component of health education classes in elementary, middle, and high school regarding the importance and elements of mental health and well-being.

Task Force members felt their recommendations would create an ideal and effective behavioral health care system, but also acknowledged the fiscal realities in reaching this goal.

CABE BUILDS LEADERS! No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.

– Andrew Carnegie

Mission: To assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership.

Vision: CABE is passionate about strengthening public education through high-performing, transformative local school board/superintendent leadership teams that inspire success for each child.

CABE Board of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Richard Murray .................................................. President, Killingly Ann Gruenberg ................................. First Vice President, Hampton Robert Mitchell ................ VP for Government Relations, Montville Elaine Whitney ........... VP for Professional Development, Westport John Prins ......................................... Secretary/Treasurer, Branford Lydia Tedone ............................................ Immediate Past President Donald Harris ........................................................ Member at Large

AREA DIRECTORS Susan Hoffnagle ............................. Area 1 Co-Director, Winchester Mari-Ellen (Mimi) Valyo ............... Area 1 Co-Director, Winchester Daniel Gentile ................................... Area 1 Co-Director, Plymouth Jeffrey Currey ............................. Area 2 Co-Director, East Hartford Susan Karp ................................... Area 2 Co-Director, Glastonbury Donald Harris ................................. Area 2 Co-Director, Bloomfield Laura Bush ................................................. Area 3 Director, Vernon Douglas Smith .................................. Area 4 Co-Director, Plainfield Andrea Veilleux ................................ Area 6 Co-Director, Stratford Elaine Whitney .................................. Area 6 Co-Director, Westport Roxane McKay ............................. Area 7 Co-Director, Wallingford John Prins ......................................... Area 7 Co-Director, Branford Lon Seidman ................................................. Area 8 Director, Essex Aaron Daniels ........................................... Area 9 Director, Norwich

ASSOCIATES Eileen Baker .............................................. Associate, Old Saybrook Sharon Beloin-Saavedra .............................. Associate, New Britain Gary Brochu .......................................................... Associate, Berlin Robert Guthrie .............................................. Associate, West Haven Robert Trefry ........... Associate, CT Technical High School System COMMITTEE CHAIRS Elizabeth Brown ......................... Chair, State Relations, Waterbury Donald Harris ......................... Chair, Federal Relations, Bloomfield Becky Tyrrell ...................................... Chair, Resolutions, Plainville

CITY REPRESENTATIVES Jacqueline Kelleher ....................... City Representative, Bridgeport Matthew Poland ................................ City Representative, Hartford Carlos Torre .................................. City Representative, New Haven Polly Rauh ........................................ City Representative, Stamford Charles Stango ............................... City Representative, Waterbury

STAFF Robert Rader ....................................................................... Executive Director Patrice McCarthy .................................. Deputy Director and General Counsel Bonnie Carney ............................................ Sr. Staff Associate for Publications Nicholas Caruso ............................................ Sr. Staff Assoc. for Field Service and Coord. of Technology Sheila McKay ............................. Sr. Staff Associate for Government Relations Kelly Moyher ......................................................................... Sr. Staff Attorney Vincent Mustaro ..................................... Sr. Staff Associate for Policy Service Lisa Steimer .............................. Sr. Staff Assoc. for Professional Development Teresa Costa .................................. Coordinator of Finance and Administration Pamela Brooks ......................... Sr. Admin. Assoc. for Policy Ser. /Search Ser. Terry DeMars ............................................... Admin. Assoc. for Policy Service Gail Heath ........................................ Admin. Assoc. for Government Relations Wilmarie Newton ........................................ Admin. Assoc. for Labor Relations Denise Roberts .................................... Admin. Asst. for Membership Services Corliss Ucci .................................. Receptionist/Asst. to the Executive Director

The CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published monthly except a combined issue for July/August as a member service of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109, (860) 571-7446. CABE membership dues include $30 per person for each individual who receives The CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75. Association membership dues include a subscription for each board member, superintendent, assistant superintendent and business manager. The companies and advertisements found in The CABE Journal are not necessarily endorsed by CABE. “Periodicals Postage Paid at Hartford, CT.” POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242. Email: bcarney@cabe.org.

Members can find the CABE Journal online at: www.cabe.org/ userlogin.cfm?pp=84&userrequest=true&keyrequest=false& userpage=84

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTARY

CABE Affiliate Members BUSINESS AFFILIATES DIAMOND MEMBER Finalsite GOLD MEMBERS

Advanced Corporate Networking dba. Digital BackOffice Berchem, Moses & Devlin Centris Group Guidance Counselors for Senior Teachers Pullman & Comley Shipman & Goodwin Siegel, O'Connor, O’Donnell & Beck, P.C SILVER MEMBERS Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Corporate Cost Control Milliman, Inc. Milone & MacBroom, Inc. The Segal Company BRONZE PLUS MEMBERS Brown & Brown Insurance Friar Associates Goldstein & Peck, P.C. Guidepost Solutions, LLC Lindburg & Ripple O & G Industries The S/L/A/M Collaborative Trane UltiPlay Parks & Playbrounds BRONZE MEMBERS Chinni & Meuser LLC Dattco Inc. Fuller & D’Angelo Architects and Planners JCJ Architects Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C. The Lexington Group Muschell & Simoncelli Ovations Benefits Group Susisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law

EDUCATIONAL AFFILIATES American School for the Deaf Area Cooperative Educational Services Capitol Region Education Council The College Board Connecticut Association of School Business Officials Connecticut Center for School Change Connecticut School Buildings and Grounds Association Cooperative Educational Services EASTCONN EDUCATION CONNECTION LEARN Unified School District #1

Food for Quiet Thought I hope you are relaxing this summer. It is important to recognize the necessity of finding time to get away from our handheld computers and phones, our desktops and all the other constant reminders that we need to stay in touch.

A blog post by a highly-respected educator (and friend) and an article in Associations Now discussed an issue that is starting to catch on. It may have large ramifications not only for our schools, including our students and faculty, but also for school board members.

