The CABE Journal - November 2019

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www.cabe.org

Vol. 23, No. 10

November, 2019

School Board Members Surveyed on SEL Issues

New Haven’s Sepulveda Awarded Prestigious Milken Educator Award

Scott Levy

Patrice McCarthy

Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

See SEPULVEDA page 4

Chapman Hands Chapman School, Cheshire

Executive Director, CABE

Dr. Marc Brackett of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence spoke last year at the CABE/CAPSS Convention about how the emotions of administrators, teachers, staff and students matter for learning, decision making, relationships, health and creativity. Last spring, working together with Scott Levy, the Executive Director of the Center, and Jennifer Allen, the Director of School Relations and Implementation, CABE disseminated a survey to gauge how school board

Connecticut Schools Among the Best Patrice McCarthy

Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

The annual “Quality Counts” survey has ranked Connecticut schools among the best in the nation. The survey, produced by the Education Week Research Center, examines 39 indicators including school finance, academic achievement and socioeconomic factors. Connecticut ranked third overall in 2019, behind New Jersey and Massachusetts. Connecticut also had the second-best improvement in K-12 achievement, increasing 9 points from 2018.

Connecticut received a B+ in both school finance and “chance for success”. The metrics used to evaluate school finance include the percent of students in districts with per pupil spending at or above the US average.

Connecticut’s positive grade must be considered in light of the relative high cost of living in Connecticut. The metrics used to measure “chance for success” include the educational level of the parents, percentage of 3 and 4 year olds enrolled in preschool, the high school graduation rate, and proficiency in reading and math.

While work needs to continue to

close Connecticut’s achievement gap, this survey validates the impact of the efforts at the local and state level, and should serve as motivation to enhance those efforts.

Patrice McCarthy

Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

members perceive emotional intelligence and social-emotional learning (SEL) and how it affects schools, boards and the board members themselves.

The results of this innovative study reinforce that it is critical that districts focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) in all aspects of their programs, services and activities and ensure that all school board members, staff and students have access to SEL training.

Students and Teachers

The vast majority of respondents believe that stress, burnout and mental health are significant challenges for students and teachers. While most had either implemented, partially implemented or were developing a plan to address students SEL, fewer had a plan in place to address teacher stress, See SEL ISSUES page 4

Join us Friday night for laugh-out-loud fun with Sea Tea Comedy, Hartford’s Professional Improv Company. They’ll take your suggestions and create on the spot improvised scenes and characters.

inside

Lauren Sepulveda, a social studies teacher at Clinton Avenue School, recently received the prestigious Milken Educator Award for being an exceptional teacher.

The Milken Family Foundation initiative began in 1987 to honor effective early and mid-career educators and comes with a $25,000 gift.

Sepulveda expressed her gratitude for her students, the school, the school district and her principal at a school wide assembly. “I’m trying to become a leader in this district,” she said.

Sepulveda was New Haven’s Teacher of the Year in 2018. She grew up in Wallingford and is a graduate of Lyman Hall High School. Sepulveda earned a bachelor’s from Southern Connecticut State University in 2010 and a master’s from Concordia University, Portland in 2016. She is currently pursuing a degree in educational leadership at Quinnipiac University.

Sepulveda said she was inspired to teach when she realized the vast impact her teachers have had on her life. “In order to spark passion in our students, we need to provide them with opportunities to succeed. I am where I am today, because an educator believed in me, set high expectations, and gave me opportunities to challenge myself.

We must lift each other up, especially our youth. My priority is to ensure all of my students have authentic opportunities and experiences to grow, give back, and build the type of selfconfidence which allows them to shine.

I want them to begin to believe in themselves the way I believe in them, as

Robert Rader

Executive Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

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Positivity Fuels Student Success

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019 PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

Last Time Around!

Robert Mitchell President, CABE

As my term as CABE President comes to a close I want to acknowledge those of you who helped make my service a bit easier.

CABE is a strong vibrant organization. We have had some issues with membership, due in no small part to the continuing difficulties with the state budget. While these have been difficult times, I ask myself how bad things could have been if CABE had not been out there fighting for all of us and the answer would be “pretty bleak.”

I sometimes get frustrated that some of our members don’t always appreciate the hard work CABE does to support Connecticut’s public schools and the boards that govern them.

Whether it is policy, legal help, professional development or advocacy, CABE is there for its members.

In particular, I want to pay homage to all the people who make CABE the organization what it is.

I want to express my gratitude to the CABE Board of Directors and Executive Committee. In addition to all the meetings they attend on behalf of their local districts, our Board of Director members are actively supporting our membership by leading this organization and keeping it relevant in changing times. Our board members, particularly the officers, find time to testify at the legislature and represent CABE on statewide committees and task forces.

CABE is well represented by our

Executive Director, Bob Rader and Deputy Director and General Counsel.

Patrice McCarthy. The two lend credibility to CABE with over a half-century of service to school boards. They are often the face of CABE and boards of education, and are well respected in the education community.

I also want to thank the CABE staff. Each and every one of them are dedicated to supporting public education and boards of education in particular. The level of service that they provide gives me great pride to preside over such a team.

CABE’s Policy Services helps boards of education in their important role by providing advice, policy samples and even re-writing policy manuals. The Policy staff, Vin Mustaro, Pam Brooks, Terry Demars and Len Lanza are always there to support boards.

CABE has a crack Legal Department that serves boards of education in the complex area of education law as well as negotiations. Sr. Staff Attorney, Rebecca Adams Rieder and Administrative Associate Wilmarie Newton help board members and superintendents as they navigate these areas.

Our Professional Development team have provided numerous opportunities for our members to get better at their job. The annual CABE/CAPSS Convention, statewide and regional workshops gave us all opportunities to learn a variety of important issues. Sr. Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications Lisa Steimer and Administrative Assistant

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.

Board of Directors

Nancy Propfe make the department thrive, and create all the publications you receive throughout the year. We also have staff who provide direct field services to boards where they live.

My own board has been participating in the Lighthouse Project, and we are already seeing differences in how we are governing. Sr. Staff Associate for Field Services and Coordinator of Technology Nick Caruso is responsible for field services and provides Lighthouse training.

CABE’s Advocacy team is stellar. Deputy Director McCarthy and Sr. Staff Associate for Government Relations, Sheila McKay, along with Administrative Associate Gail Heath provide a voice for local boards of education at the Connecticut General Assembly and in Washington, D.C. Rounding out the staff that I’d like to thank are Teresa Costa, Coordinator of Finance and Cory Ucci, Bob Rader’s Assistant and CABE’s Receptionist.

