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speak at CABE/CAPSS Convention

Chris Seymour Staff Reporter, CABE

Lisa Steimer Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development, CABE

Interview with Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell Executive Director Robert Rader and Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice A. McCarthy recently interviewed Education Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell. Bob: Commissioner, congratulations on the removal of the â€œInterimâ€? before your title! We believe your experience, talent and perspective will be a great positive for public education. Boards of Education and Superintendents are very interested in issues that you will address in your new role. What do you think is the one you need to focus on first? Commissioner: I think that the most pressing issues are concerns around our outcomes for kids. I think that is

Connecticut Association of Boards of Education Inc.

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Summer Fun!

81 Wolcott Hill Road Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242

The CABE/CAPSS Convention Committee is pleased to announce that Dr. Elsa NĂşĂąez, President of Eastern Connecticut State University, will be the Convention Saturday morning speaker. In August 2014, Dr. Elsa M. NĂşĂąez started her ninth year as president of Eastern Connecticut State University. She came to Eastern with more than 20 years of previous experience as a senior administrator at such institutions as the University of Maine System and City University of New York. During her tenure, Dr. NĂşĂąez has firmly established Easternâ€™s role as Connecticutâ€™s only public liberal arts university. Academic enhancements have ranged from providing additional support for faculty and undergraduate research and travel to the development of new majors (e.g. Health Sciences and New Media Studies). Under Dr. NĂşĂąezâ€™s leadership, Eastern has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 30 public regional universities in the North; been recognized five years in a row by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a â€œGreat College to Work Forâ€?; been named

JULY | AUGUST 2015

everybodyâ€™s most pressing issue but the thing to address first is: how we create the feeling that we are all working together on it? Because certainly weâ€™re stronger all together than any of us are with our own ideas both inside the State Department of Education (SDE) and with all the different circles of teachers, students, parents, Boards of Education, Superintendents and Principals. Inside SDE, we have a lot of highly talented folks, as we do in our districts and throughout the State. Getting their thoughts and their voices, and being a good listener as we approach how we will implement our initiatives is going to be the key to our success in the next few years. Patrice: You have had a number of leadership roles leading up to this one. Can you describe your style of leadership? Commissioner: Thatâ€™s a great question. You would think I would have been asked it by now too but I donâ€™t think I ever have. My style of leadership is that I believe people thrive best when they have See INTERVIEW page 15

Demographics and diversity

Teacher negotiations

PAGE 4

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The state may mandate 180 days of school each year, but that hasnâ€™t stopped some districts from getting creative about getting their kids more time in the classroom. â€œExpanded learning timeâ€? is a concept that pretty much explains itself: students receive more time in the classroom with core subjects and enrichment activities they wouldnâ€™t otherwise have time for. Some Nutmeg State districts, including Meriden and Bloomfield, are experimenting with the concept to varying degrees but both have seen encouraging results. Meriden, for instance, wrapped up its third year of expanded learning time â€“ which adds an additional 100 minutes of classroom time a day for students at three schools in 2014-15 and Bloomfield this summer is continuing a four-week summer school program, which essentially serves as an extension of the school year, that is available to all students entering grades 1-12. According to Meriden Superintendent Mark D. Benigni, Ed.D, the additional 100 minutes students at three elementary schools â€“ Pulaski, Barry and Sherman â€“ in his district receive is tantamount to over 40 additional school days each year. â€œThe whole concept of this expanded learning time was to put back into the school day some of the enrichment and the engaging activities that have been stripped out over the years,â€? explained Benigni. These activities include health and fitness activities, world language and world cultures, woodworking, social groups, and technology-based learning, according to Benigni. See EXPANDED page 14

Letter to the Editor

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Working for YOU

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Periodical Postage PAID Hartford, CT

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015 PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

Privitized vs. Public Education A year after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1954, an angry Milton Friedman, the future Nobel Prize winner for Economics, declared that “Privately conducted schools can develop exclusively white schools, exclusively colored schools, and mixed schools”. That was the first salvo to destroy the public school system in this country and replace it with a more libertarian system. In reality, it was and is a scheme cooked up to eliminate democratically elected school boards and put forth an ideological dislike of teacher unions and hostility for the idea of public schools. Mr. Friedman wanted to see public schools turned into competing corporations on the free market. However, the effect of creating a voucher or a supposed system of choice for parents was, in fact, a way to preserve segregation. When Milton Friedman learned of this development he embraced racially segregated schools as a BENEFIT of the free market: “So long as the schools are publicly operated, the only choice is between forced non segregation and forced segregation, and if I must choose between these evils, I would choose the former as the lesser.”(prwatch.org) The American Legislative Council Exchange, ALEC, was founded in 1973 by Paul Weyrich and other conservative activists and inspired by Milton Friedman and his call for conservatives to “develop alternatives to existing policies...” ALEC is comprised of 2,000 state and federal lawmakers and 300 corporate members. ALEC’s model legislation reflects its long term goals: downsizing government and removing regulations on corporations. Corporate donors retain veto power over the language of their model bills which are created by secretive task forces, (The Nation, 2011). Among ALEC’s model legislation are bills to privatize education, break unions, and pass voter ID laws. ALEC’s 2010 “Report Card on American Education” called on its members to “transform the system, don’t tweak it”. They refer to their legislative strategy as “whack a mole”: introduce so many pieces of education legislation that there is “no way a person with the mallet can get them all”, the “person” being the teacher unions. The agenda includes privatizing education through vouchers, charter schools, and tax incentives, the Special

Needs Scholarship program, (vouchers for special education students), as well as bills that chip away at school board governance. Among the corporate members on its education task force are the Richard Murray Friedman Foundation, the Goldwater Institute, and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, as well as education service providers like Sylvan Learning. The Broad Foundation, and the Walmart Foundation are members, as well. ALEC also promotes legislation, that in effect, starves states of revenues by promoting tax breaks for corporations, among other things, which is affecting how we fund public education. If you find any of these efforts on behalf of vouchers, charter schools, and the efforts to privatize education in this country frightening, as I do, it is time for every board member, state association, and National School Boards to learn more about these anti public education forces. We need to expose their agendas and become a truth squad for the bedrock of democracy. Let me close with comments made by the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, at the California Charter School Association on March 3, 2014. “The problem with public schools is that they are governed by elected school boards. Charters have stable governance. It’s going to take 20 to 30 years to get 90% of kids in charter schools.” (WashPost 3/11/14). Really? Can our nation afford this prophecy?

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 Daniel Gentile ......................................... Area 1 Director, Plymouth Susan Karp ................................... Area 2 Co-Director, Glastonbury Donald Harris ................................. Area 2 Co-Director, Bloomfield Laura Bush ................................................. Area 3 Director, Vernon Douglas Smith ........................................ Area 4 Director, Plainfield Andrea Veilleux ................................ Area 6 Co-Director, Stratford Jennifer Dayton ............................. Area 6 Co-Director, Greenwich Roxane McKay ............................. Area 7 Co-Director, Wallingford John Prins ......................................... Area 7 Co-Director, Branford Lon Seidman ................................................. Area 8 Director, Essex Andrea Ackerman ..................................... Area 9 Director, Groton

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

New! CABE/CAPSS Convention App The CABE/CAPSS Convention app - available for Apple, Google Play and BlackBerry World –gives you instant access to the Convention schedule, presenter bios, sponsors, and exhibitors, as well as the ability to register for the Convention and book your hotel room. During the Convention you will have the ability to complete workshop evaluations through the app.

Download the app by scanning the QR code included in this article. You will immediately have access to Convention information. If you have any questions about accessing the app, please contact Lisa Steimer at lsteimer@cabe.org or 860-571-7446.