The issue revolves around the idea of finding quiet in a turned on, tuned in world.

Dr. George Goens, former superintendent in Connecticut, long-time superintendent search consultant and featured speaker at many educational events, is a prolific writer (seven books to his credit).

He blogs at http://georgegoens.com/.

A recent post was simply called “Quiet”. In this post, Dr. Goens wrote that silence may be a “curious” word these days, “particularly about schools.

The old saw is that in schools we want kids to be quiet – but quiet is not silence.

Silence is more. It’s deeper. It’s necessary for a balanced life for children as well as adults. Silence has a reflective risk to it – an introspective stillness. A comfort within your aloneness.’

Schools are becoming frenetic, driven places. In many cases they are not places of reflection. They are domains of doings – schedules, activities, events, tests.

Hundred pound kids carrying thirty-pound backpacks off to class, complete with cell phones, appointment calendars, and a scheduled life. Is there time to think – reflect?”

He goes on to give some recommendations on how educators – including board members, administrators and teachers – need to adjust to these difficult, pressure filled lives that we lead. He suggests that we: • “Slow down – We can slow the pace, respect the natural cycles and rhythms of life, and have people cherish and live in the moment. The only time people live is the present.

The past is gone and the future is not here. So quit worrying about them.

• Silence – Promote silence in each day. Allow people time to sit in silence and reflect and think, without the constant motion and pressure to do things. Just being and appreciating the moment is settling.

Being alone with our thoughts and feelings, without cell phones, schedules, or pressure, promotes balance and creates a sense of peace.

• Connection – Bring people together. Help them see they are not disconnected individuals wandering through life. Leaders must have the

Robert Rader

courage to reach out with their hearts to connect people.

• Listen – There is no greater healing force than listening. Children in particular need someone to listen – to really understand the context and intent of their feelings and thoughts.

for [collaboration] that we’ve lost sight of the value of solitude, of solitary thinking and work, of a deep psychological need to go off and be productive in quiet ways…

We need to come back to some kind of balance.”

How do we ensure that introverts are comfortable despite the rage for working together? As Clarke states for associations, education leaders need “new reflection on everything from leadership to learning formats, meetings management to work culture.” Some organizations are already doing this. Some attempts to solve these issues include: • Designing quiet meet-up spots for individuals or small groups at big events; • Having “speakers distribute education handouts with questions for private pondering before a session or in a virtual chat room”; and, • “Mixing learning formats among introvert-preferred lectures and

“Be sensitive to [their] needs and students who are introverted may become more successful.

And, for those who are more extroverted, quiet time may pay dividends as well.”

We confuse motion with movement, and e-mail and texting with communicating.”

Introverts and Their Need for Quiet The other article was in the magazine of the American Society of Association Executives. It focused on the difficulties faced by people who are introverts. In this day of working in teams, collaborating across lines in every organization and the continued importance of meetings (and speaking up at them), introverts are at a disadvantage. So, if you are naturally an introvert, it is more difficult to succeed than if you were naturally outgoing.

The article, “Quiet Force”, by Kristine Clarke, suggests that a leader need not be an extrovert and that the success or failure of any leader will be based on the circumstances that the person faces. According to “Quiet” a best-selling book by Susan Cain, research shows that “in certain circumstances, introverted leaders deliver better outcomes than extroverted leaders do.”

Cain also spoke about the “power of introverts in a world that won’t stop talking”. She found that in “influential” institutions, including education, are heavily slanted in favor of extroverts.

“We have gotten so lopsided in our praise

extrovert-preferred hands-on activities.”

The article also discussed the criticism of extroverts who do not get involved in voluntary social activities during or after work. One individual said that the “hardest things for him have been the allday staff picnic or retreat, activities where you have to be really social with a bunch of people.”

Leaders, especially those who are extroverts, need to be sensitive to their own natural inclination to speak at meetings and how important it is to let others, who are not so comfortable speaking up, to do so. If your boss is an introvert, be sensitive to it and don’t regard the boss’ lack of engagement as disapproval.

While the article did not discuss students, it is obvious that they need time to think, reflect and get a break from the hustle and bustle around them all day in their schools and in their extracurricular activities. Be sensitive to those needs and students who are introverted may become more successful.

And, for those who are more extroverted, quiet time may pay dividends as well.

For now, Board members and superintendents should unplug yourselves and recharge. There will be plenty of work to do as another school year begins!

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

Berlin students participate in Anti-Bullying program Robert Rader, Executive Director, CABE Hundreds of high school freshmen crowded into the Berlin High School gymnasium to take part in a daylong program presented by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on April 25th. The program, Names Can Really Hurt Us, is aimed at sensitizing students to differences between students and helping them fight bullying, name-calling, prejudice and other hurtful behavior.

According to Michelle Pincince, the Project Director of ADL’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, since 1995, the ADL has presented the Names program in more than 100 different high schools across Connecticut. The ADL does approximately 15-20 Names programs a year. Some schools do the program every year for a particular grade and others offer the program to their whole school every few years.

All Berlin high school students have participated in the program. As Principal (and Connecticut Association of Schools President) Francis Kennedy told me, this “is one of the most important programs for our students” in part because the district is not very racially diverse and the program exposed thinking about some of the issues that will be faced by students when they leave high school.

ADL Trainer Diane Drakes served as moderator for the assembly. The program enables students to publicly discuss the difficult issues they have faced and emphasizes the importance of providing

support to those who have been bullied or have faced discrimination. “Open up your hearts to these stories” was Drakes’ advice to students. She said that her voice and that of students articulating what they have experienced has the “power to create change.” She asked students to think about their own stories related to this kind of conduct.

There were skits by junior and senior Drama Club students helping attendees identify the target, bystander, ally and perpetrator roles in real-life bullying situations. Understanding these roles is basis for much of the training that occurred that day.

Different Designs

This was followed by an activity in which students closed their eyes and were directed to fold and rip paper. All of the results came out differently. As Drakes explained, “Everyone has a different design, like when they come to school.”

It is important “to embrace yourself and be aware of the judgments we make of each other” without thinking about if it’s true.