I want to reiterate how hard the entire CABE family works and want to thank them again, staff and board members alike, for all they do.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Robert Mitchell | President, Montville Donald Harris | First Vice President, Bloomfield Elizabeth Brown | V ice President for Government Relations, Waterbury Christopher Wilson | V ice President for Professional Development, Bristol Michael Purcaro | Secretary/Treasurer, Ellington Ann Gruenberg | I mmediate Past President, Hampton Bryan Hall | Member at Large, East Hartford Lydia Tedone | NSBA Director, Simsbury AREA DIRECTORS Doug Pfenninger | Area 1 Director, Winchester Bryan Hall | Area 2 Co-Director, East Hartford Leonard Lockhart | Area 2 Co-Director, Windsor Michael Purcaro | Area 3 Co-Director, Ellington Michele Arn | Area 3 Co-Director, Vernon Joan Trivella | Area 4 Director, Brooklyn Mic helle Embree Ku | A rea 5 Co-Director, Newtown Frances Walton | Area 5 Co-Director, Ridgefield Loretta Chory | Area 6 Co-Director, Trumbull Karen Kleine | Area 6 Co-Director, Westport George Kurtyka | Area 7 Director, Derby Lon Seidman | Area 8 Director, Essex Jonathan Gilman | Area 9 Co-Director, Bozrah Sean Nugent | Area 9 Co-Director, Preston ASSOCIATES Julie Ausere | Associate, Canton Eileen Baker | Associate, Old Saybrook Robert Guthrie | Associate, West Haven Bruce Kimmel | Associate, Norwalk John Prins | Associate, Branford Robert Trefry | A ssociate, CT Technical High School System COMMITTEE CHAIRS Becky Tyrrell | Chair, Federal Relations, Plainville Bryan Hall | Chair, Resolutions, East Hartford Jennifer Dayton | Chair, State Relations, Greenwich CITY REPRESENTATIVES Julio Flores | City Representative, Hartford Darnell Goldson | City Representative, New Haven Betsy Allyn | C ity Representative, Stamford Charles Stango | City Representative, Waterbury STAFF

Robert Rader | Executive Director Patrice McCarthy | Deputy Director and General Counsel Rebecca Adams Rieder | Senior Staff Attorney Nicholas Caruso | Senior Staff Associate for Field Services and Coordinator of Technology Sheila McKay | Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations Vincent Mustaro | Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service Lisa Steimer | Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications Teresa Costa | Coordinator of Finance and Administration Pamela Brooks | S enior Administrative Associate for Policy Service and Search Services Terry DeMars | Administrative Associate for Policy Service Gail Heath | Administrative Associate for Government Relations Wilmarie Newton | Administrative Associate for Labor Relations Nancy Propfe | Administrative Assistant for Membership Services Corliss Ucci | Receptionist and Assistant to Executive Director

CABE Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy and CABE Sr. Staff Attorney Rebecca Adams Rieder presented a webinar on Holidays and Public Schools on October 10. Go to https://www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=1394 to watch the archived copy of this webinar.

CABE First Vice President and Board Chair, (Bloomfield), Donald Harris accepted an award on behalf of Rep. Bobby Gibson at CCSU on September 29.

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: lsteimer@cabe.org. Members can find the CABE Journal online at: www.cabe.org/ page.cfm?p=1024

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

CABE Affiliate Members BUSINESS AFFILIATES VALEDICTORIAN Finalsite SALUTATORIAN

Berchem Moses PC HIGH HONORS

Pullman & Comley Shipman & Goodwin HONOR ROLL Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Arthur J. Gallagher & Company Corporate Cost Control ESS JCJ Architecture Milliman Milone & MacBroom, Inc. SCHOLAR Albert Risk Management Consultants Brown & Brown Chinni & Meuser LLC Coordinated Transportation Solutions COUNTABILITY, Inc. Dattco, Inc. Goldstein & Peck, P.C. Kainen, Escalera & McHale, P.C. The Lexington Group OneDigital Health and Benefits Perkins Eastman The S/L/A/M Collaborative

EDUCATIONAL AFFILIATES American School for the Deaf Area Cooperative Educational Services Capitol Region Education Council The College Board Connecticut Association for the Gifted Connecticut Association of School Business Officials Connecticut Center for School Change Connecticut School Buildings and Grounds Association Connecticut School Counselor Association Connecticut Technical High Schools Cooperative Educational Services EASTCONN EdAdvance Explorations Charter School Girls Scouts of Connecticut Interdistrict School for the Arts and Communications (ISAAC) LEARN Unified School District #1

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMENTARY

For Board Members and Superintendents: Learning Is Never Finished!

Robert Rader

Executive Director, CABE

In the introduction to his book, Failure Is Not An Option, Former Flight Director at NASA, Gene Kranz, described the differences between the horrific January, 1967 accident that killed three Apollo 1 astronauts during routine training and the 1970 Apollo 13 near-disaster.

In the first accident, the three astronauts were killed as an electrical glitch ignited “the oxygen-rich atmosphere of the cabin, creating a fire that was virtually a controlled explosion.

In those few seconds, the men inside the capsule knew what was happening — and they must have realized, at that last moment, there was no escape.”

He explained that these astronauts were killed even as they were firmly anchored to the ground. He lamented, “in terms of the distances involved in spaceflight, we could almost reach out and touch them.”

The Apollo 13 near-disaster was very different. The astronauts were on the way to the moon when they heard an explosion when one of the oxygen tanks on the ship failed.

In the second instance, the three “equally brave” men were “far beyond us in distance, far out in the vast absolute zero world of space, the most deadly and unforgiving environment ever experienced by man.” The Mission Control Center could reach them through radio signals, but, they were very far away.

The other difference was Mission Control “could buy time.” What could not otherwise be done through technology, they could “manage by drawing on a priceless fund of experience, accumulated over almost a decade” of sending men into space. “These three astronauts were beyond our physical reach. But not beyond the reach of human imagination, inventiveness and a creed that we all lived by: ‘Failure is not an option.’”

The Education Landscape

As I survey the education landscape and the world that our students will enter, I realize that we must all follow that creed. We cannot afford to fail our students.

Luckily, as school board members and superintendents, you stand on the shoulders of those board members and

superintendents who have gone before you.

Since the earliest establishment of school boards, an enormous amount of experience and knowledge has been amassed. Every day more arrives, whether from newspapers, magazines, journals (this is a good one to use for new ideas) and, of course, social media. There are workshops, webinars, books, television and radio.