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 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: https://www.cabe. org/userlogin.cfm?pp=1024&userrequest=false&keyrequest=YES

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015 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 SILVER MEMBERS Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Arthur J. Gallagher & Company Corporate Cost Control Milone & MacBroom, Inc. Perkins & Eastman Siegel, O’Connor, O’Donnell & Beck The Segal Company

BRONZE PLUS MEMBERS BL Companies Coordinated Transportation Solutions Friar Associates Goldstein & Peck, P.C. Milliman, Inc. Morganti Group O & G Industries The S/L/A/M Collaborative Trane

BRONZE MEMBERS Brown & Brown Insurance Chinni & Meuser LLC Dattco Inc. ECG Engineering, PC Fuller & D’Angelo Architects and Planners JCJ Architecture Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C. The Lexington Group Muschell & Simoncelli Ovations Benefits Group Suisman 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

Demography and Diversity Demography, the study of human populations, particularly its size, density, distribution and vital statistics, has everything to do with the roles and responsibilities of boards of education. It affects the number of schools needed, the logistics of moving students to the schools, teachers required, courses taught and all other aspects of our school systems. So, it is critical for board members to understand the future in terms of the demographics of their own school districts, as well as the State and the Nation. If you were at our Summer Leadership Conference, you would have gotten an indepth discussion of demography, started by Director Michael Howser and Associate Director Steve Batt of the Connecticut

manner of teaching that has been encouraged by CABE, CAPSS, CAS (the principals’ association) and the Regional Educational Service Centers over the last year. Personalized learning, according to a report published by these organizations, is a system that “transforms schooling by providing voice and choice on what, where, and how students learn in relation to competency-based, world class knowledge and skills”. Find the report at http://www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=1229. Combining the need to focus more on each individual student with a smaller student population may enable our schools to use our resources more efficiently. With fewer students, for example, teachers may more easily be able to pro-

“. . . school boards must begin to think of the impact of lower enrollment on their districts early, develop plans that will take these changes into account and turn them into positive developments for their students.” State Data Center, and later by a panel of those involved in various aspects of personalized learning and issues that directly affect school districts. Mr. Howser, through a dashboard created by the Data Center and now available for school boards, spoke about the demographic changes that have occurred in the last few years, as well as what we can expect over the next 10 years. Now, you can examine the projected changes in the overall student population for your district [http:tinyurl.com/qhsyf46]. For some districts, the decrease in the percentage of students is stunning. In many of our regional and suburban districts, the population goes down 30 or even 50 percent. Pretty much across the State, the population of students will decrease, except in the cities, where it will remain flat or increase slightly. Some of our members are already facing student enrollment decreases. There is more talk of school closings than in recent years and the State has already passed legislation that enables towns to cut the MBR in most districts when enrollment has decreased. It seems to me that school boards must begin to think of the impact of lower enrollment on their districts early, develop plans that will take these changes into account and turn them into positive developments for their students. For example, decisions on facilities must be made years in advance since construction projects often take years of planning and getting approvals. Even though you may close a school, the buildings you keep may need to be upgraded to take the extra students. We must think creatively about how to turn these situations into opportunities. One of the issues discussed by Patrice McCarthy on the panel was the implementation of personalized learning, a new

vide more support for every student. Every district will need to examine the best series of measures it will take as the enrollment trend continues.

Diversity Of course, demographics is not only the study of the number in a population. It is also the study of the people themselves. One of the most important demographic changes in America is going on right before our eyes: the last school year was the first in which the percentage of children of color was higher than that of white students. The National Center for Education Statistics estimated in 2014, 50.3 per cent of students were of color. According to Education Week, that number “is driven largely by dramatic growth in the Latino population and a decline in the white population, and, to a lesser degree, by a steady rise in the number of Asian-Americans. AfricanAmerican growth has been mostly flat.” While our friends at the Data Center did not report on trends in Connecticut in the number of students of color, it would be no stretch to imagine that as suburban districts shrink in enrollment and cities maintain or grow, the percentage of students of color will increase in Connecticut. Diversity in education, especially in the teaching profession, is an issue that has been addressed over the years with little success. According to the recently released The Condition of Education in Connecticut 2013-14, where 41.6% of the student population is nonwhite, around “92% of certified school staff are white, 3.6% are Hispanic/Latino, 3.5% are black and 1% are Asian”. Over the last few months, the State Department of Education (SDE) con-

Robert Rader

vened a series of stakeholder meetings on steps Connecticut will take to ensure that students from low-income families and students of color are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified or out-of-field teachers or inexperienced school leaders. Work on recruiting and retaining educators of color is a critical strategy in Connecticut’s plan. CABE President Richard Murray served on the committee.

School Board Members The fact that there is a focus on the instructional staff and providing highlyqualified teachers of color does not mean that there are no diversity concerns elsewhere in the educational system. While there is little research on this issue, it appears that the percentage of school board members of color is also well below that of the student population. We do not have numbers for Connecticut board of education members, but in the small research survey I found, nationally, African American board members amounted to about 12% of all board members, but Hispanic board members amounted to only about 4%. Why is it important that we focus on this issue going forward? Well, if we believe that boards must represent the entire community, there is a need for people of color to serve on our boards. This is not only a “good thing” to do, but it is a moral imperative if we are to ensure that the generations following us understand the importance of boards to all students. Research has shown that when board members are of color, the policies that they pass and the direction of the district, are more sensitive to the needs of children of color. The CABE Board of Directors is now looking into this issue through a committee that was recently established. We hope to provide information and recommendations on these issues as we move forward. We want to be leaders in helping districts address these changes. Demographics will determine the destiny of our education system. And, the sooner we all start to focus on these issues, the better off we will be.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

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

Policy guides a successful board A school board’s major function is to fulfill its legislative role by adopting policies to guide the operation of the school system. Policy development and adoption is the most important function of a board of education.

The Board’s Role The board’s adopted policies are statements that set forth the purposes and prescribe in general terms the organization and program of a school district. The board is guided in making decisions and in assigning authority and responsibility to the school administration and staff through its policies. Policies provide the needed framework within which the superintendent and staff can discharge their assigned duties with positive direction. Policies establish a definite course of action to guide present and future directions, while allowing flexibility for the day-to-day operations of the schools. The development of clear, sound and legal policies is critical to the successful operation of any school district. In a time of fiscal constraints, increased accountability, community scrutiny, legislative mandates and recently passed legislation, effective policies can help support the board’s primary purpose: advancing student achievement. Adopting policy remains one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any board of education. Many problems faced by boards could have been prevented or resolved by the deletion of a poor policy or by the addition of a good policy. Policy is the tool that provides the board power to allow or require action. It is through policy that lay citizens can effectively govern. The board is primarily a policy-making body and the policies that it enacts are the local law of the school district. Policies are broad guidelines, philosophical statements set by the

school board to chart the district’s course of action.

Preparing for a New Year As we prepare to start a new school year, it is important to keep in mind some guidelines that will help boards govern effectively through policy. Board members are in a leadership position. Therefore, policies should reflect what the board wants to see happen. Boards also need to have a comprehensive policy that establishes its’ policy development process. The board’s adopted policies should be designed to help achieve the vision and mission of the school system. Avoid detailed policies that move the board into administrative issues and results in the board hearing complaints and attempting to solve problems that should be handled by the administration. However, some federal and state statutes require school boards to place in policy detailed language and/or procedures on certain issues, which normally would not be in policy. In these situations, boards have no alternative but to comply with such requirements. Legislation, both federal and state, has become increasingly more prescriptive regarding the language to be included in local policy. Policy should cause improvements in district schools. That is responsible governance. Policy should move the school system in the desired direction. Development and adoption of policy is only the beginning of bringing about the desired action. It is essential that policy be monitored to ensure that it is appropriately implemented and followed and achieves the desired results. Don’t abandon your policies to the boardroom shelf, website or CD. Board members must keep in mind board policies carry the weight of law 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=1256

establish a legal record for the board of education and the school district. The board’s policies must be current and effective, constantly monitored, and communicated and distributed to school employees, students, parents and the school community. They should be easily accessible and conveniently located. A vigorous program of policy oversight and evaluation is recommended. This means ensuring that your policies are accomplishing what they were designed to achieve, producing the desired results. When evaluating the effectiveness of policy, look to see if unintended consequences have occurred.