Eight student panelists then spoke about some of their experiences. They were brave and courageous as they shared their most hurtful times. They were powerful when they spoke about what they would do better next time if they were faced by a similar situation. They advised other students in the room what they should do if they face similar events.

The students encouraged others to be allies.

Here were some of the students’ comments and advice: • “Support those who need allies.”

• “The best option for me is to stand up to a perpetrator.”

• “Nobody supported me when I was teased and bullied.”

• “I’ve been bullied pretty much my whole life and even today, I don’t know exactly why.”

• “I am terrified by bullying.”

One spoke about being bullied through Twitter and she reminded students to be careful with their words: “if you say it on Twitter, would you say it in person?”

A student wrestler talked about how he was bullied, even though he is a powerful athlete.

• “If you’re rude to others, how can you expect others to treat you in any other way?”

• “Over time, it does get better.”

Other students were then invited to share their stories. Several talked about prejudicial behavior they had faced. For example, middle school students made fun of how Chinese people spoke English, even when this student, who was Asian, was in the classroom. The teacher said noth-ing. The student was confused and sur-prised that no one saw the hurt. She felt that someone should have said something – she felt very alone.

Another student admitted she was sometimes the perpetrator and she had used words in jokes that were hurtful.

She encouraged others to make sure people are laughing with you, not at others.

Some students cried openly in front of others....one spoke about having tried to commit suicide because of being bullied.

A team of staff and students went through additional training by ADL to help facilitate the Names program. The students and staff on the Names team wore red shirts saying, “I am prepared to be an Ally.”

I sat listening and it occurred to me how great it would have been to have a program like this when I was in high school. It could have helped us to defuse the racial divide in our school, which led to riots, bitter feelings and even 68 policemen in the school, armed with their batons and helmets.

Names Can Really Hurt Us opens students to a broader world than they might otherwise have experienced. Boards and superintendents should consider whether such a program would be helpful in their schools.

Whether or not you have a diverse population in your schools, programs like this help students understand the basis of their own feelings and prejudices about others. They can help youth decide whether or not they want to live their lives according to these feelings.

Isn’t that what a well-rounded education is all about?

CABE Executive Director Robert Rader is a member of the Connecticut ADL Board of Directors.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014 See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

The Nutmeg Board develops a school calendar are there any problems?

Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

The Nutmeg Board of Education makes many mistakes. The latest imbroglio created by the board will be reported here each issue, followed by an explanation of what the board should have done.

Though not intended as legal advice, these situations may help board members avoid common problems.

Setting the school calendar has always been a challenge for the Nutmeg Board of Education. Whatever calendar the Board would discuss, someone would be unhappy. Board members tried to avoid controversy by dealing with the issue over several meetings, but the discussion would always end with rancorous debate.

Mr. Chairperson vowed that this year would be different. He appointed a calendar committee, which included teachers, administrators, parents and Board members, to come up with the perfect calendar for 2015-2016.

Mysteriously, Mr. Chairperson appointed veteran Board member Bob Bombast to chair the committee.

Bob enthusiastically accepted the appointment. Before the first meeting, Bob sent an email to each of the committee members describing his thinking on the subject, but he never heard a word back from anyone.

Miffed that the committee members ignored his email, Bob started the meeting by listing the ideas he had shared in his email – start school after Labor Day to give families the full summer to bond, bring teachers back for professional development during the summer when they are refreshed after some time off, and start the February vacation on Thursday every year so that Nutmeg parents can save money on plane tickets to Disneyworld.

Before Bob could elaborate on his thinking, however, Mal Content, President of the Nutmeg Union of Teachers, came into the meeting room and sat down right in front.

“I am sorry, Mal,” Bob said pointedly.

“This is a private meeting. When we have decided on a school calendar, you will be the first to know. Buh-bye!”

“Not so fast!” responded Mal. “This is a public meeting, and I am not leaving.”

With that, Mal settled in, daring Bob and the committee to challenge him. Bob looked at the other committee members, who all just stared back blankly. Bob decided that removing Mal was not worth the trouble, so he decided simply to ignore Mal. But peace did not last.

Bob described his “vision” for the school calendar, including his view that teachers should come back for professional development in the summer. When Mal heard that, he interrupted vehemently, telling Bob and the committee

that that would never happen. “Mal, you are not on this committee, and I must warn you that you will be removed if there is another outburst,” Bob warned.

But Mal just muttered something about unfair labor practice and stormed out.

With Mal gone, things quieted down, and the committee discussed Bob’s three-year proposal for the school calendar.

One of the other committee members asked Bob how Nutmeg could set such a calendar, asking “Isn’t there a law forcing us to have a uniform regional calendar?”

Bob smiled dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. The General Assembly postponed the law once already, and I wouldn’t count on that law ever taking effect.” With that, the committee completed its work, voting unanimously to recommend Bob’s proposed calendars for the next three school years, including summer professional development for teachers and an expanded February vacation every year.

The proposed calendars are on the agenda for the next meeting of the Nutmeg Board of Education. Do you envision any problems if the Board of Education adopts the committee’s recommendations?

Under current law, Bob’s proposal is a non-starter. In 2013, the General Assembly passed Public Act 13-247, “An Act Implementing Provisions of the State Budget for the Biennium Ending June 30, 2015 Concerning General Government.”

Tucked into this 498-page public act are Sections 321 and 322, which established a Uniform Regional School Calendar Task Force to establish guidelines for school calendars.

The law charged the regional educational service centers with the task of developing uniform calendars for their regions in accordance with the guidelines established by the Task Force, and it required school districts to adopt a uniform regional school calendar starting with the 2015-2016 school year.

The legislation also established guidelines for such uniform regional calendars: Such guidelines for a uniform regional school calendar shall include, but not be limited to, (1) at least one hundred eighty days of actual school sessions during each school year, (2) a uniform start date, (3) uniform days for professional development and in-service training for certified employees, pursuant to sections 10-148a and 10-220a of the general statutes, and (4) not more than three uniform school vacation periods during each school year, not more than two of which shall be a one week

school vacation period and one of which shall be during the summer.