There is a never-ending supply of wisdom on educational issues, whether it’s from someone who is a recent graduate or dropout or from someone with an EdD and years of teaching experience. Some of that wisdom is common sense, some is guesswork, but, today, much of it can be based on the data available from tests, surveys and other measurement of success—or the lack of it.

Judging the Firehose of Information

For new board members, that never ending firehose of information, advice and data should be evaluated much as you might evaluate a social media post: is it true? Is it merely opinion? Is it backed by data? What about the experience of others?

When I speak with a Board and Superintendent about what they are doing in a certain area (usually based on the self-assessment instrument that CABE and CAPPS developed), I always wonder if the right questions have been asked about how they do things. How long has that particular policy or procedure been in place? Has it worked? Are there other ways to do it? Is there a recognized best practice?

If so, why hasn’t the board followed it?

One simple example: in trying to streamline (but, not steamroll) board meetings, some districts use a consent agenda, an easy way to roll routine issues into one motion, thereby saving the time of the Board in voting on each individual item. Any board member can pull an item off the consent agenda, make a motion and have the whole Board discuss and vote on it separately. We use a consent agenda as we vote at our Delegate Assembly (coming up on November 14th).

As all districts are different, however, the use of a consent agenda may not work effectively in your district. If you used one, would it look to some as if you just want to roll through items,

without considering them individually and spending more time on them?

What does your Board’s experience tell you? Has your community and Board changed and made it a practice “whose time has come and gone?”

Other Practices

Implementing a consent agenda is just one practice that you might want to consider or reconsider. What about how you elect a board chair? How about when you set the date of your graduation ceremony (now possible to do earlier because of new law)? Use experience and tradition, but, consider whether “we’ve always done it that way” is hampering the Board’s effectiveness.

November and December bring Board Members and Superintendents two big opportunities for our members to learn from the experience of others—whether in workshops or by networking. Of course, I’m describing the CABE/CAPSS Convention and the CABE New Board Member Orientation/Leadership Conference.

As part of CABE’s dissemination of best practice, we will soon provide Board Chairs with our new Guide for Board of Education Chairs, present webinars every other Thursday and continue to send you email updates in policy and advocacy.

Please take advantage of these opportunities to learn from others.

Because so much changes very often, the learning of a school board member and a superintendent is never finished.

No one has all the answers. However, a willingness to learn, consider best practices, actively listen and not rushing to judgement will help you make the best decisions possible.

While “failure is not an option” has been so over-used it almost sounds trite, the truth is that for our future and those of our children and grandchildren, we need to have “failure is not an option” as our mindset. Only that creed will help us make decisions that will ensure success for every one of our students.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

Yale Center’s Key Take-Aways from the Survey 1. Embed SEL into your plan to improve school climate.

2. Don’t forget teachers/adults when addressing stress, burnout and mental health issues.

3. Be sure to have a bullying/ cyberbullying prevention plan that is SEL-informed.

4. As you implement SEL, manage up (using data) to ensure leaders understand the issues.

5. Conflict management (throughout the organization) is important and can be improved by drawing on Emotional Intelligence skills.

6. When managing up, remember to think about differing perspectives of impact and power.

Use the

SEPULVEDA

(continued from page 1)

someone did for me. Our children are our future. They are everything.”

Sepulveda makes history come alive by bringing in guest speakers to discuss with students their personal experiences during the Rwandan genocide, the Korean War and World War II. She also encouraged students to look at what is missing in textbooks, as they researched inventors who reflect and inspire them. Students then emailed the textbook company, leading the company to include the history of notable historically underrepresented populations, such as Latinos, African Americans, and women, in the next edition’s chapter on The Industrial Revolution.

At the assembly, Desi Nesmith, the State Department of Education Turnaround Officer – a Milken Educator Award honoree in 2014 – honored the students and school for their gains in reading. According to state data, the percent of students who demonstrated proficiency in reading on the Smarter Balanced statewide exam has nearly doubled from 22 percent in 2015-16 to 39.3 percent in 2018-19.

During the 2018-19 school year, Sepulveda’s students improved

significantly on the district writing assessments. Her seventh grade students went from 98 percent scoring basic in the beginning of the year to 91 percent scoring proficient or higher by the end of the year. Similarly, Sepulveda increased the proficiency of her eighth graders from 98 percent of them scoring basic at the beginning of the year to 91 percent of them scoring proficient or higher by year end.

The team leader for seventh and eighth grades, Sepulveda has served on the leadership team and helped create the school’s continuous improvement plan. She co-chaired one of the school’s NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation committees and is a TEAM (Teacher Education and Mentoring Program) mentor for new teachers. Sepulveda serves on the district’s equity and strategic planning committees, presents professional development, has led the district’s social studies curriculum efforts, and facilitates an active student council at her school. She also works with the Connecticut State Department of Education to recruit potential new teachers.

CABE congratulates Lauren as an outstanding representative of Connecticut’s dedicated public school teachers.

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How knowledgeable do board members believe they are regarding SEL? Most believe they have at least some knowledge of SEL. How important is SEL to promoting critical outcomes in schools?

The vast majority say SEL has an enormous, large or moderate role in school safety, preventing physical

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Knowledge of SEL

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A majority of the board members describe the emotional climate of their districts as slightly to highly positive.

However, they recognize that bullying/cyberbullying and other forms of aggression are a challenge for their districts.

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Emotional Climate

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burnout, and mental health issues.

violence in the schools, and in student academic achievement and school success. Given the recognition of the positive impact of SEL on all aspects of student life, this is an emerging priority for state and local resources.

How do respondents feel about the emotional intelligence of other members of their boards?

This is obviously a sensitive issue.

Rarely are board members asked these questions, if at all. However, as all who work with boards know, how board members handle emotional issues will greatly affect how they, and their superintendents, work together as a team.

Most board members feel that their board colleagues are emotionally supportive of others, skilled at keeping meetings positive and productive, and able to handle their emotions skillfully, even in stressful situations. While we are pleased that most board members responded positively to these questions, a smaller number of respondents disagreed, indicating the need for support in this area. We know from our board professional development work that it only takes one board member behaving disruptively to make meetings less productive, much longer, more disorganized and/or mentally stressful.

Most board members found room for improvement in how the board manages conflict.

To our knowledge, this remains the first time that board members have been asked to provide information of this nature. Strategies to strengthen the many positive outcomes of the survey, while also focusing on what can be improved, must be developed district by district as boards increasingly examine the critical issues highlighted in the survey.

Dr. Brackett has recently published Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive. It is available on Amazon and from other booksellers.