Monitoring Your Policies It is essential that community members, in addition to district staff, have easy access to the board’s policies. This can be achieved through their placement on the district’s web site, in town and school libraries, school offices and at town hall. CABE’s successful “Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.) has assisted many local boards in placing the district’s policy manual online, keeping it up-to-date, and providing easy “searchable access for the entire educational community and the public.

court. Lastly, not all policies require the development and issuance of administrative regulations by the superintendent. However, many policies should have written administrative procedures to ensure the board that policy is implemented fairly, consistently and in the manner the board desires. Administrative regulations provide guidance and direction to the district’s administrative, instructional and support staff in the uniform administration of board policy. The purpose of administrative guidelines, often also called procedures, is to fill in broad policy statements with the details that ensure that what the board wants done, actually happens. The board does not adopt administrative regulations, unless required by statute or by a district’s bylaw. The superintendent may share them with the board in order to provide assurance that he/she understands and is attempting to carry out the intent of the board’s policy. It is also necessary to keep in mind that a policy manual is never complete. The process of developing policy is a constant and continual process due to changes in local beliefs, and in federal and state laws and court decisions which take precedence over board policies.

Conclusion Keeping Manuals Up-to-Date School board policy manuals must be kept up-to-date. Policy development is an unending responsibility and process. The boundaries of policy making are shaped by many factors including federal and state laws and regulations and judicial decisions. Policies must change in our everchanging world. There are policies that are required to be adopted by school boards by federal or state laws or agency regulations. CABE policy updates should be used for adopting and/or changing policies in a timely fashion. Districts must be sure that all copies of manuals in the district are updated when the board adopts or revises a policy. Technology can be of great assistance in this regard by posting the policy manual online especially through CABE’s C.O.P.S. which includes speedy revisions. Policies should also be reviewed on regular basis throughout the school year to determine conformity with current statutes and judicial decisions as well as be sure that what the policies say and what the district does match. It is important to adopt policies on controversial or sensitive issues at a time before such issues actually arise in the district. Sound legal advice resulting in appropriate policy can help the board avoid litigation. Adopting policies on controversial or sensitive issues may often be an uncomfortable and contentious process, but it is necessary. Sound policy, while not a guarantee, will help a district stay out of

Policy is the school board’s most powerful tool for bringing its vision, mission and goals to reality. They are the basis for evaluating staff work, for governing student behavior and much more. They keep the district moving toward the vision the board and the community holds for the schools. Policy can and should be a force for leadership and school reform and improvement. Local boards should govern aggressively to create the educational vision of their community, ensure there is an infrastructure in place to achieve the community’s vision, establish academic standards designed to achieve the community’s vision and an assessment system to measure how the vision is being achieved. This is the board’s policy role!

People in the News Gloria Cudnik, who served for many years as a secretary at CABE, died recently at the age of 90. Gloria provided exemplary support to the Government Relations and legal staff at CABE. We extend our sympathy to Gloria’s family. Patrice A. McCarthy Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

Did the Nutmeg Board strike a good deal with the teachers in negotiations? Thomas B. Mooney, Esq.

ment and labor will be great for morale. A happy teacher is a good teacher,” Mal said with a smile. The Nutmeg Board of Education Bob wasn’t sure what to make of all makes many mistakes. The latest imbroglio created by the board will be reported this, and he called for a caucus of the Board team. Bob, Penny and Red here each issue, followed by an explanapuzzled over the Union proposal for a tion of what the board should have done. joint committee. But the more they Though not intended as legal advice, talked, they more they were convinced these situations may help board members that this unconventional proposal from avoid common problems. NUTS may have potential for the Board. Mr. Superintendent couldn’t believe Their first priority, of course, is to keep that it is already again time for negotiathe salary settlement down, and some tions with the Nutmeg Union of Teachers stupid committee may be the answer, they (NUTS). However, when Mr. Superinagreed. So they returned to the table and tendent told Mr. Chairman that teacher negotiations are coming up and suggested offered to accept the NUTS’ committee idea if NUTS will agree to a salary freeze. a private Board meeting to discuss straThe NUTS team promptly caucused. tegy, Mr. Chairman demurred. “Nope! After an hour, NUTS came back and We need transparency,” he said. “The made its “final” offer: given the Board’s Board will be discussing these negotiaacceptance of the joint committee as tions in open session. After all, our proposed, NUTS offered to settle the taxpayers have a right to know where issue of salary with a 1% general wage their money goes.” increase each year. Sure enough, the next Board meeting Bob couldn’t help but smile because he included the agenda item “Teacher Negotiations,” and veteran Board member knew that keeping the salary settlement to 1% would be a very Bob Bombast could low settlement. He hardly wait to share promptly agreed and “Teacher contract his negotiation quickly wrote up a strategy with the negotiation is a tentative agreement world, including that both he and Mal givebacks on complicated business, signed. longevity, health Is this a good deal insurance and other and boards of for Nutmeg? benefits, as well as education must have performance-based It is not a good compensation. Mal the necessary legal deal. Indeed, we are Content, newlynot even sure what elected President of and administrative the deal is. Will NUTS, listened to teachers move a Bob’s speech with expertise in such step? If so, Bob just alarm and girded for agreed to a settlenegotiations.” battle. ment that will likely Mr. Chairman total 3% each year or appointed Bob more. Moreover, Bob and his team made Bombast, Penny Pincher and Red Cent to many other mistakes as well. serve as the negotiations team. Mr. At the outset, we must consider the Superintendent asked to be included, but duty to bargain in good faith, which Bob waved him off, confident that he and governs the labor negotiation process for his Board colleagues would do just fine teachers and all other union groups: without him. At the first negotiation “to negotiate in good faith” is the session with NUTS, Bob pooh-poohed performance of the mutual obligathe need for ground rules, and he jumped tion of the board of education [and right in with the Board proposals for the union] to meet at reasonable times health insurance plan design changes. . . . and to participate actively so as to Mal responded on behalf of NUTS. indicate a present intention to reach “Let’s not waste time here. Our teachers agreement with respect to salaries, are sick of being hit with new costs for hours and other conditions of emhealth insurance. We are done. We will ployment . . . but such obligation shall not be negotiating any further changes in not compel either party to agree to a health insurance this year.” proposal or require the making of a Bob Bombast was taken aback. concession. “None??” he asked. “That is not fair.” Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 10-153e(d). “You heard me,” Mal said. “We will With this definition, we learn the follownot be negotiating further on health ing. insurance. We do want a salary increase First, the parties must bargain in good of course, as well as step movement for faith. As defined above, “good faith” all teachers in each of the contract years. does not require agreement or concession. But we do want to work with the Board. It does, however, require that the parties So we are proposing that there be a joint listen to each other. Here, NUTS comcommittee at each school with equal mitted an unfair labor practice by flatly representation by the Board and the refusing to negotiate over health insurUnion that will make all of the decisions ance. NUTS had the right to reject every necessary to run the school. Collaboraone of the Board’s proposals, but it could tive decision-making between manageShipman & Goodwin

not simply say that it would not negotiate over them. Second, the parties must bargain over mandatory subjects of negotiation, i.e. salary, hours and other conditions of employment. Conversely, the parties are not required to negotiate over nonmandatory subjects of negotiation. Maintaining that distinction is crucially important, and to do so boards of education must recognize that school boards have management rights that need not be negotiated, such as curriculum, facilities, and size of the teaching staff. To be sure, the impact of management decisions may affect conditions of employment, and those impacts must be negotiated. Layoff procedures illustrate the point. The board of education has the right to create and eliminate positions, but the impact of those decisions – who stays and who goes – is subject to negotiation, and all labor contracts include reductionin-force procedures. The joint committee as proposed by NUTS would clearly intrude into management prerogatives, and as such it does not relate to a mandatory subject of negotiations. Accordingly, the Board Committee should not have agreed to or even negotiated over the NUTS proposal for such a committee. Here, we see a common temptation – to trade “language” for “money” because the public hears (and is critical of) the settlement “number” but doesn’t under-

stand the implications of contract language changes. However, contract language affects operations and can be expensive indeed. By agreeing that a joint union/management committee will now run each school, the Board has put itself in the worst possible situation – accountability without control. The Board made other mistakes as well. Ground rules are important to guide negotiation process. Moreover, the FOIA permits confidential discussion of negotiations strategy, and public pronouncements early in the process can be counterproductive. Finally, the Committee’s failure to recognize the proper scope of negotiations may be attributable to a mistake Bob made early in the process. Mr. Superintendent offered to participate in negotiations, but Bob did not include him. Teacher contract negotiation is a complicated business, and boards of education must have the necessary legal and administrative expertise in such negotiations. That is true not only in formal negotiations, but also in the informal discussions away from the table, when expectations can be raised and deals can be struck. 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.