The Task Force issued its report last January, and among its recommendations are (1) that the calendar include two uniform professional development days and five flexible days, (2) that the calendar include three vacation periods, (3) that school start within three days of the last Wednesday in August, (4) that the deadline for implementation be delayed until 2016-2017, and (5) that where contract(s) make implementation in 2016-2017 impossible, that districts may delay until 2017-2018.

The RESCs have developed calendars in accordance with these guidelines, and the State Board of Education approved these calendars last month.

In Public Act 14-38, the General Assembly amended the law (now codified at Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 10-66q) in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force (1) to delay the required adoption of the uniform school calendar to the 2016-2017 school year, and (2) to permit school boards to delay implementation of the uniform school calendar until 2017-2018 if they have a collective bargaining agreement that makes adoption of the uniform calendar in 2016-2017 “impossible.”

Bob’s proposed calendar also raises a significant point that has had little

discussion. Under the Teacher Negotiation Act, boards of education have the unilateral right to set the student school year (bargaining, if necessary, only over the impact of changes).

However, the school calendar includes teacher work days, including professional development days, when students are not in attendance. Typically, the scheduling of these days have to be negotiated, but scheduling professional development on days designated on the uniform school calendar may be an exception to the rule.

In any event, Bob’s bright idea of bringing teachers back in the summer is clearly subject to negotiation (and clearly doomed).

Finally, for once the Nutmeg Board did not violate the Freedom of Information Act. The Board was correct in permitting Mal to attend the meeting, which was indeed public.

Moreover, despite Bob’s best efforts to conduct an illegal meeting by email to discuss his plans, his email was fine because the committee members did not respond. All was well since they did not “discuss” his plan outside of a meeting.

Attorney Thomas B. Mooney is a partner in the Hartford law firm of Shipman & Goodwin who works frequently with boards of education. Mooney is a regular contributor to the CABE Journal.

Eighth Edition coming in September

A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law

by Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

The Guide comes with a CD which provides hyperlinks to many cases and statutes and will permit word searches as a supplement to the Index.

6

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

CABEMeeting CABE-Meeting is a userfriendly, web-based service specifically designed to assist the board, superintendent and central office staff in preparing for and running board of education meetings.

An exciting feature designed for use by committees, in addtion to boards of education, was recently added to CABEMeeting. Now all your board work and committee information is conveniently located in one place!

“CABE-Meeting has made a world of difference in preparing my Board packets. It is a quicker, easier way to do things.”

Gloria Homiski, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent

The Policy Corner Vincent A. Mustaro, Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABE

A policy blueprint to improve student achievement The improvement of American education and the raising of student achievement levels remains a national and state priority. This is reflected in recent reform legislation and the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Local school board members have a compelling leadership role in this task.

Improving student achievement for all children represents both a challenge and an opportunity for school boards to beneficially impact the lives of all children and thereby elevate their own standing as a force in education.

Policy Leadership School boards must focus on students. Boards of education support student achievement through attention to vision, standards of performance, assessment, accountability, alignment of resources to meet performance standards, school and district climate, collaborative relationships and a commitment to the concept of continuous improvement.

The meeting time of local boards must be centered about students, their needs and level of achievement. Boards want what is best for students but that won’t happen by accident. Raising student achievement requires concerted action.

School boards, in addition to district staff, are major players in raising student achievement. By exercising policy leadership and effective governance practices, boards can be leaders in the effort to improve results. Boards help the professional staff to focus on results.

Through the district’s vision and goals statements, boards help establish a successful learning environment, foster a school climate conducive to teaching and learning, exercise accountability for results and advocate to build support for the district’s efforts.

The effort to improve student achievement to desired levels requires the board to place a high priority on developing and maintaining a strong school board team. The board’s bylaws and operating principles help establish a tone of respect and honesty crucial to the effort to lead an organization through these challenging times.

Planning Process For more information, or to schedule a demonstration for your board, call Lisa Steimer at 800-317-0033 or 860-571-7446 or email lsteimer@cabe.org

Boards, through policy and direction, establish their educational advocacy role and define needed relationships with important community stakeholders and groups. Policies relating to the desired relationship with the superintendent and staff are essential. These policies, monitored to determine their effectiveness, establish the tone crucial to a positive team effort resulting in improved student success.

Boards need to engage in a planning process focused on improving student

achievement. The board’s mission, vision, philosophy and goals statements help assure the student achievement focus. Data, properly used to determine student achievement levels, can help to guide the planning process.

The board at its meetings should hear regular reports pertaining to student achievement, based on a variety of assessments. Such reports help the board monitor how successfully its policies are working. Through policy, boards should establish, in addition to regular board meetings, work sessions to permit the board to gain in-depth knowledge about teaching practices, learning needs, achievement, curriculum and student demographics.

Regular board meetings do not allow sufficient time to study such issues in depth. The board, in monitoring its policies, should request the superintendent to have teachers, principals and other administrators, report to the board about curriculum issues, changes and progress on district goals and reform efforts.

The board’s annual district goal setting process should be used to direct the administration to assure that individual school and staff goals, part of the evaluation process, are aligned with the district goals wherever possible and include a measurement system that permits frequent assessment.

The board’s philosophy policy statement should state the board’s commitment to success for all students. District practices should support a student-centered philosophy, including appropriate allocations of resources to the important categories of instruction, students, administration, operations and maintenance.

Sufficient resources must support district efforts and support the board’s adopted goals and policies. Establish a system which will allow the district to determine the effectiveness of devoting resources to specific target areas.

Decision-making Process The decision-making process should be guided by how any pending decision will affect students and their achievement.

This maintains a board and staff focus on students.

In addition, boards should consider, through policy direction, the involvement of students in the development or revision of policies that affect them. Students can provide insight into the practical effect of many policies. Also, a board policy can make students a regular part of board meetings.

