PRESIDENT COMMENTARY We Are Influencers and Leaders

June enters quickly, where did the school year go? What would a year’s worth of headlines be for your school district? A kaleidoscope of headlines from the last week of April newspapers bombards the intellect, including: “King’s fractious family on stage at coronation”; “What can philosophy teach us about drug addiction?”; “Report shows prison inmate crisis”; ”Why are dead birds falling from the sky?”; “Pope thanks Hungarians for welcoming Ukraine refugees”; “Wonders of artist Walter Wick”; “Texas man kills 5 after gunfire complaint”; and “Fast money and faded hope in China”. Headlines raise issues and reveal history in the making. Time Magazine also released its 100 honorees from around the globe, influencers, trailblazers, leaders working toward a better future. World news, people influencers, together making headlines.

I was struck thinking about the news and the 100 Time Magazine honorees that public education, educators, academia in general were absent from the honorees, not in the public marketplace of ideas. Artists, Titans, Pioneers, Leaders, Innovators and Icons — categories of the honorees. Not education?

How can that be? Isn’t public education the foundation of our democracy and the civilized world? Didn’t all these honorees and world leaders attend school and “be educated.” If the major theme is interconnected challenges, from climate change and public health to democracy and equality, public education should be the driving force, catalyst, engine for rethinking and reimaging solutions to these weighty world issues. Why isn’t public education in the headlines?

Public education is taken for granted. Of course, all these brilliant influencers attended school and seeds of creativity, excellence, discovery and curiosity were nurtured by teachers and school districts committed to student success and imagination. Our challenge is to communicate the gifts of public education to our commu- nities, make headlines that tell the remarkable story of public education. Lest we forget.

In a recent National School Boards Association virtual meeting, it was evident that public education is under duress by political and social forces. States fully embracing funding religious and sectarian private schools, curriculum censorship, and book banning; discriminatory policies are on the rise. Unfortunately, these are the headlines for public education across the country.

“Central to confronting the world’s shared challenges is the pursuit of truth, an endeavor increasingly under attack,” noted journalist Edward Felsenthal, editor of Time Magazine Public education is the vehicle for the pursuit of truth. This truth is very profound and a public trust we as Boards of Education have taken an oath to protect and preserve. As the school year comes full circle, and headlines crater our senses, let’s remember we are influencers, leaders, and public education is the powerful engine of change and transformation. Our students are making headlines!

Have a wonderful summer!

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

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Elizabeth Brown | President, Waterbury

Leonard Lockhart | First Vice President, Windsor

Meg Scata | Vice President for Government Relations, Portland

John Prins | Vice President for Professional Development, Branford

Lon Seidman | Secretary/Treasurer, Essex

Donald Harris | Immediate Past President, Bloomfield

Anthony Perugini | Member at Large, Cheshire

Lydia Tedone | NSBA Director, Simsbury

AREA DIRECTORS

Marion Manzo | Area 1 Director, Region 15

Douglas Foyle | Area 2 Co-Director, Glastonbury

Tyron Harris | Area 2 Co-Director, East Hartford

Jay Livernois | Area 4 Director, Woodstock

Academy

Dan Cruson | Area 5 Director, Newtown

Janice Cupee | Area 6 Co-Director, Stratford

Lee Goldstein | Area 6 Co-Director, Westport

George Kurtyka | Area 7 Co-Director, Derby

Robert Guthrie | Area 7 Co-Director, West Haven

Lon Seidman | Area 8 Director, Essex

Carol Burgess | Area 9 Co-Director, Montville

Bryan Doughty | Area 9 Co-Director, New London

ASSOCIATES

Eileen Baker | Associate, Old Saybrook

Ann Gruenberg | Associate, Hampton

Anthony Perugini | Associate, Cheshire

Robert Mitchell | Associate, Montville

Joseph Wilkerson | Associate, Bloomfield

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Becky Tyrrell | Chair, Federal Relations, Plainville

Laurel Steinhauser | Chair, Resolutions, Portland

Jaime Barr Shelburn | Chair, State Relations, East Lyme

CITY REPRESENTATIVES

Joseph Sokolovic | City Representative, Bridgeport

A. J. Johnson | City Representative, Hartford

Yesenia Rivera | City Representative, New Haven Versha Munshi-South | City Representative, Stamford

STAFF

Patrice McCarthy | Executive Director and General Counsel

Nicholas Caruso | Senior Staff Associate for Field Services and Coordinator of Technology

Jody Goeler | Senior Staff Associate for Policy Service

Sheila McKay | Senior Staff Associate for Government Relations

Lisa Steimer | Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development and Communications

Conrad Vahlsing | Senior Staff Attorney

Wendy DeBarge | Coordinator of Finance and Administration

Pamela Brooks | Senior 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 Digital Communications

Nancy Propfe | Administrative Assistant for Membership Services

Corliss Ucci | Receptionist and Assistant to Executive Director CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published bi-monthly by Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109. Periodicals postage Paid at Hartford, CT.”

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242. CABE membership dues include $30 per person for each individual who receives The CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75. Association members 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.