The Eighth Edition is here!!

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 ord searches as a supplement to the Index. The Eighth Edition was substantially rewritten to reflect statutory changes, significant case law developments in state and federal courts. Some of the numerous legal developments and update are as follows: • School Safety and Security • Bullying Law • Teacher Evaluation and Support • Teacher Tenure Act • New Requirements for Professional Development • Budget Issues • Prohibitions on Electronic Notifications of Referenda • Minimum Budget Requirements • FMLA for Paraprofessionals • Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Requirements • Uniform Regional School Calendars • Excusal • Student Assessments • Pool Safety • Concussion Prevention and Education • Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention and Education • Administration and Storage of Epinephrine • Excused Absences • Student Free Speech • Employee Free Speech

Order your copy TODAY by going to the CABE website: www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=1241

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015 Friday Keynote Speaker – Book Review

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Dragon? In keeping with this November’s CABE/CAPSS Convention theme, “Changing Faces, Changing World – Are We Prepared?” the Convention Committee selected Dr. Yong Zhao as our Friday morning keynote speaker. Having heard him present several times over the years, we are greatly excited that our members have the opportunity to hear from him. As part of our preparation for the event, we read Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Dragon?, Zhao’s book on the Chinese educational system and how it compares to that in the United States. The first half of the book discusses, in detail, the traditions of China and its teaching system and how that system, developed on the idea that the Emperors, who ruled China for millennia, could not be wrong. The only type of creativity was in pleasing the emperor, as he wanted to be pleased. Thus, the education system followed the desires of the Emperor at all times. Civil servants had the most highly prized positions in the Chinese education system and teachers were just below them.

Interestingly, in the late The Chinese system is 1800s, the Chinese tried to much more intense and encourage some students to stressful than in the U.S. and embrace creativity and break leads to cheating – across the away (somewhat) from the education system, including system by coming to in higher education. CheatHartford, CT and getting ing has even led to the absurd their high school education story that there was a riot by here. 2000 people (including This did not work out as parents who understand the many of the students became need for their children to succeed in school for a better more Westernized than the conservative Chinese court Dr. Yong Zhao is the fea- life) yelling that it’s not fair tured speaker at the Friday that they can’t cheat on an officials could tolerate and morning General Session. the attempt was soon exam! abandoned, even as Mark Twain and Even when it comes to competition in President Ulysses Grant tried to rescue areas like developing research papers and the program. other indicia of a progressive, knowledgeDespite wars, changes in the world and able country, the issue is quantity over even the change to the Communist system quality – and, according to Zhao, the under Mao Tse-tung, control has remainquality is often sorely lacking. ed with the ruler(s). Because of this conChinese schools, according to Zhao, trol from the top, especially its “mo“exist for test prep. Every class, every nopoly on curriculum and assessment”, teacher, every school is about preparing and the processes used to admit students for the exams… No new content is to college, the Chinese education system taught.” marched, and continues to move, in Unfortunately, Zhao writes, “Chinese lockstep.

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn What school districts can do What strategies can school districts employ to ensure students read proficiently by the end of third grade? Research and real-world experience suggest a number of promising policies and practices: • To get a handle on attendance, look beyond average daily attendance figures, which can mask chronic absenteeism among a small number of children • To give all children a head start on learning – especially disadvantaged children – invest in

full-day preschool and kindergarten. • To engage parents in their children’s literacy, reach out to them about ways they can help build skills through reading, talking, and playing game with their children. • To strengthen teachers’ skills, make research-based reading instruction a primary focus of professional development. • To make sure retention helps, provide struggling readers with opportunities for intensive

remediation. • To maintain a focus on what matters most, adopt researchbased early reading instruction and assess reading skills early and regularly. Learning to Read, Reading to Learn was published by the Center for Public Education, March 2015. To review the complete report, go to http:/ /www.centerforpubliceducation.org/ earlyliteracy.

government controls education just as tightly as the emperors did in ancient times.” Today, creativity is rewarded only when it is desired by the government. Chinese education is “more of a tool for social control than a process for selfenlightenment.” Over the years, as with the Hartford experiment, Chinese leaders have recognized the shortcomings of their system. However, its efforts to limit the use of testing and reduce the academic burden on students “have been rendered ineffective. So have comprehensive reform efforts to broaden the national curriculum, grant more local control of curriculum and textbooks, improve pedagogy and reduce quality gaps among schools.” Zhao states that effective solutions to the way-too-rigid Chinese system would require “revolutionary changes to the very foundation on which Chinese society operates.” Alluding to Shanghai and its successful results on assessments such as PISA, Zhao writes that China’s “authoritarianism has just produced great test takers, in a world captivated by test scores.” So, those who admire the Chinese system are basing their views on a “simplistic definition of education quality”. To him, it is a waste of time and effort in China, since its system was proven obsolete over a century ago. So, what does Dr. Zhao think about the changes to the American education system over the last few years? Should we be afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Attend his keynote speech at the Convention to find out! Dr. Zhao is Presidential Chair, Director, Institute of Global and Online Education Professor, Department of Educational Methodology, Policy and Leadership College of Education, University of Oregon. Robert Rader Executive Director, CABE

Patrice A. McCarthy Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

Núñez to speak at CABE/CAPSS Convention

June 11 - the CABE Board of Directors voted on the budget for the Association for 2015-2016.

(continued from page 1) to President Obama’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll; and been included in the U.S. Green Building Council’s list of the nation’s top Green Colleges. Dr. Núñez received her B.A. from Montclair State College, an M.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University and an Ed.D. from Rutgers University. Watch your email and future issues of the CABE Journal for more Convention news.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

Think twice before you tweet Rich Bagin Executive Director, NSPRA

Recently, the president of the PGA of America was ousted because of inappropriate tweets – basically a namecalling incident. It’s an example of what can happen when a public figure doesn’t think twice before using social media. By looking at this from afar, we can learn a lesson. Pam Swensen, CEO of the Executive Women’s Gold Association (EWGA), offered some advice that principals and other education leaders may heed before your community starts asking, “What was she/he thinking?” Swensen notes that this situation can happen to anyone, and it leads itself to four larger lessons in leadership. NSPRA’s annotated comments add a bit more relevancy for educations.

Never forget your role Whether you’re head of a corporation (or school) or the local Rotary Club, your actions reflect on everyone you lead. What you say in every situation, and especially through social

media, needs to be filtered to always be appropriate. (Early in my career, a consultant told our group of budding administrators: “You can never not lead.” It’s a 24-7 job, and social media can make it worse or better.)

rethink before you hit “send.” (Step away from the heat of the moment. Don’t make it worse. It can come back to haunt you in a quick, viral fashion.)

Timing and tempo are key

Twittter, Facebook and other social media make everything posted open to scrutiny. So should you step away from the phone and the keyboard? Not really. Being actively engaged in social media gives leaders a unique platform to listen and learn. It is an opportunity to interact with customers and keep a pulse on trends. As a leader, you’re expected to be a spokesperson and a representative who reflects the values and aspirations of the people who are part of your company or institution. (Positive visibility is a great characteristic of leading principals; just always remember the intent of your communication and how it will be perceived by your key audiences.)