Research supports the relationship between parental involvement and higher student achievement. The board should review its parental involvement policy and support actions which encourage a high level of such involvement. Related to this are policy statements related to a positive working relationship with parent organizations, staff development to assist

staff in working and communicating with parents and parents as part of board advisory committees.

Formalize through board policy the board’s willingness to cooperate and utilize the input of school governance councils. Schools should promote a positive school climate that is userfriendly in response to board expectations. Therefore, policies pertaining to safety, discipline and safe school climate plans should be reexamined.

Boards should use data appropriately to monitor student achievement, identifying strengths and shortcomings, and the areas needing improvement.

The board doesn’t initiate programs, but directs the administration to present to it plans for the improvement of student achievement.

Board members, through effective questioning, should be interested in and determine how the program can contribute to improved student achievement for all students.

Governance Role Public confidence in the board’s governance role will be improved through regular progress reports pertaining to goal achievement focused on success indicators. Clear information about the areas that were selected for improvement and the improvement strategies used should be included in reports.

The board should also give credit and celebrate results in order to keep the improvement process active and people motivated. Board meetings should be used to praise the efforts, results, staff and students. The board’s recognition efforts provide a clear message about its expectations and values.

Students should be honored for academic and artistic achievements as well as for athletic achievement. Student work should be featured at board meetings as visual reminders of the district’s commitment to its students.

The board should advocate through policy and its actions for students in the community. Partnerships can be created with individuals and other agencies that serve children and families. Presentations should be made to civic organizations to explain the needs of district students, what the schools are doing and how community groups and organizations can help.

Remember, schools boards through policy and the implementation of appropriate practices can steer the direction the system takes to improve student results. The policy development, review, adoption, and monitoring process can lead to steps to make the difference only a board can accomplish.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

Book Review The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way

by Amanda Ripley The author spent the 2010-11 school year following three American teenagers as they experienced the education system in three countries – Finland, Korea and Poland. What she saw left her more optimistic about the education system in the United States, but she observed that schools and families in the U.S. lacked the “priority of purpose” seen in these other countries. Her book reports on the differences between schools in the U.S. and other countries.

In Korea, students and parents found it hard to resist the pressure to study more and more, but complained that the focus on ranking and testing scores was crushing their spirit and creativity. Many Korean parents view themselves as coaches, rather than cheerleaders for their children. High expectations are imposed at an early age. In Korea, joyless learning produces good test scores, but not a resilient student.

The Finnish have developed a robust system with highly educated, well trained teachers.

Collaboration among teachers, principals, union leaders and legislators to improve the education system is the norm. Rather than testing all students every year, government standardized testing is administered to targeted samples of students. The American student studying in Finland saw a marked contrast between the seriousness with which Finland students approached their high school education, as compared with her classmates in Oklahoma.

While there is an over abundance of teachers in many parts of the United States, their preparation is significantly shorter than in some other countries.

Rather than 12 to 15 weeks of student teaching, a yearlong residency is typical in Finland.

Teacher colleges in Finland select only the top applicants, and provide them with rigorous, handson preparation. They have seen a much lower rate of teacher turnover than in other countries.

As many recent studies have shown, a high impact form of parental involvement does not require parents actually being at school – if parents read at home, and kids see that parents value reading, their children will more likely enjoy reading themselves.

In many other countries, teenagers are expected to manage their own time – and generally do so. There is a broader agreement on the purpose of school– that schools exist to help students master complex academic material. While other things, such as sports matter, the primary focus is on academics. Top down policy changes in the U.S., such as No Child Left Behind, have failed to create support for rigor.

In another international comparison, most other countries tied spending on education to need. The schools with the poorest students have more teachers per student; the opposite was true in only 4 other countries – the United States, Israel, Slovenia and Turkey. In each of these countries, the author noted a consensus around rigor and the need to learn higher order thinking for all students in order to thrive in the world.

Patrice A. McCarthy Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

Book Review Reflections and Confessions of an Educational Leader

Lessons from Dr. Cohen Below are some of Dr. Cohan’s lessons from his years of experience: • Great educators are young at heart.

• Even though many of us know that change can be stimulating and good, most of us fear it when it threatens the status quo. Fearful adults can never teach their students to become creative risktakers.

• Never trust those who are in a rush to skip over the questions so that they can get to the answers. Sloppy questions can lead to disappointing results or do serious damage to individuals and institutions.

• Some very significant student achievements are not easily quantifiable, and will lead to success beyond what the numbers seem to indicate. In fact, this is the area in which potential greatness can be discovered.

• Good teachers teach from the inside out, understanding that the purpose of a curriculum is to help individuals create new knowledge, grow and discover who they might become.

• The most difficult word is “no.”

“No” should usually be followed by “because” There is a difference between a command and a discussion. Only one of these two activities is educative.

• Students should be encouraged to ask “why?” In “why?” there is the potential for us to learn from our students.

• We can sometimes fool ourselves, but it is hard to fool the young people who we teach. Most of them understand clearly the difference between “genuine” and “phony:’ Young people learn by the examples we set for them, not through the directions we give them.

• Beware of television, video games, social media and other forms of popular culture. They are rapidly diminishing the quality of our culture and the prospects for our nation. They are “dumbing us down.”

• Growing up can be difficult, but most of us ultimately land on our feet. Adults could make it easier on young folks if we focused on this and let them know that we understand their struggles.

by Mark Cohan, Ph.D. Dr. Mark Cohan was teacher, assistant principal, principal and superintendent in his career in Connecticut. In his 36th year in education he was superintendent at Norwich Free Academy (NFA), one of only three private/public schools in the State. He kept a form of diary reflecting not only what he was doing as superintendent, but also his thinking about our educational system and all of its disparate moving parts.

In reading this book, board members get the chance to better understand the issues faced by superintendents. They get some real perspective of how this superintendent dealt with issues, especially as Norwich, Connecticut and the United States faced the Great Recession, starting in 2008.

The diary discusses the 2008-09 school year and while he also deals with his earlier positions as a way to broaden his discussion about his role at NFA, he talks about how he tried to help students, as well as how he made decisions on staffing and other issues.