CU

SEL ISSUES

(continued from page 1)

For more information, visit www.crec.org/marketplace

Milken Award Recipient Lauren Sepulveda, a social studies teacher at Clinton Avenue School in New Haven is surrounded by her students.

Credit | Milken Family Foundation

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

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See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

Nature’s Classroom Request Opens a Can of Worms Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

The Nutmeg Board of Education makes many mistakes. The latest imbroglio created by the board will be reported here each issue, followed by an explanation of what the board should have done. Though not intended as legal advice, these situations may help board members avoid common problems.

Tom Teacher has long been employed by the Nutmeg Board of Education. He has been a pain in the neck in recent years, complaining whenever he can about the “low salaries and lower respect” that he claims that Nutmeg teachers receive from the community in general and from the Nutmeg Board of Education in particular. Last week, he posted on Facebook, complaining that his principal unfairly denied him three days of personal leave to attend Nature’s Classroom in a neighboring school district to serve as a chaperone for his fifth-grade son. He even noted that his students agreed with him and that they think that the Principal was being “mean.”

Mal Content was elected last year to the Nutmeg Board of Education, and he has an active social media presence. Tom Teacher is among Mal’s 500+ friends on Facebook, and Mal read Tom’s post with concern. He called Tom up, and Tom unloaded on Mal, telling him that how insensitive Mr. Principal is: “The guy must really hate parents! He can’t even grant my request to accompany my son to Nature’s Classroom! He isn’t fit to be with kids!”

Mal has never had much use for Mr. Principal, and he wanted to find out for himself what possible justification Mr. Principal could have for denying Tom’s simple request. Accordingly, he popped in on Mr. Principal unannounced and offered his unsolicited view that Mr. Principal’s decision to deny Tom’s request was “cold.” For his part, Mr. Principal was surprised that a Board member would challenge him on an operational issue, and he politely told Mal that his response to Tom was none of Mal’s business. But Mal just told Mr. Principal, “We’ll see about that!” and left.

In the meantime, Tom Teacher called Bruno, his representative from the Nutmeg Union of Teachers (NUTS), about filing a grievance.

Bruno told Tom that there wasn’t much that NUTS could do for him, given that he is not a member. But Tom had read the collective bargaining agreement, and Tom told Bruno that he would just go ahead and file a grievance on his own, which he did.

As expected, both Mr. Principal and Ms. Superintendent denied the grievance, and it has come to the Board for a hearing. A committee of

the Board, composed of Bob Bombast, Penny Pincher and Mal Content, convened the hearing in executive session. When Mr. Principal saw Mal sitting in judgment, he objected, stating as politely as he could that Mal should recuse himself because his (Facebook) friendship with Tom is a conflict of interest. Mal bristled at the suggestion, and he told the other Board members that he was perfectly capable of hearing the grievance and had no conflict of interest.

When the hearing started, Tom claimed that he should have been granted personal leave because Nature’s Classroom is an event that cannot be scheduled outside of school hours. For his part, Mr. Principal explained that teachers teach only 180 days per year, and the Board should not set a precedent by granting this grievance.

The Committee thanked the parties for their presentation, and it moved to go into deliberations.

At that point, Bob Bombast, who was chairing the hearing, asked Mr. Principal to stay behind and join the Board in its deliberations. However, Tom objected vehemently, claiming that Mr. Principal’s participating in deliberations would be unfair.

Does Tom have a valid objection?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Tom has no valid objection to the Board’s including Mr. Principal in its deliberations. Grievance procedures and contact provisions are products of the collective bargaining process, as are the related deliberations. In considering a response to a grievance, a board of education has every right to confer with the administration, just as it would on any other collective bargaining issue, such as negotiations.

By contrast, there are statutory provisions that impose upon boards of education the obligation to adjudicate the rights of students and teachers, including expulsion hearings, residency hearings, transportation hearings and tenure hearings. In each case, the board of education is fulfilling a statutory duty to determine the rights of students or teachers. As such, the board of education must afford the party requesting the hearing due process, and due process requires that the case be heard by an impartial decision-maker. Just as a judge in court, board members must refrain from ex parte communication with the superintendent or the other party, and board members should decide such cases on the evidence presented in the hearing.

Board members should also be aware of the special rules that apply to board-level grievance hearings under the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA defines a “meeting” as including “any hearing or other proceeding of a public agency,” and in the first instance

a grievance hearing is a meeting that must be posted and convened in open session. However, if the hearing has to do with the “appointment, employment, performance, evaluation, health or dismissal of a public . . . employee,” the board can conduct the hearing in executive session unless the employee requires that the matter be heard in open session. Moreover, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that the deliberations that follow a grievance hearing may be conducted as a private “non-meeting” related to collective bargaining strategy.

Tom’s grievance raises a number of other legal issues. First, Mal Content has intruded into administrative decision-making by confronting Mr. Principal about his decision to deny Tom personal leave, thereby violating the boundaries of appropriate board member conduct. But just as Tom did not have a valid objection against Mr. Principal’s participating in deliberations on his grievance, Mr. Principal could not validly claim that Mal had a conflict of interest in hearing the grievance; Mal may have been overly involved, but he was not acting out of self-interest.

We also note that Tom was apparently talking to his students about his grievance. Mr. Principal

should take Tom to task for such inappropriate conduct. Tom may or may not have a First Amendment right to complain on Facebook about Mr. Principal’s decision. But it is clear that Tom has no First Amendment right to involve his students in his personal dispute with Mr. Principal.

Finally, we note that NUTS balked at representing Tom because he is not a member of the Union.

NUTS should be careful. We note the decision of the United States Supreme Court last year in Janus v. AFSCME, ruling that mandatory service fees are unconstitutional, and thus unit members are free to join and support the union or not.

However, as the exclusive bargaining representative, the union has a duty of fair representation to represent all unit members fairly. That does not mean that NUTS must support Tom’s grievance. But it must make its decision in good faith on the facts, not on whether Tom is a member of the Union.

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. Shipman & Goodwin is a CABE Business Affiliate.

The Ninth Edition – Now Available!

A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law

by Thomas B. Mooney, Esq. Shipman & Goodwin

CABE is delighted to announce that the Ninth Edition of Tom Mooney’s Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law is now available.

PRICING: CABE Members: $54.99; CABE Non-Members: $79.99; Students: $44.99 There have been many changes in school law in the last few years, and the Ninth Edition has been extensively revised to provide updated guidance on the legal issues that govern our schools. Changes include descriptions and commentary on:

• Changes in teacher evaluation and teacher tenure.