The board of the PGA of America acted swiftly and decisively to remove the president following his tweets. The board’s quick action sent a clear message that the PGA is serious about upholding standards of professional behavior. Whenever bad publicity might expand into a bigger story, a rapid response and appropriate action to address the issue averts a lingering PR problem. (Rapid response has been an NSPRA mantra for many years. Don’t let others tell your story.)

Intentions don’t count In this golfing example, the offending tweets were sent in defense of a friend. The exchange wasn’t intended to be disparaging of women, (calling a fellow golfer a “lil” girl) but it came across that way to some. Think before you act, and

Social media rules

Reprinted with permission from “PRrincipal Communicator” May 2015 published by the National School Public Relations Association.

CABE-Meeting CABE-Meeting is a user-friendly online service offered by CABE specifically for school boards. Users can eliminate unnecessary paperwork, increase efficiency and reduce costs while enabling board members to utilize the latest in cutting edge technology. Using CABE-Meeting, the Meeting Manager can create an electronic meeting from developing the agenda to creating the minutes and everything in between. CABE-Meeting Offers? • Secure login access for board and district staff • Access from any location with Internet access • Search archived agenda and meeting related items in a flash. • Ability to download and print attachments • Option to provide a public link to board meeting information Your Subscription Provides: • Access to CABE-Meeting • Initial and ongoing training • Support and maintenance • Upgrades to the service CABE Member Subscription Info: Initial Subscription Fee – $3,000 Annual Maintenance Fee – $1,500 If you have an interest in this service, contact Lisa Steimer at 860-5717446 or lsteimer@cabe.org.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015 Letter to the Editor:

Unified board of education: Key to Bloomfield Success As chairman of the board for Bloomfield Public Schools, which our data indicates is the most improved school district in Connecticut over the past four years; I’m often asked what contributed to our academic resurgence. For example, our high school graduation rate increased 16 percentage points since 2011, from 74% to 90%. Our middle school registered four consecutive years of academic growth and was recently recognized by the education reform group ConnCAN as a “Success Story” school. Third grade Reading, Writing and Math scores in 2013 were above the state average.The Milken Foundation recently recognized Metacomet Elementary School principal Desi Nesmith with its prestigious award for education leadership. In March, the Connecticut Council for Education Reform published an extensive online profile – located at ctedreform.org – about Bloomfield’s successful strategies to reduce the academic achievement gap. Connecticut historically has held the widest achievement gap in the country. There have been two key contributors to our resurgence. First, is the leadership of Superintendent Dr.

James Thompson Jr. When hired in 2011, he established a vision rooted in the strategic use of data; rigor; a positive school climate; and family/community engagement. Those priorities set a strong foundation for academic achievement. Staff and stakeholders endorsed and executed the vision.The other factor that spurred our academic growth is the harmonious and collaborative relationship between the superintendent and the school board. We understand our respective roles. I can’t emphasize enough how much a unified school board contributes to the academic success of a school system, particularly one that had been under-performing. The school board and the superintendent have to be on one accord. It’s very important for board members to know their role, the chairman in particular. When I was appointed chairshortly after Dr. Thompson arrived, I came in with the mindset that the superintendent is the one in charge of the system. He does all the hiring, including all of the administrators. Too many boards believe they are the employers of the entire system. They only employ one person – the superintendent. Their job is to monitor and evaluate him. Boards get into trouble when those

lines of responsibility become blurred. Our Bloomfield board has three subcommittees – finance, policy and curriculum. Those are our areas of responsibility. We try to monitor, not meddle. School boards should see themselves as liaisons between the superintendent and town council – or whatever organizationcontrols a municipality’s finances. The board is there to set the budget, and set policy. The superintendent is the enforcer of the policies. The board DOES NOT enforces policy. My roots in town are deep. I’m a 1962 graduate of Bloomfield High School and served 39 years as a teacher and an administrator, including six years as the high school principal. For four years, I was the town’s deputy mayor. I’ve seen the ups and downs of our school system, whose student population is now 2,100; 90% of whom are African Americans and West Indians. One way to help school boards operate more cohesively is toinsist that all new members go through an orientation to fully understand the board’s role and responsibilities. Also, more boards should engage in annual retreats and candid selfevaluations. Those self-evaluations were very helpful. They gave us the opportunity to talk and think about how we could

continue to function effectively as a board. It’s critical for us to be in synch with each other. If you’ve got mavericks on your board, it’s a sign of disaster coming. I recall my days as a principal at Bloomfield High School in the early 2000s. I would arrive at 6:30 a.m., only to be informed that a board member was sitting down in the teachers’ room. He was talking to teachers, asking ‘what’s going well with the high school?; what’s not going well?; what would you like to see me take care of?’ He was doing things he should not be doing. He wasn’t the superintendent. Other board members were doing the same thing at other schools. They were undermining and micromanaging the superintendent. It was a sign of a dysfunctional school system. Across the country, those signs of dysfunction are still prevalent. MaryEllen Elia – a 2015 Florida Superintendent of the Year, and a finalist for National Superintendent of Year – was recently fired by her board on a 4-3 vote. That vote count is very telling. The school board and their visionary leader were obviously not on the same page. The result was predictable. Donald Harris Jr Bloomfield Board of Education Chair and CREC Council Chair

Legislative Wrap-Up of the 2015 General Assembly

Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice A. McCarthy

Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations Sheila McKay

CABE's Legislative Wrap-Up workshop, held on June 9, discussed what happened at the General Assembly this year. Patrice McCarthy, Deputy Director and General Counsel and Sheila McKay, Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations, briefed participants on the laws passed this year that will have an effect on school districts. CT-N videotaped the presentation and it is available on their website at http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/ ctnplayer. asp?odID=11634.

The Journal â€“ Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

High School graduation rates hit another all time high

Connecticut is the Best Connecticut is the best state, based on a report which took into account a wide range of factors including income, education, health, economic and crime indicators. Our neighbor Massachusetts came in second, followed by New Jersey. Mississippi and Arkansas had the lowest scores. The report from Measure of America uses the “human development index” as the primary measure. The index is the average of three other indices called health (based on life expectancy), education (based on the percentage of the population in school and the educational attainment of the population 25 and over) and income (based on medium personal origin).

No Data

69% or Below

70-79%

80-84%

85-89%

90% or Above

Connecticut made the greatest progress in narrowing the graduation gap between low and non-low income students, narrowing the gap by 6 percentage points between 2011 and 2013.

The report indicates that Connecticut was ranked number one in 2010, 2008, 2005 and 2000. “Measure of America” is a project of the National Social Science Resource Council. Patrice A. McCarthy Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

Source: Center for Public Education. For more information go to http:// blog.centerforpubliceducation.org/2015/05/12/high-school-graduation-rates-hitanother-all-time-high/

Employee Relations: Spring 2015

Patrice A. McCarthy, Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

Attorney Christine Chinni, Chinni & Meuser

Attorney Craig Meuser, Chinni & Meuser

Participants learned about the most recent information on teacher tenure reform in other states, including a discussion of legal and legislative efforts to limit teacher tenure and termination statutes and the implications for Connecticut. Also, discussed was the appropriate financial control procedures and oversight of all school funds, as well as the serious dangers of neglecting to have them in place.