Dr. Cohan pulls few punches as he discusses his beliefs. He writes about being a child of the ‘60s and how his idealism, which continues to today, has shaped his thinking. He is tough in some areas and provides much wisdom about teaching and working with children, teachers and administrative staff. He

discusses the things he has learned over the years, which are not only applicable to superintendents and other leaders, but also as life lessons.

I liked his admittedly-borrowed phrase, “the most important things in life are not things” as he discussed working with and helping people. He also states that “Success helps us to feel good about ourselves, especially success in meeting goals that we have had a role in determining. While love should be given freely, self-esteem only comes from meaningful accomplishment.”

He saves some of those harsh punches

November 14-15, 2014 CABE/CAPSS Convention Student Panel Discussion Saturday Lunch General Session Lisa Steimer Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development

With the belief that our students play a critical role in determining their own education needs, the CABE/CAPSS Convention Committee has worked to further develop the Saturday programming that is focused on the needs of student leaders who attend the Convention. The Committee recognizes that student representatives on boards, district committee members, student council members and more informal student leaders help our boards make important educational policy decisions.

As we did two years ago, the Convention Committee has invited students to have a frank conversation with us about their thoughts on issues we grapple with each day. Topics to be covered may include the daily impact of education reform, social media, bullying and cyberbullying, Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluation and the capstone project, on the lives of students.

We look forward to hearing what our students have to say, what we can learn from them, and how they think we can increase the achievement of their peers, all our students.

for “inept” board members (never by name!) who had single-issue agendas and who really didn’t understand their oversight role as board members. The strong adjectives he uses in describing such board members may turn off board members reading the book. But, as leaders, board members need to hear strong opinions and critical, but, honest reflections of what superintendents have seen and experienced.

I encourage readers to look beyond some of the criticisms he leveled and consider the many thought-provoking issues he raised.

Some of the criticisms he has of the education system and the seeming inability of public education to be more tolerant of needed change might be more in dispute six years later as our system undergoes the initiatives of the last few years. Certainly, Dr. Cohan would recognize how some of our status quo has changed since ’08-’09.

Dr. Cohan now has begun a “second career” teaching in Central Connecticut State University’s School of Education.

His book is available at Amazon by searching for his name. Once you get to that page, you can see some thoughtful, well-written reviews by school board members.

Robert Rader Executive Director, CABE

Save the DATE Wednesday October 1, 2014

Legal Issues Workshop 8:30 Registration 9:00 - 12:00 noon More information coming soon!

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

The

Media Message

from Codie Landsman, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC CABE and Baldwin Media: Partners in Managing Communications

The value of video marketing in today’s world At Baldwin Media, we are challenged each and every day to find unique ways for clients (many of whom are educators) to access reporters and media outlets that are willing to cover their story.

We believe that we have found a fantastic avenue for your school district, or business, to consider: utilizing the production of videos through video marketing. With many school districts and organizations running their own Facebook pages and video friendly websites, this is something that should be seriously considered. Here are some reasons why: •

Adding a video to your website increases your website’s popularity with search engines, therefore increasing your search engine optimization, or SEO.

•

Video is where consumers are spending their time – 60% of internet traffic is generated by users/consumers who are watching online videos.

•

Videos also encourage users to stay on your website longer and keep them coming back – meaning that your website becomes “stickier.”

•

Videos are easily searchable – YouTube is the second largest search engine, meaning that videos get ranked higher in a Google search.

•

Video marketing establishes credibility and allows you creativity. You can get your point across in so many different unique ways, with few limitations.

Many districts already have their own video production classes and, often, student videos can also be “re-purposed” for use on Facebook and YouTube as well. In many cases, you don’t have to spend a lot of money or resources on video production that you already have. Short, visual video pieces are what’s trending in today’s changing world of public relations. The days of written press releases getting much attention are dwindling.

Video marketing also allows you an opportunity to tell “your story” about your school district, your staff, your Boards of Education and your students.

“Last in, first out” Teacher Tenure (continued from page 1) U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “At the end of the day what everyone has common interest in – the common goal – is to increase public confidence in public education.

We want great public schools and we need great public school teachers.”

In the opinion, Judgle Rolf Treu cited evidence that, he wrote, “shocks the conscience.” He reviewed the scope and signifigance of bad teachers, relying on experts called to testify.

Between 1-3% of teachers in California are “grossly ineffective,” he wrote, which translates into an actual number of teachers between 2,750 - 8,250. A single year with a grossly ineffective teacher costs students $1.4 million in lifetime earnings per classroom, Treu said.

The judge also found fault with the price of getting rid of bad teachers, saying the process could take up to 10 years and cost between $50,000 - $450,000.

California School Boards Association (CSBA) President Josephine Lucey said, “today’s Vergara v. California court decision is a call for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that all of

California’s 6 million school children have an equal opportunity to a quality education.

We should not and cannot afford to wait for the appellate courts to address these critical issues. Regardless of the legal outcome, the education community should immediately begin working with the Governor and the California Legislature to resolve these important issues of inequality in education.

CSBA has worked for years on these issues and remains committed to true reform by working with all of our education partners to meet the needs of our children.”

A parent advocacy group in New York recently filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court on behalf of 11 New York City public school students. The New York students are seeking to declare the state’s tenure law unconstitutional, just as California did.

“This is a crisis of epic proportions.

New York City schools in mostly black and Latino neighborhoods are staffed with the highest concentration of unsatisfactory-rated teachers,” Mona Davids, a parent-group plaintiff and president of the New York City Parents Union, said in a statement. “Yet every attempt to hold teachers accountable for education of our children is blocked. Bad laws need to go.

It is time to reform the law and put our children’s interests first. Every child must receive equal access to a high quality education.”

The New York group claims in the lawsuit that it is not against tenure conceptually and that it is a system that fosters academic freedom and protects competent teachers, but that the current education law in New York is “gross and glaringly inadequate and effectively deprives the delivery of constitutionally guaranteed sound basic education to an exceedingly worrisome number of children in the city and the state.