• New rules regarding employee background checks.

• New requirements concerning student data privacy.

• New rules for suspension, expulsion and alternative educational opportunities.

• Revised requirements governing seclusion and restraint.

• The new “Every Student Succeeds Act” and how it has changed “No Child Left Behind Act” requirements.

• The CCJEF case and ongoing litigation over equal educational opportunities.

• The Minimum Budget Requirement and new duties to collaborate with town officials.

• A host of other changes in the rules that boards of education and school administrators must follow.

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

Aim Higher

Creative legal solutions for Connecticut’s public schools – because sometimes it is rocket science.

Shipman & Goodwin’s school law attorneys have more than 40 years of experience, and represent over 125 public school districts, as well as public school member organizations and associations, on a full range of legal issues that they confront, from general education law to special education matters.

Our school law site, www.ctschoollaw.com is devoted entirely to emerging school law issues.

Attorneys counsel clients, monitor legislation and provide periodic alerts and updates. We regularly present seminars, quarterly workshops, webinars and professional development workshops for schools on current topics of interest. Our Practice Group Co-Chair, Tom Mooney, has written A Practical Guide to Connecticut School Law, a comprehensive treatise on Connecticut school law, published by CABE and used by teachers, administrators and board of education members throughout the state.

Education is a core focus of our law firm.

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Contact: Thomas B. Mooney or Linda L. Yoder | 860.251.5000 | www.shipmangoodwin.com GREENWICH

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

7

Positivity Fuels Student Success Patrice McCarthy

Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

Robert Rader

Executive Director, CABE

Having both read “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor this summer, we found many of the observations in the book to be very relevant to public education. While an Executive Director and General Counsel may not be the people you would normally expect to be writing about happiness, we saw implications for school board members, educators and their students.

Achor begins by urging us to “Be realistic about the present while maximizing our potential for the future. It is about learning how to cultivate the mindset and behaviors that have been empirically proven to fuel greater success and fulfillment. It is a work ethic. Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can.” As school boards and superintendents work to improve education for all students, it is critical that they share a belief that change is possible. They set the tone for staff and students to believe in their potential for growth and learning.

Achor observes that “When our mindset and mood are positive we are smarter, more motivated, and thus

more successful. Happiness is the center, and success revolves around it.”

Certainly, our students and educators benefit from a school climate that is positive, safe and supportive. Carol Dweck’s research (author of Mindset) on achievement and success supports the idea that teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity.

The observation that “Happiness is the joy we feel striving after our potential” apples to all of us – especially our students. Providing students with challenging opportunities, as well as the support they need to be successful, is a critical role for board members, superintendents and teachers.

Achor suggests some activities to give a boost of positive emotions: • meditate • fi nd something to look forward to • c ommit conscious acts of kindness • i nfuse positivity into your surroundings • exercise • spend money on experiences • exercise a signature strength Some school districts are already instituting yoga, “be kind” initiatives, and more opportunities to exercise for

their students.

Helping our students develop resilience and fostering social and emotional intelligence supports Achor’s observation that “We can’t change reality, but we can change how we process the world, and that changes how we react to it.”

School board members are sometimes frustrated by the time needed to see significant gains in student achievement. Achor urges us to identify a small goal that can be accomplished quickly. This will narrow the scope of action, focusing energy and efforts, and increases the likelihood of success. We relearn that our actions have a direct impact on outcomes. A connection between our actions and a positive

outcome inspires us to take on bigger challenges.

We all know that having people we can count on for support in the work environment fuels our innovation, creativity, and productivity. This is equally true for educators, and school boards can support opportunities for collaborative activities. Studies show that the more team members are encouraged to socialize and interact face-to-face, the more engaged they feel, the more energy they have, and the longer they can stay focused on a task.

We can’t guarantee happiness, but we believe these tips will reduce frustrations, and allow the positive momentum to fuel greater student achievement – and happiness.

CABE BOARD MEMBER ACADEMY UPCOMING PROGRAMS November 7

Webinar: Conducting a Board of Education Organization Meeting 12-1 p.m.

November 14

CABE Delegate Assembly 2:30 pm Registration 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Delegate Assembly

November 15-16

CABE/CAPSS Convention 7:30-8:30 a.m. Registration (Both Days) 8:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m. Program (Friday) 8:30 a.m.-1:35 p.m. Program (Saturday)

December 10

New Board Member/Leadership Conference 8:00 a.m. Pre-conference Registration 8:30-10:05 a.m. Pre-conference Program 9:30-10:00 a.m. Conference Registration 10:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Conference Program Sheraton Hartford South Hotel, Rocky Hill

8

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

9

REGISTER TODAY!

CABE/CAPSS Convention | November 15-16, 2019 | Mystic Marriott Hotel, Groton, CT v B e Inspired by the General Session Speakers:

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George Couros

Panel Discussion | Saturday, November 16 | 12:05 - 1:35 pm

What do students think about transforming K-12 education?

This keynote panel features the leaders of tomorrow – students from diverse backgrounds, immersed in next generation learning models, who will share their perspectives on shifting toward student-centered approaches to learning. They will present research they have gathered and will take questions from the audience.

vD iscover what will help you be an effective board member with 35 workshops sessions. vE xplore the Exhibit Hall Floor… Visit more than 50 exhibitors who are excited to share ways they can help your district’s work.

Be sure to download this app

@ConnecticutAssociation ofBoardsofEducation @CTAssocBdsofEd

Register NOW!

Register today at: http://www.cabe.org/page.cfm?p=1145

CABE Board of Education Candidate Training – Hartford, September 25

CABE Executive Director Robert Rader spoke about roles and responsibilities, leadership and working with other board members.

A good group assembled to learn more about being a member of a board of education.

CABE First Vice President Donald Harris (Bloomfield) spoke about the personal and time commitment of being a board member.

MEETINGS OF INTEREST November 1

Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations 10:30 am • Legislative Office Building, Room 1B

November 6

State Board of Education 9:30 am State Department of Education 450 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford

Current Vacancies: EAST GRANBY

November 14

Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee Task Force Meeting 9:30 am • Legislative Office Building, Room 1E

November 26

Birth to Three-Preschool Special Education Working Group 1:00 pm • Legislative Office Building, Room 1B

*Meetings and Public Hearings subject to change.

CABE Sr. Staff Associate for Government Relations Sheila McKay spoke about the issues currently facing public education.