Superintendent Joseph Macary, Wolcott Public Schools

Attorney Floyd Dugas, Berchem, Moses & Devlin

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

CABE: working for YOU

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 representing Connecticut school boards on the state or national level:

•

• • • •

• •

Attended the national conference of the American Association of School Policy Service personnel. Met with members of the State Department of Education pertaining to health and wellness issues. Planned, implemented and co-hosted the 2015 Southern New England NSBA Federation Trainers and Meeting Planners Conference. Attended grant writing workshop presented by the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits. Attended Connecticut Association of Schools’ Governor’s Scholars lunch. Participated in Educator Preparation Advisory Council (EPAC) meeting. Attended Anti-Defamation League Board meeting. Attended State Department of Educations Celebrating Excellence in Education event. Participated in LEAD Connectiuctt Quarterly Partners’ Meeting Participated in Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) meeting. Participated in CAPSS’ NextEd2 meeting. Participated in Big 6 meeting (CABE, CPASS, CAS CBIA, CCER and ConnCAN)

➤ By providing services

•

• •

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

•

to meet members needs:

•

Facilitated a Community Engagement workshops for the Columbia Board of Education. Facilitated Board Retreats for the Oxford and Woodbridge Boards of Education.

“Success is liking yourself, liking

receive the most up-todate communications:

• •

you do it.” – Maya Angelou

Facilitated a Roles and Responsibilities workshop with the Griswold Board of Education. Planned, implemented and hosted a successful Employee Relations workshop. Hosted CABE/CAPSS Governance Committee meeting for updating the Governance Statement and Team Assessment document. Planned, implemented and hosted successful Legislative Wrap-Up workshop. Participated in phone conference with a speaker for the Summer Leadership Conference. Provided policy information to 45 districts, one charter school, and two RESCs through 70 answered requests for information or sample policies, on 60 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 included sexual abuse/awareness, conflict of interest, child abuse, bullying, social networking, homeless students, hiring administrators, and concussions.

➤ By ensuring members

what you do, and liking how

Facilitated a workshop on the superintendent search process for the Westport Board of Education. Completed an audit of the policy manual of the Shelton Public Schools. Completed Policy Update Service publication detaining legislative actions impacting policy. Met with the New London Board of Education to review the findings and recommendations of the audit of the district’s policy manual. Revised the list of required and recommended policies Revised the list of required and recommended parental and student notifications.

Developed a mobile event app for the 2015 CABE/CAPSS Convention. As part of the development of new policy manuals utilizing the Custom Policy Service, materials were prepared for Avon, Cromwell, Willington, New Canaan, Newtown, North Haven, Plymouth, Region #14, Sherman and

•

➤ By helping school boards •

•

ment. This included graduation issues, Title IX issues, diversification of the teaching staff, class size, nonacademic factors affecting achievement, advertising on school buses, and the impact on policies by recent legislative action.

Wethersfield Boards of Education. As part of the Custom Update Service policy materials were sent to East Windsor, Marlborough, New Fairfield, Newington, Region #6 and Windham Boards of Education.

to increase student achievement

➤ By promoting

Participated in Lighthouse training with the Winchester and Gilbert School Boards of Education. Sent out four issues of Policy Highlights via email listserv covering topics that affect student achieve-

•

public education:

Met with Talented Student subcommittee of the Convention Committee to select student performers and displays for the 2015 CABE/CAPSS Convention.

State Board of Education June and July Meeting by Patrice A. McCarthy and Sheila McKay

June State Board of Education Meeting

July State Board of Education Meeting

The June meeting of the Connecticut State Board of Education featured a presentation by the State Student Advisory Council. The students from throughout Connecticut meet on a monthly basis during the school year and examine several education issues. This year their topics were particularly timely – start time for Connecticut public high schools, implementing community service learning, and standardized testing. The students recommended that secondary elementary schools start times be reversed to accommodate the sleep patterns of teenagers. With a respect to service learning, the students recommended a state requirement of a minimum of 20 hours over the 4 years of high school, which would be eligible for a graduation credit. As the Legislature was debating the very issue, the students recommended that the SAT or ACT be substituted for the SBAC test for 11 graders. They acknowledged that this would require approval at the state and federal level, but would have the significant benefit of enabling students to use these scores for purposes of college admission. The student presentations were well researched – and well received by the members of the State Board of Education.

In its July meeting, the Board approved the coaches’ concussions courses, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference training module, coaches’ annual review materials and the informed consent form for parents and guardians. Under separate action they also approved the sudden cardiac arrest awareness annual review for coaches and the informed consent form for parents and guardians. The Norfolk-Colebrook temporary school study committee recommendations were approved after discussion on the year’s steps it took to get to state approval and how the districts will proceed. Now the committee must hold a public meeting in each town to present the certified report, which becomes the plan for a new regional district. Considerable discussion on the turnaround plan for East Hartford Middle School led to approval by the Board. A few of the areas where reform is sought are: job-imbedded coaching, enhanced intervention for students struggling with math and reading, and improving attendance and decreasing chronic absenteeism. And, finally, Ellen Cohn was approved as Deputy Commissioner for the Implementation of Education Reform.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

The Professional Governance Board Gary Brochu, Chair, Berlin Board of Education

The legacy of professional governance One of the challenges of becoming and operating as a professional governance board is the creation of a legacy. Defining a legacy of professional governance as a culture of professionalism that isn’t limited to the members of the current board, but has the potential to extend and influence future members. Building a legacy that extends into the future begins with the work of today. A good place to start is for a board of education to have a willingness to identify and discuss the values and principles that the board stands for, and to then develop procedures and practices so that its actions reflect these values. While developing board policies that incorporate these values is essential, governance boards should make efforts to ensure that its essential values and beliefs are captured in a clear, understandable manner that easily communicates these values to the members of the board, as well as to those outside of the gover-nance board – potential and future members of the board, and members of the community. One means of capturing and communicating the values of the gover-nance board is through a board member handbook. One of the benefits of a board member handbook is that it can provide a readily accessible means of creating a board consensus about values and practices when engaging in the process of developing the handbook, in addition to serving as a useful tool in communicating these values and practices to internal and external audiences.

The communication of a board’s vision, mission and values is an essential element of professional governance and leadership. Simply put, a professional governance board cannot communicate its

“Good governance is not just professional, it is meaningful. Nor is it accidental. It is a conscious choice to pursue professionalism in service of articulated, shared beliefs.” vision, shared values and sense of mission too often – to the public, to its staff and to its own members. When a professional governance board utilizes a member handbook in this manner, setting forth in writing its core values, it represents the transcription of ideals into procedures, aspirations set forth as expectations, a board’s unspoken assumptions transformed into written requirements. It represents a commitment to a path of professional self-governance beyond a general sense of “getting along” and before conflict develops. It makes the road forward easier since the foundational work of identifying and agreeing on core

values has already been done. Too many boards do not address the essential question of “what do we stand for” until a crisis or conflict forces it to confront this question. Unfortunately, answer-ing this question under the stress of deadlines and con-flict is to risk an incomplete or warped answer. Operating in this manner is to create a legacy by default, resting on the shifting sands of expediency instead of on a bedrock of shared values. Service on a board of education is a responsibility. It’s not just about conducting business in a professional manner. It’s about leading an institution that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others. It’s about the lives and future of our children. Developing and formalizing an agreement on core values is evidence of a board’s acceptance of this responsibility. By making a formal commitment to these values, and developing practices that reflect and codifies them, is to go beyond basic expectations for individual members and toward building a governance board based on that which matters most. Good governance is not just professional, it is meaningful. Nor is it accidental. It is a conscious choice to pursue professionalism in service of articulated, shared beliefs. Board work is, or should be, purpose-driven work. Making an investment in the work of identifying core values, and codifying and communicating these values via a board member handbook, is an important step in creating a legacy of professional and meaningful governance.

NextGeneration Science Standards webinar

On May 21 CABE held a webinar on "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) in the CABE office. The purpose was to give local school boards an overview of the NGSS standards, respond to questions and collect feedback. Presenters were: Elizabeth Buttner, Science Education Consultant, State Department of Education; David M. Moss, Associate Professor, Neag School of Education, UConn; Hank Gruner Vice President of Programs, Connecticut Science Center. Also pictured: Nicholas Caruso, Senior Staff Associate for Field Services/Technology Coordinator, CABE.