“The existing framework gives no consideration to the minimum constitutional requirement of teacher competence when layoffs become necessary,” the complaint says. “The state requires a quality blind approach to layoffs that considers only years of service – and completely ignores job performance and the ability to deliver a sound quality education.”

While challenges to tenure laws in other states may be on the horizon, the results may vary widely state to state, as do the laws. In California, a teacher can earn tenure after 18 months on the job, while in New York teachers face a threeyear probationary period. In Connecticut, the road to achieve tenure is four years.

CABE Search Services is recruiting for Oxford Public Schools Superintendent of Schools approximately 2,000 PK-12 Students

Tolland Public Schools Superintendent of Schools approximately 3,000 PK-12 Students

For an update or more information on vacancies go to our website:

www.cabe.org

For more information contact, CABE Search Services, 860-539-7594 Jacqueline V. Jacoby Senior Search Consultant Mary Broderick Associate Consultant Paul Gagliarducci Associate Consultant Bob King Associate Consultant P.O. Box 290252, Wethersfield, CT 06129-0252 www.cabe.org/support Equal Opportunity Employers

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

Enhanced school safety requires board leadership Joe Mazzarella Sr. Vice President and General Counsel, Mutualink, Inc.

Making meaningful and lasting improvements to school safety requires leadership and commitment from boards of education. While many are looking to the State for answers, the reality is that local school board members, administrators, parents and teachers must lead the way. This includes reaching out to work with first responder agencies in the communities including law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency operations centers.

While the threat of school shootings is a concern, schools face an array of other hazards. Modern response and preparedness doctrine focuses on “a scalable, all hazards, all disciplines” framework, referring not only to man-made disasters, such as active shooters, terrorism and other purposeful acts of destruction, but also to natural disasters such as tornados and hurricanes.

Schools and other critical infrastructure entities are called on to implement a collaborative emergency response system capable of addressing emergency situations. Essential components of readiness and response hinge upon being able to quickly and effectively bring the right resources and assistance to bear in response to unfolding needs.

Central to emergency response is the need for effective communication, information sharing and coordination among schools and responders. Implementing systems to bridge school communications systems with responder agencies is necessary as well as implementing capabilities that enable real time sharing of video system views within and around the school premises.

In the case of communications, often school personnel use private radios on campus. These radios are often incompatible with the radio devices used by first responders. Using affordable bridging technology, these systems can be linked to enable seamless communication between school personnel and first responders, both within emergency dispatch and with arriving personnel.

These same bridging capabilities can also be used to directly link teachers’ mobile phones and in school phones with responders, providing critical communication lifelines and enabling vital information about what is occurring, and where, to be communicated.

Likewise, by enabling in-school camera views to be shared out to responders and monitored, responders are given critical views as to what is happening inside the school. This enables quicker identification of perpetrators or threats, their location, and what type of weapons or other hazards are present.

All of this capability creates something called “situational awareness.” Increased situational awareness enables timelier and more accurate information to be obtained by decision makers, better assessment of risks and threats, and more effective deployment and use of critical lifesaving resources.

As schools implement in-school video, panic alarms, reinforced doors and access control systems, it is important to realize that these systems offer a first line of defense within the school and limited communication to the outside world. Implementing an effective real time multimedia sharing system that can connect communications, video and information in times of crisis in a coordinated manner is equally important.

Simply providing external video ac-cess to police through internet connections and handing out police radios to a few person-nel is not effective.

Secure on-demand, anydevice, any-system, seamless real time sharing is essential.

In the first school shooter exercise conducted in Connecticut after Sandy Hook, the Hartford, CT. Police Department, in cooperation with Simpson-Waverly school Training Exercise at Simpson-Waverly School administrators, demonstrated the significant benefits of protect portions of the school. real time multimedia sharing technology.

Hartford Chief of Police, James Hartford Police Department conducted Rovella, testified before the Connecticut several exercises at Simpson-Waverly School Safety Infrastructure Council, School involving school staff, the area urging that this capability be included in school resource officer (SRO), respondschools because it would save lives. ing police patrol units, Hartford Police As local boards of education contemSWAT, the Hartford Office of Emergency plate school security, a holistic plan that Management (OEM), St. Francis Hospiembraces and leverages community parttal, a local trauma facility, and a local ners should be the goal. They must undersecurity monitoring company. stand and plan for the critical interplay Through the technology, all available between schools and first responder agenmedia and communications systems cies, and work cooperatively to ensure that among the participants were enabled to technologies are deployed that enhance permit participant communications to be situational awareness, communications bridged and media assets to be seamlessand information sharing during emergenly shared on an ad hoc, as needed basis, cies to the benefit of the student body, including radios, mobile phones, teleschool staff and community stakeholders. phones, public announcement systems Board of education leaders must lean and the school video system. forward and become active agents in When comparing the same exercise implementing solutions that can save lives with and without the aid of this technolunder real world conditions. ogy, the response and threat mitigation Attorney Joe Mazzarella is Sr. Vice time was cut in half. This reduction was President and General Counsel of attributed to the ability of the police to Mutualink, Inc., based in Wallingford, CT. see in the school and identify the assailAs a former 2-term Board of Education ant, track his movements, receive import- member and parent, Joe writes often on ant information from personnel inside the the topic of school safety. schools, block movement and secure and

Available from the CABE Bookstore!

Understanding the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and Access to Public Meetings and Records - Fourth Edition Written by: Mark J. Sommaruga, Esq. Pullman & Comley, LLC to order the FOIA book go to the CABE Online Bookstore at www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=749

Talented Student Showcase 2014 CABE/CAPSS Convention – November 14-15

Public Education in 2027: Courageous Leadership Teams

Lisa Steimer Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development

Thanks to the good work of the CABE/CAPSS Convention Committee the pieces of the Conference puzzle are coming together.

The Convention Committee has selected two student musical groups to perform on Friday and Saturday mornings. The selection process is always an enjoyable experience where the selection committee has the opportunity to review each entry and see on a large scale the many talented students that attend public schools in

Connecticut. Yet, at the same time it is also a difficult meeting because the Committee cannot accept every group that submits an entry.