Superintendent

MARY BRODERICK, ED.D SENIOR CONSULTANT

WOODBRIDGE Principal (PK-8)

For more information contact

CABE Search Services

81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109

860-608-1763

Equal Opportunity Employer

10

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

11

THE POLICY CORNER Vincent A. Mustaro

Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABE

Distribution of Non-School Literature by Students

School districts often allow students to distribute non-school sponsored materials, called literature by the courts, on school grounds. Such literature includes a range of documents from flyers for community organizations such as the Boy Scouts or Little League to invitations to a classmate’s birthday party.

Controversies arise occasionally based upon the content of the material or the means of distribution. In most circumstances, a school district is not required to permit non-school literature on its property.

However, once a school district has chosen, by policy or practice, to allow non-school-sponsored materials in school facilities, for distribution be students, the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution must be considered. Court cases involving the First Amendment have concluded that a school district can adopt reasonable rules to control the distribution of materials. The rules however may not discriminate based upon the viewpoints expressed in the students’ materials.

not produce or control. Examples of such material include students’ personal cards, letters, pamphlets about a community activity, invitations to a church social event, handbills, book covers, posters, t-shirts or copies of the Bible.

However, materials distributed for a school purpose or in an instructional setting are considered “school related” and are not covered by a policy pertaining to the distribution of non-school literature.

School-related materials include all of the materials disseminated by the school or district and include such items as textbooks, permission slips or information related to school-sponsored activities. If this distribution occurs under the supervision of district staff, such as teachers, for an instructional purpose, such distribution is considered school-related.

Even if the district chooses a closed door approach to prohibit the distribution of non-school materials, the district is still free to distribute its own materials related to instruction and other school functions.

Non-School/School Related Materials

A district’s ability to regulate distribution of non-school materials depends in part on the type of public forum it

Non-School literature is defined as any material that the district itself does

Creation of a Public Forum

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creates. In a traditional public forum, any viewpoint on any topic must be allowed.

However, the common practice for school districts is to create a “limited public forum” for student distribution of non-school materials by permitting distribution only at certain times and places and under specified conditions.

At all other times, the district’s facilities remain a nonpublic forum.

By definition, a “limited public forum” allows some, but not all, distribution of non-school materials. A forum is either a place for communication, such as a classroom or cafeteria, or a means of communication, such as a school newspaper or the schools’ public address system.

Viewpoint Neutrality

Within a limited public forum, a school district cannot decide which materials will be distributed and which will not be based solely upon the viewpoints

expressed in the materials. In short, once the district has made the decision to allow the distribution of non-school materials, the district may not choose which to distribute based upon the content of the materials.

The district may not bar a student from distributing materials simply because they may be controversial or that the district disagrees with the message.

However, there are some reasons for banning the distribution of certain materials, which should be listed in school district policy.

District policy pertaining to this issue should require that non-school materials be reviewed by a school official before distribution. If the intended distribution is during the school day or at a school function with students present, the district is permitted to impose such a prior-review requirement.

“ The pessimist complains about the wind.

The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.”

– John Maxwell

12

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

Cyber-Security – What You Need to Know Nicholas Caruso

Sr. Staff Associate for Field Service and Coordinator of Technology, CABE

We see incidents of cyber-security failures every day in the news – including school districts here in Connecticut. There is a multi-billion dollar industry revolving around stealing from the Internet. Data, identities and plain, old-fashioned money are targets of hackers. There are various ways this happens, from spyware to malware attacks. Phishing (and whaling), ransomware, Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDOS).

Some attacks are just plain malicious. In school districts, DDOS attacks often take place around exam time or in the spring when students want to avoid taking tests. These attacks are designed to bring a system crashing down by directing so much traffic to the site that it can no longer handle the crowd.

Phishing and whaling

These attacks depend on someone being careless. Phishing attacks are pretty general in their approach.

You may receive an email supposedly from the IRS, police, your bank, Social Security – the list is endless. The email says your account was compromised and you need to verify your informa-

tion to protect you. The irony is that you aren’t really compromised until you click on the link supplied in the email.

These are broadcast widely and not usually intentionally aimed at the receiver. For example – you might get an email from Bank of America saying your account was compromised – and you don’t even use that bank. It is easy to make a spoof email look legitimate.

When in doubt, forward the suspicious email to the institution. Most have an email address specifically to check these out.

Whaling is more specific. You may get an email from your Superintendent, or boss (or grandchild) saying they need you to send money to a specific account. Careful investigation will show that the email address is slightly off from a legitimate email address, but if you are in a rush, you may not even notice. Treat every request like a detective. Call the person who supposedly sent you the email and ask if they actually sent the message.

Watch attachments! Malicious software can be found in PDF files, graphic files, Google documents and even Office documents. Any time you get a file that looks suspicious, check with the sender before you try and open it.

You can probably break this issue

down to two distinct areas. One is systemic – how do you protect your network to prevent attacks? Usually attacks on institutions such as school systems, look for large sensitive data files they can sell. School districts are required by law to protect sensitive data. This includes student and employee data. Ensure your infrastructure is secure.

The other is personal. Some of the most damaging attacks happen because someone was not careful. It’s easy to do. Most of the time these people only get sensitive information you willingly give them.

support for technology includes adequate funding for security.

3. U se a secure internet provider.

School districts have access to the Connecticut Education Network, which has a variety of protective systems in place. They actually stop DDOS attacks every day; often without the victim even being aware they happened. Board members – ask your superintendent about these issues as part of your security plans.

1. Keep your passwords confidential, complex and, like babies, change them often. Don’t be lazy and come up with one password – and use it on every account! Board members – ensure policies in this area are up to date.

4. Train your students/staff/family members to remain vigilant – never click on a link until you check it out thoroughly. Look at the source of URL links before clicking on them.

Always be careful. One of the worst intrusions happened when a staff member clicked on a link on the New York Times website. Board members – make sure professional development plans include cyber-security.

2. Use a firewall and good protection software and keep it up to date. Microsoft security software is built into Windows and works well, but there are others to supplement that. Make sure there is a strong backup system in place. Consider having your system tested for intrusions. There are vendors available to do that.

Board members – make sure your

5. Consider having cyber-security insurance. An intrusion or ransomware attack can cause you to lose data, or see it damaged or inaccessible. Networks can end up shut down for weeks. The cost to bring systems and data back online can be astronomical. Board members – ask about this as part of your budgeting process.