What will the

Connecticut Online Policy Service

(C.O.P.S.) provide YOUR district?

• A policy manual updated within days of a board meeting. • Access to your policy manual 24/7 anywhere with Internet capability. • Timesaving links to legal and cross references. • A search engine specifically designed for board policy manuals. • The ability to search other online districts for similar policies or language. • A happier staff that will have less paper to deal with. If you would like additional information on CABE’s Connecticut Online Policy Service (C.O.P.S.), call Vincent Mustaro at 860-571-7446 or email vmustaro@cabe.org for full details.

Let the CABE staff make your policy life easier.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

The

Media Message

from Ann Baldwin, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC

Make communications a priority this school year Now that most of us have been able to enjoy a bit of a break this summer, it’s time to start thinking about getting prepared for the new school year. Summertime is the perfect time to make sure that your public relations, community outreach and crisis communications plans are in good shape and up to date. Getting prepared NOW on what, how, and to whom you want to get pertinent information too, will only make life easier once school has started and you get bogged down with other priorities. Here are some easy steps that you can begin to do to make sure that your communications vehicles are in place and up to date. We all understand the importance of communication to our school community, so why not make sure you have your plan in place with the following five core tasks that can make your job a whole lot easier? 1. Sort through your contacts. Whether you have a full-time communications person or not

(most districts don’t) make sure your contact information is up-todate. People come and people go, especially in the media business, so make sure that if you are going to distribute a press release or a media advisory, you have the latest information on who you are going to send it to. Also, make sure that you have all of the relevant contacts on your list. With online publications popping up more frequently, it is important to stay on top of where your “constituents” are getting their information. 2. Update your community outreach list. As we all know, a good district communications plan goes behind the brick and mortar of the school. In many instances, it is also important that community and business leaders also are kept up-todate on what is happening in your district. Therefore, this is another list that has to be consistently updated and inclusive to those folks in your community who also have a

vested interest in what is happening in your school system. 3. Review your website. Parents especially get frustrated when they go to a website and the information is outdated. This is where, at the beginning of the school year, they should see a fresh letter from the Superintendent welcoming the students back. Websites are also where people go for key dates and upcoming events, so staying on top of that will only make life easier and alleviate a lot of un-necessary calls to the office with questions that could easily be answered on your website. 4. Dust off your crisis communications plan. Make sure it’s upto-date and still relevant to potential threats to your organization. When working with CABE member districts, my number one piece of advice is: don’t wait until all heck is breaking loose to figure it out! Have a plan. If you never have to use it, great!

5. Take time to actually plan your communications strategy. Before (or near) the beginning of the school year is the perfect time to put together a yearlong PR plan with goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics. Don’t wait until budget time to share with your community all of the great things that are happening on your district. Remember that as CABE members, Baldwin Media is available to you for any initial crisis communications advice. During our nearly seven-year relationship as the agency of record for CABE, we have assisted many board members and superintendents through some very challenging situations. We have also worked with several districts on assisting them with their communications plans and positive media outreach as well. For more information on Baldwin Media Marketing, go to our website at: www.baldwinmedia.net

CABE and Baldwin Media: Partners in Managing Communications

CABE Search Services

Call CABE for your searches! 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 Mary Broderick, Senior Search Consultant Paul Gagliarducci, Associate Consultant Jacqueline V. Jacoby, Senior Search Consultant Bob King, Associate Consultant P.O. Box 290252, Wethersfield, CT 06129-0252 www.cabe.org/support • Equal Opportunity Employers

CABE Has A New, Improved Website! .

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

Positive Results – Expanded Learning Time (continued from page 1) “We had a general feeling that if we gave our students more time, we would get better results,” said Benigni. “It’s been very positive; some of our indicators havebeen very, very strong.” For example, at Pulaski – which was the first school to implement expanded learning time in 2012-13 and was followed by Barry in 2013-14 and Sherman in 2014-15 – students’ scores on standardized tests have improved. “Some positive results we achieved early on at Pulaski includes the fact that they achieved the greatest reading growth in the district on the CMT in grades 3 to 4, and they outpaced the district and state on the CMT in math and reading in grades 3 to 4,” observed Benigni. Despite the improved scores, Benigni underscored Meriden “didn’t do this to get better test scores,” adding, “We did this to help students learn at higher levels and to give them a better school day. We felt our students would enjoy it and would benefit from it and the benefits aren’t just on one standardized test score.” As far as expanded learning time expenses go, Benigni noted that for his district’s three expanded learning time schools – with a total of 1,568 students – it costs $902,160. “We received $150,000 from the AFT [American Federation of Teachers] Innovation Grant, $360,000 from a 21st Century Grant (federal to state grant),” he explained. “Also, we used Alliance funding to pay for the rest of the costs [of $392,160]. Those Alliance dollars could have been used for other things, but we prioritized expanded time.” The school system has also received a lot of support from the teachers’ union, according to the superintendent. “The union has been a terrific partner,” he stressed. “The union was a partner that was at the table from the start. This wasn’t something being imposed on them or done to them; this is something that they embraced and wanted to work on together,” said Benigni, who noted teachers at the expanded learning schools are paid a stipend. “And we are all proud of the fact that

we are doing expanded learning time for to all kids entering grades 1-12. At the all kids in the school in a neighborhood, elementary level, the program is known traditional public school,” said Benigni. as “Early Start;” at the high school level, “Students aren’t selecting this; this is it’s dubbed the “Bloomfield High School their traditional, neighborhood public (BHS) Summer Academy.” school.” Meals (breakfast and lunch) are proBenigni explained that “community vided to students free of charge – as well partners” from local as transportation. organizations have The Early Start “Expanded learning also helped teachers program features an make the expanded academic aspect as time” is a concept learning days go well as “age approsmoothly. priate, creative that pretty much “Basically, what enrichment for all explains itself: we do is we put our Early Start particiteachers on split pants,” according to students receive shift schedules, a Bloomfield schools which means that PowerPoint on the more time in the the concept of every program; at BHS classroom with core elementary teacher Summer Academy, working 8:30 to students take part in subjects and 3:30 kind of gets a “college and career thrown out the ready” four-week enrichment activities window in this exprogram. they wouldn’t panded learning In all, 43 time model,” he percent (783 of otherwise have detailed. 1,842) of Bloomfield “So some students attended time for.” teachers will work summer programs in 7:30-2:30 and 2015. others will work 8:30-3:30 and our Attendance at these four-week community partners – the Meriden extensions of the school year “is very YMCA and the Meriden Boys and Girls good” and “has improved dramatically Club – come in and work side by side from where it was when we initiated it with our teachers and support the four years ago,” said Harris, adding, “The program … we obviously subsidize and attendance has markedly improved as pay our community partners for providwell as the programming – kids are into ing their support.” what is going on and it is being reflected Moving forward, Meriden does not in our school improvement and our test plan on expanding its expanded learning scores.” program to other schools just yet. For example, in the PowerPoint pre“We are going to hold steady for a sentation from Bloomfield schools (dated little bit,” he said. “The concept is workMay 12, 2015) about “Early Start,” it is ing extremely well [but] there are costs noted that post-assessment scores, for associated with it, and without additional example, have jumped in reading (infunding it would be difficult to roll creasing anywhere from 4-18 percent) another school out.” and math (up 10-37 percent). Early Start began in the summer of 2011 and was open to students in grades Bloomfield 1-8 attending J.P. Vincent (now Laurel Elementary School), Metacomet, Carmen Upstate in Bloomfield, Board Chairman Donald F. Harris, Jr. explained that Arace Intermediate School and Carmen Arace Middle School. his district offers free, four-week ex“It is now available for everybody; panded learning programs in the summer

At the final session of the CABE Leadership Institute, Mary Broderick, CABE Consultant, Past President of CABE and NSBA along with Jack Reynolds, former superintendent, spoke about macro vs. micro managment.

anybody who wants to take advantage of it,” said Harris. Harris noted that the programs – which are almost entirely staffed by Bloomfield teachers and support staff – don’t have a one-size-fits-all-approach.