The Convention Committee is pleased to announce the two groups that will be performing at the CABE/CAPSS Convention. The selected groups are the Parish Hill High School Chamber Choir who will perform on Friday morning and the Berlin High School Jazz Ensemble who will perform on Saturday morning.

They will be a great way to kick off the Convention each morning!

Watch your email and The CABE Journal for more Convention news.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014

CABE: working for YOU

State approves preschool funding (continued from page 1) of Communications for the Office of Early Childhood, “The amount of funding distributed to school systems for 2014-2015 will depend on how many requests for funding the OEC receives and the information provided by the school districts. The amount of bond funding may not exceed $15 million for 2014-2015 and may not exceed $10 million for each subsequent year.”

The Office of Early Childhood Commissioner underscored this new process presents a great opportunity for education professionals on the state and local levels to work together. “It is a huge opportunity to do some great partnering with districts so we are really excited for that opportunity,” she said.

The following year, in 2015-16, districts that receive bond funding in 2014-15 would be able to apply for reimbursement for operating costs.

“Right now in the budget you will notice there is no money for operating costs and that was intentional by the Legislature because they realized this would not be up and running by this school year; so next school year, 2015-16, districts can apply for the operating costs.”

Jones-Taylor emphasized that the funding for preschool slots is “a brand new program in which the policies have not been created.” She added, “So many things have not been put in place yet. So there are a lot of things that have to happen before we actually get these funds out. That is not to say that there is not a commitment to do this with a sense of urgency.”

Indeed, Jones-Taylor noted that the approval of the funds is recognition by state officials and lawmakers that there is a need for early childhood education.

“I think what this does is it is a recognition that there is a need outside of our traditional school readiness districts, the priority districts and the competitive districts to recognize that we have children who do not have access to high quality care,” she observed. “We are really expanding access, so I think what we will see hopefully is that there will be more opportunities for children outside of the communities with the highest densities of poverty.”

Individualized Workshops • Professional Development Opportunities Legal Services • Policy Services • Representing You Statewide and Nationally Below are the highlights of activities that the CABE staff has undertaken on your behalf over the last month. We did this:

➤ By promoting •

• •

public education:

•

Provided legislative update to teacher prep students at the University of New Haven.

Hosted Connecticut School Attorneys Council mid-year meeting.

Answered questions about the current legal issues facing boards of education. “HOT” topics this month were: Board subcommittees, curriculum committees, meeting minutes, emergency meetings and limits to public participation.

•

➤ By representing Connecticut school boards on the state or national level:

• • • • • • •

• • • • • •

•

Attended PreK-3 workshop.

Attended the School Safety Council meeting.

Participated in the Special Education Task Force meeting.

Attended Common Core Implementation Task Force meeting.

Participated in State Department of Education Special Education Committee meeting.

Attended bill signing for expanded preschool opportunities.

Served as a volunteer evaluator to prepare a Secondary School in Nigeria for New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation.

Participated in NSBA Council of School Attorneys officers meeting.

Attended NEASC annual workshop for international evaluators.

Attended CAPSS Governance focus group.

Attended “Big 6” Coalition meetings.

Attended State Board of Education meeting.

Attended Graustein Memorial Fund

• •

Community Conversations on Education 20th Anniversary celebration.

Attended workshop on turnaround schools.

Attended Connecticut Education Netowork Conference.

Attended NSBA Federation of Trainers and Meeting Planners Conference.

Attended meeting of the Connecticut Commission for Education Technology.

Participated in the NSBA workgroup updating “The Key Work of School Boards.”

➤ By providing services

to meet members needs:

• • • • • •

• •

Met with Bridgeport Board of Education leadership.

Planned and attended CABE’s Collective Bargaining workshop.

Staffed CABE’s Government Relations and Resolutions Committee meetings.

Facilitated several visioning process meetings with the Milford Board of Education.

Facilitated board retreat with the Norwich Board of Education.

As part of the Custom Update Service, sent revised/new policies to East Windsor, Marlborough, Newington, New Fairfield, New Hartford, Putnam, Region #6 and West Haven Boards of Education.

Currently working on an audit of the policy manual of Branford.

Discussed policy needs of their respective districts through meeting with the superintendents of Branford and Newtown.

•

• •

➤ By providing opportunities for members to learn how to better govern their districts:

• • • •

•

➤ By ensuring members

receive the most up-todate communications:

•

Provided legislative updates at CREC Council meetings.

As part of the development of new policy manuals utilizing the Custom Policy Service, materials were prepared for ACES, Avon, Clinton, Cromwell, Ellington, North Haven, Stamford, and Thomaston Boards of Education.

Completed necessary policy revisions and/or needed new policies as a result of recently passed state legislation.

Released to subscribing districts Policy Update Service publication No. 4, the legislative issue detailing policy implications as a result of recently passed legislation.

• •

Provided a webinar for board members on school governance councils.

Created and mailed CABE/CAPSS Convention Early Registration material.

Facilitated annual goals setting meeting with the Montville Board of Education.

Facilitated discussion on roles and responsibilities workshop with the Stratford Board of Education.

Provided policy information to 27 districts,the State Department of Education, one RESC and one out-ofstate school boards association, through 41 answered requests for information or sample policies, on 241 topics. Further, districts continue to access CABE’s online Core Policy Reference Manual and/or online manuals posted by CABE for policy samples. The topics of greatest interest pertained to technology issues such as web pages, social media, internet use, and tablet use in classrooms.

Planned and delivered a webinar for CABE-Meeting Managers.

Demonstrated CABE-Meeting for West Hartford Central Office staff.

➤ By helping school boards to increase student achievement

•

•

Sent out four issues of Policy Highlights via email listserv covering topics that affect student achievement. This included parent involvement, class rank, nutrition, community engagement, required notifications to parent/guardians and students, electronic cigarettes, and Changes to the Family Medical Leave Act. CABE/CAPSS Convention Talented Student Subcommittee reviewed entries and winners have been notified.

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The Journal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July-August 2014