Some advice:

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

13

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:

B y providing opportunities for members to learn how to better govern their districts: z Met with the Berlin Board of Education. z Presented CABE webinar on Brain Development and the early years with Nebraska State School Boards Executive Director John Spatz. z Provided webinar on holidays in the schools. z Provided Roles and Responsibilities workshop for the Andover Board of Education. z Provided Roles and Responsibilities workshop for the Region #11 Board of Education. z Facilitated Regional Area Retreat for Region #4, Chester, Deep River, Essex Boards of Education. z Responded to 89 requests for policy information to 29 districts, one RESC and two out-of-state school board associations on 63 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 background reference checks, financial reporting, homeschooling, transportation and student health-related issues. z Provided Andover Board of Education with organizational meetings memo.

B y providing services to meet member needs: z Provided a workshop for board of education candidates in Thomaston. z Staffed CABE Nominating Committee meeting. z Provided orientation for new members of the CABE Board of Directors. z Assisted Region #8 Board of Education in writing board goals. z Provided a candidate workshop for the Somers Board of Education. z Prepared materials as part of the Custom Update Service for Ellington, East Hampton, Gilbert School, Marlborough, New Hartford, New Fairfield, Newington, Sterling, and West Haven. z Completed the audit of the policy manual of the East Granby Public Schools.

z Currently working on the audit of a section of the policy manual of the Canaan Public Schools. z Provided memos covering topics in presentation at fall meeting of central office administrative staff regarding family medical leave for district employees, freedom of information compliance and new cases, student privacy (FERPA). z Provided Portland Board of Education meeting question and answer presentation regarding the Board proposal to set a firm graduation date now. z Provided information in response to 80 legal and labor relations questions from 21 districts. Topics included: • Setting high school graduation date pursuant to the new law allowing a fixed date regardless of school cancellations.

• Legal prohibition on districts obtaining birth certificates for proof of residency or birth sex information.

Society of Association Executives (CSAE) webinars.

Superintendent’s group retreat with Doug Eadie on leadership.

z Participated in webinar on how to avoid legal mistakes when planning a conerence.

z Attended Advancing Cultural Literacy for a Diverse Nation: 400 Years of African American Tenure in These United States.

z Participated in CABSO School Business Officer 101 Training. z Participated in ConnPELRA training on maximizing productivity and minimizing misuse of paid time off. z Attended Shipman and Goodwin Labor and Employment Law Seminar on: •N ew sexual harassment prevention training requirements, starting October 2020, requiring training for all school district employees.

•E xpansion of Connecticut Family Medical Leave law, including paid leave beginning in 2022 funded by payroll tax. Currently school district employees are eligible for Federal FMLA only. The new law allows district employees to bargain for to be covered by state law in contract negotiations.

• FMLA notification and eligibility.

• Board role in grievance proceedings and delegating role as decision maker to an attorney or legal panel.

B y ensuring members receive the most up-to-date communications: z Prepared materials as part of the Custom Policy Service for Danbury, Montville and Sharon. z Sent Board Chair list serv information and survey regarding law passed in 2019 legislative session regarding setting the graduation date, and compiled responses which show districts are approximately evenly split; half setting firm dates now and half waiting to see how school cancellations play out.

B y attending Professional Development to strengthen staff knowledge and skills. z Attended Leadership Greater Hartford’s Breakfast on Leading With a Purpose. z Participated in webinar on Brain Research and Early Childhood. z Participated in webinar on Cybersecurity.

B y helping school boards to increase student achievement: z Participated in teleconference with Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence on working together. z Provided Community Engagement workshop for the Barkhamsted Board of Education. z Sent two issues of “Policy Highlights” via email listserve covering topics that affect student achievement. This included school security and safety, school instructional requirements, personalized learning, and issues related to student use of electronic cigarettes.

B y representing Connecticut school boards on the state or national level: z Participated in NSBA’s Task Force on Research and Data. z Participated in meeting of the Campaign for Working Connecticut and the CT United Way. z Participated in Senator Chris Murphy’s Roundtable on Diversity in Education. z Attended SEL4CT (social-emotional learning group) meeting.

z Participated in two CABE Organizational Assessment meetings.

z Participated in CT Voices for Children’s College and Career Readiness Steering Committee Meeting.

z Participated in two Connecticut

z Participated in Southern Fairfield CT

z Facilitated orientation with new members of the CABE Board of Directors. z Attended CAS Board of Directos meeting. z Attended CREC Council meeting. z Served on a panel discussing special education issues at the Special Education Equity for Kids of Connecticut (SEEK CT) Conference. z Particpated in CT Jumpstart (financial literacy) meeting. z Discussed school climate and social and emotional learning on WSHU. z Attended meeting to discuss vaccination issues. z Participated in CAPSS Technology Committee meeting. z Participated in CCM Education Council meeting. z Filed Amicus Brief, the New York State School Boards Association and NSBA signed on, in U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Trumbull Board of Education in the case of D.S. v. Trumbull Board of Education. z Attended Counsel of School Attorneys Fall Legal Semina, including working with COSA labor relations and collective bargaining committee.

B y promoting public education: z Hosted and facilitated CABE Candidate workshops at ACES and CREC.

People in the News Raymond “Spike” Lenoue passed away recently at the age of 84. Spike served for over 20 years on the New Canaan Board of Education and served as president of CABE in 19851987. In 1990 Spike received CABE’s Distinguished Service Award, the Association’s highest honor. Spike was also active with the National School Boards Association. CABE is grateful for Spike’s many contributions to public education, and extends our condolences to his family.

Lisa Steimer renewed her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) which is valid through December, 2020.

14

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

The Media Message

by Ann Baldwin, President and CEO, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC

Do You Have a Plan in Place for Media Inquiries?

In today’s world it is imperative to understand that any statement made by a representative of your school district, including via social media platforms, will be seen as a public and official statement from the district. A comment or statement intended for a small audience has the potential to appear in various media outlets within a short period of time.

For this reason, it is critical that a clear set of guidelines are in place and followed, in order to avoid any unintended and potential damage.

While engaging with and responding to the media in a timely and professional manner is a good practice, it is important that the designated spokesperson takes the time to be prepared before responding to any media inquiry.

At Baldwin Media, we call this “Media Protocol”. This protocol applies to anyone and everyone who may come into contact with a reporter, whether it is over the phone, in the school parking lot, or at the grocery store. In most districts it is

the School Board Chairperson, who is usually the spokesperson. However, each situation has to be evaluated to determine if that applies to the inquiry, or should it be the Superintendent or the Principal?

Below is a template of a media protocol that we provide to the districts that we work with. This is usually distributed to all district employees who may be the unintended point of contact for media inquiries.

I would encourage you to use this document if you don’t already have one for future reference. Customize it and make it your own and most importantly, get it to the people in your district who can use it.