“At Their Own Pace” “If a student is promoted to grade 4, they’re not doing 3rd grade work – where they can they are putting in 4th grade work – but kids are working at their own pace so those that need some help are getting it, and those ready for enrichment are getting that too; it’s not a canned program is the best way to say it,” said Harris. The expanded learning program used to be longer (six weeks), according to Harris, but it was cut back because attendance suffered due to students going away on vacations. “We started with six weeks but cut it back because we were finding there was beginning to be a drop off in attendance because kids, naturally, they are going on vacation” and so cutting the summer session back “has kind of helped to increase our attendance,” he said. As far as costs go, Harris said his district has gotten “very creative and inventive” – utilizing all grant funding – in order to fund its grades 1-12 expanded learning summer programs, which costs $497,756. “We have written grants and gotten grants and we are still getting grants to help us do the business of education,” he said. Funding sources for Bloomfield include $322,195 – whose primary source is from the Alliance Grant, which includes support for special education – for the Early Start Program for grades 1-8. The Bloomfield High School Summer Academy gets a grant for $120,111; the primary source for that funding is from the 1003a School Improvement Grant and the remainder is charged to the Alliance Grant.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015

Interview with Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell (continued from page 1) clear guidance and strong support. I’m a collaborative leader and I’m interested in maximizing the talents of the people around me. Bob: What would you like Board Members and Superintendents to know about you and how you’re going to approach this work? Commissioner: I think about my own experiences with Boards of Education and having been a public school teacher for a long time and then an administrator in a variety of schools and school districts. One of the things I have learned from that is how important the values of the communities are in being successful in a school or district. There are lots of different ways to be a wonderful school or a wonderful school district that delivers on our promise to our kids. Each district’s way of being wonderful is going to be very influenced by the values and the expectations of the community. The Board’s policy role is infused with the values of the community. I care about the values they bring to their community and their roles. Local board members are the hardest working people in a democracy and certainly, in Connecticut where we really have a lot of local authority! Patrice: As a teacher, administrator and Chief Academic Officer at SDE how do these experiences affect your work as Commissioner? Commissioner: Well, it’s an adjustment for me. I think every new role is an adjustment. The biggest adjustment is to be in this far from the day-to-day of the work. I am really going to try to go to more schools, not just because its fun and it makes me happy, but because I have a concern about growing too far from what implementation looks like and how it’s affecting kids, teachers and parents and school communities. So, having had those roles helps me remember that really well-designed and well-intentioned policies still need refinement once they have been implemented in the schools. Going to schools and being in districts often enough is a grounding experience. It helps you remember why you do what you do and it helps you remember that it is important to hear from the people that are really living the policies on a daily basis. Patrice: How will you work with Boards and Superintendents? I know you talked about the importance of boards and their policy making roles. Commissioner: One of the most important things is a natural chance to connect with the Superintendents and the local boards is to be around any changes that come up in the Legislative Session, further implementation of the key reforms and seeing how we can be of support. I

also think it’s a great opportunity to hear from local boards on how it’s going in districts. I personally learned a great deal when I was on the Common Core Task Force as SDE’s representative. What was amazing to me was hearing the different stories of implementation and where it was going well. It went well because there was a clear partnership of the community usual-

implementation in any initiative and in some of our initiatives I think we may actually seem to gain speed in the near future be-cause of the work that has been done over the past few years. In others, I think it’s time to think about what the data is telling us. There are data points telling us whet-her we need to try another approach or refine our approach. So, for instance we are very committed

Patrice McCarthy, Deputy Director and General Counsel; Robert Rader, Executive Director; interviewed Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell in her office at the State Department of Education in Hartford.

ly through the Board with the Superintendent. It’s clear that anything we want to achieve for our kids has to be a shared value. So, similarly at the local level the Superintendent is not going to be able to achieve the vision they have for their kids without developing a positive relationship with the Board. We can be part of that, we can support superintendents in that. Patrice: What do you see as the State Department of Education’s role in this time of reform implementation? Commissioner: Our role right now is implementation. We have a tremendous amount of good work on the table that needs to be actualized and operationalized at the local level. Our most important role is always one of guidance and of providing the support and technical assistance so school districts can implement the policies at the local level. Bob: Do you think SDE is wellorganized for what you want to do in moving things forward? Commissioner: It’s exactly the question were wrestling with now and our Board will wrestle with this summer. We are preparing to go into strategic planning and so I have been putting a lot of things together for the Board for it. In general, we’ve got sort of the big outline probably pretty near right, but there are some areas where we are learning how to leverage our in-ternal capacity better and in doing so pro-bably uncovering some refinements that we can bring to our organizational structure. Bob: Do you see the reforms slowing down? Any thoughts about new reforms? Commissioner: There are phases in

to our Alliance District approach. We are seeing that really gaining traction. People really want the support we’re offering and that definitely is an area where a lot of groundwork has been laid and we may be able to move more quickly in our supported districts. Similarly, in the Commissioner’s Network, you can really see some momentum. The Standards implementation and the assessments are in a time of listening to how it’s going and seeing where refinements can be made. We have a working group looking at eleventh grade testing. This is going to be very important in the coming months and I think in the area of teacher evaluation we are looking at refinements. Patrice: I think it’s great when people see that the Commissioner is a real live caring person and not this difficult figure up there that is sending out guidelines. Commissioner: I think it’s true. I haven’t thought of it that way. For teachers especially and for principals, the reforms that we all are trying to do are all really im-portant for our kids. We know the urg-ency we all deal with the data a lot and certainly Boards deal with the data a lot. So, you feel the urgency and being in the schools helps you. It grounds you in that urgency. Patrice: What led you to your passion for public education? Commissioner: I love this question! Well, I bet this is probably the same answer as most people in education: I was really lucky because I had a lot of great teachers. I had a good school experience, but an interesting thing is I was raised by a Mom that had a very difficult school experience.

My mother did not learn to read on time. In fact she didn’t learn to read until she was eleven years old, but she was a good well-behaved child and tried hard to do all the work so always got moved along. When she was just going into fifth grade, the teacher tried to have her read aloud one day and noticed that she couldn’t. He asked my Mom to stay after school and of course, she thought she was in trouble because he uncovered her secret. Because a person who can’t read on time feels like they have a terrible secret. So, by the next day, he had made arrangements with her mother and kept her after school every day for the rest of fifth grade. The teacher would teach her to read after school. By the middle of sixth grade she was the best reader in the class. Now, we would call it “dyslexia”, but she went on to go to college and become a nurse and she was an Army nurse and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and has been very successful. She was very nervous around my early schooling because she was worried she wouldn’t be able to help me because she felt she wasn’t a very good reader even though by then she was a fine reader. I was very fortunate that I had a very good school experience and my third grade teacher was particularly special and one of those teachers that was not only great at teaching you all the stuff you need to learn but just knew you as an individual as well and that is when I started to want to be a teacher. I fell in love with Mount Holyoke College and really just enjoyed learning so much that I didn’t think again about really what I wanted to be when I grew up and then had an amazing teacher again in my senior year of college. He had us take on a personality and was very creative. It really made me think I wanted kids to get to learn history in that way. It wasn’t really the content but the way of teaching and I thought if kids can learn history this way kids would like history. So I went to UMass, got my Masters in Education and became a Social Studies teacher. I’m passionate about the subject I taught as well because kids uncover a tremendous amount of who they are and who they’re going to be in a democracy through studying Social Studies and that is really important. It is also one of the subjects that allows a chance for kids to learn it in fun ways and to be creative. Probably every subject does if you love it enough. My passion for public education, both in terms of the institution of education being essential to a democracy and for just being a teacher grew every year when I was in school. Bob: We wish you the best of luck and look forward to working with you! Commissioner: Thank you. It will be great to work with you.

The Journal â€“ Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/July | August 2015