Media Inquiry Protocol

Should a person from any and all forms of media call, please refer to the following steps: 1. F ind out from where the reporter is calling and the purpose of the call. Do NOT transfer them directly to anyone within the organiza-

tion.

2. Get the reporters contact information: First and last name, media outlet, phone number, email, what their deadline is and with whom they are looking to speak.

3. Explain that the person they are trying to reach is not available at the moment or that (name) handles your public relations and their information will be passed along and (name) will get back to them shortly.

4. Should a reporter leave a message on a voicemail, or send an email, please do not call or email the reporter directly. Retrieve the message and pass the information along to the person who handles your public relations, or to the proper district representative.

5. Should you get reports of/or see a reporter at your office, or on the grounds, nicely ask them the nature of their business and contact the proper district representative.

6. Should you see any “news” or information regarding your organization on Facebook, any other social media outlets, or negative comments at the end of news articles, please know that you are an important part of the internal communications team and that information should also be passed along.

Please Note: Media inquiries are extremely time sensitive.

Once you have customized this to fit your situation, this Protocol should be provided to designated employees in hard and electronic format. It is the responsibility of employees to read, understand and adhere to the Protocol at all times, including outside of working hours, (which is unfortunately when many of these situations occur).

Remember, reporters can be very assertive and this is a tool that will make the job of those on the other end of the line easier.

CABE Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy was among the panelists who spoke about Special Education issues in the 2020 Legislative Session at SEEK-CT Conference (Special Education Equity for all Kids) on October 5. Pictured following the panel discussion are Patrice McCarthy, Attorney Andrew Feinstein, State Rep. Kathleen McCarty, and John Flanders, Executive Director, CT Parent Advocacy Center (Cromwell).

New members of the CABE Board of Directors receive new board member training.

Pictured are Loretta Chory (Trumbull), CABE Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy, CABE President Robert Mitchell (Montville), Bruce Kimmel (Norwalk), Darnell Goldson (New Haven), and CABE First Vice President Donald Harris (Bloomfield).

CABE Deputy Director and General Counsel Patrice McCarthy spoke about board and superintendent roles to educators at the Sacred Heart University administrator preparation program on October 12.

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

School Counselors Learn about CT’s Manufacturing Industry: The Hamden Collaboration Samantha Eisenberg Director, CSCA

Virginia DeLong

Chair CSCA Goverment Relations and Advocacy Committee

Daniel Cocchiola

Coordinator of Counseling and Career Pathways, hamden Public Schools

School Counselors work with all students to address their academic, social emotional, and career needs. They work throughout the school year to educate students on the various career clusters available to them, including the manufacturing cluster. They provide students with various career-related experiences such as job shadow opportunities, internship opportunities, field trips to manufacturing companies, manufacturing related guest speakers in their schools, manufacturing career bulletin boards and more.

Some Connecticut School Counselors attended the 2019 Materials & Manufacturing Summer Teachers’ Institute at Southern Connecticut State University to learn more about the emerging industry trends and promising job outlook for manufacturing related careers. The Connecticut School Counselor Association (CSCA) is also hoping to work with manufacturing industry this year to provide continuing professional learning for its members. The CSCA is excited to continue to work with the CBIA-CONNSTEP and strengthen our partnership to reach our shared goal of providing Connecticut’s youth with high impact learning experiences and assist them in their career development.

As one example of the work now going on to ensure that our students know about opportunities in manufacturing, Hamden Public Schools recently opened the Hamden Engineering Careers Academy (HECA), the first component of a larger STEM Academy. Science, Technol-

ogy, Engineering and Math (STEM) are foundational components to a 21st Century Education. The skills within STEM will drive occupational success in the coming decades, and will also impact social mobility and lifetime opportunities of success.

Hamden is dedicated to providing opportunities for our students to achieve lifetime prosperity, and are positioning ourselves to continue towards this objective with our STEM academy.

HECA is a collaboration between Hamden Public Schools, Gateway Community College and The New Haven Manufacturing Association, with the support of the Town of Hamden Office of Economic Development. This partnership brings a Manufacturing Engineering program to Hamden High School that offers students the chance to concurrently earn an Associate’s of Science Degree from Gateway in Manufacturing Engineering, while still enrolled in high school.

There are also pathways within HECA that can culminate in Gateway CC Manufacturing Technology certificates in CAD or Quality Control. HECA, as well as other future components of the STEM Academy, will be housed in a newly designed state of the art advanced engineering technology facility at the high school.

HECA is a rigorous and sequential program. The four-year Associate of Science in Manufacturing Engineering sequence prescribes that a student earns 68 college credits, and 31.5 high school credits. To meet these credit requirements, HECA will operate outside of the typical school calendar, including for at least 2 weeks each summer, and there may also be extended school day requirements during select semesters.

If you would like to learn more about HECA, please feel free to reach out at dcocchiola@hamden.org.

C.O.P.S

What will 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

15 November 15-16, 2019

TOP 10

reasons to join us at the

2019 CABE/CAPSS Convention

!

Every Student Every Story

Renew old friendships and develop new ones

Board members are never at a loss for conversation because they have the universal bond of children’s education to discuss.

9

Reenergize yourself

8

Become familiar with the uniqueness of other districts

The annual Convention provides you with the opportunity to learn more about each other by sharing concerns and successes with other districts.

6

Connect with other board members

The annual Convention is the perfect place to meet individuals who share your passion for education. Talk one-onone with people who are as energetic, committed and caring as you are.

4 To divide and conquer

Examine the agenda, select topics of interest and send each board member to a different workshop session.

2 Exercise leadership

Every one of you is a “mover and shaker” in your home community. You come from every possible political agenda and yet you put that aside to pull together for children. Attend the annual Convention because you want to make things happen for Connecticut’s children.

Each of us needs to be nudged out of the rut occasionally to help us regain the fervor we possessed as a newly elected board memberready to revolutionize education.

7

Find common interests and concerns If you thought your district was the only one dealing with a particular issue – think again!

5 Develop your boardsmanship skills

Board members come from all walks of life and are required to set the vision and direction of the district, hire and evaluate the superintendent, and establish the budget, along with many other responsibilities. To do all this without training would be irresponsible.

3

Become a part of the solution

When board members speak from the heart and everyone gives a little to go forward, we are a strong, unified voice for education. Attend the Convention to better understand the issues so we can move quickly towards developing solutions together.

1 Advocate for Connecticut’s children

Board member education and advocacy go hand-in-hand if the children are to benefit. You can be part of advocating for all of Connecticut’s children.

16

The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education | November, 2019

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