Board of Education Appoints Interim Superintendent

At tonight's regular Board of Education meeting, the BOE voted to appoint Dr. David H. Larson as Middletown's Interim Superintendent of Schools.

Dr. Larson was Middletown's Superintendent from 1992-2000, Southington's Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction from 1988 - 1992, and Ridgefield's Superintendent from 1987-1988. He started his teaching career in math at Trumbull High School in 1965.

After his retirement in 2000 from active school involvement, Dr. Larson was the Executive Director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents Association in West Hartford until 2008. When he retired from that position in 2008, Larson went on to work as a Senior Educational Consultant with Futures Education as well as an Educational Consultant with the University of Connecticut CommPACT Schools Project.

Dr. Larson has lived in Middletown for 19 years, and he starts work tomorrow morning. BOE Chairman Dr. Gene Nocera commented, "We could not have found a more qualified candidate. David Larson brings instant credibility to our district, and he will be incredibly helpful in the day to day operations as well as helping to guide us in finding a new superintendent."

Just moments before confirming Dr. Larson as the Interim Superintendent, the BOE voted itself (the full board of education) to be the search committee for a new Superintendent. Dr. Nocera confirmed that the board will start meeting with search organizations next week as the national search for a new superintendent begins.

Dr. Larson believes his immediate job is "to make sure our children continue to get a quality education. This district has great staff, several principals that I hired back in the day, and we're going to work together for the next six months or so as the search begins for a new superintendent."

Dr. Larson will also shepherd the process to find a new Asst. Superintendent as the current Asst. Superintendent, Barbara Senges, is retiring at the end of the month.

Two Board members were missing from tonight's meeting: Ted Raczka is on vacation, and Attorney William G. Grady has resigned his position on the board (as the EYE reported last week). Dr. Nocera expects that by the next meeting, the vacant position will have been filled by a joint Mayoral/Common Council nomination and confirmation process. The new board member will have to be a Democrat as well.

"Insuracare" comes to Middletown: A Commentary on Bureaucracy and Public Education

One of my favorite movies of all times is Pixar's The Incredibles. I love everything about this movie, from its clever character creation (naming the superhero Mom Elastigirl) to its witty commentary on real life (the villain comments on his plan to sell his inventions so that everyone can be a superhero: "When everyone's super, no one will be.").

One of the most painful scenes in the movie, however, is the exchange between Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) and his boss at Insuracare: Bob gets called to the office because his boss is unhappy...

Boss: "Your customers make me unhappy."

Bob: "What? You've gotten complaints?"

Boss: "Complaints I can handle. What I can't handle is your customer's inexplicable knowledge of Insuracare's inner workings. They're experts. Experts, Bob! Exploiting every loophole, dodging every obstacle. They're penetrating the bureaucracy!"

Bob: "Did I do something illegal?"

Boss: (begrudgingly) "Noooo..."

Bob: "Are you saying we shouldn't help our customers?"

Boss: "The law requires that I answer no."

Bob: "We're supposed to help people."

Boss: "We're supposed to help OUR people, starting with our shareholders, Bob. Who's helping them out?"

You see, Bob has been secretly helping his customers navigate the corrupt company system, and he's forced to decide between his superhero principles of justice and his job. He sticks with his principles and loses the job (and this isn't the first time it has happened to him).

This scene is painful for me because I know it catches the evils of bureaucracy perfectly, just as it ignores the good that can come from an organized effort to make a difference. As Abraham Lincoln is thought to have said in 1854:

"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities."

We need government involvement in the education process, unless of course we're all suddenly going to homeschool our children or privatize public education. I don't think my children would survive homeschooling, so I'm going to stick with the "go someplace else for school" model. It's an intriguing thought to consider privatizing public education, but I have no idea how that would work, and I'm not sure it would solve the evils of public education either. So...we need some government, and with it comes a bureaucracy. This does mean, though, that the individuals in government have to be working for the common good, not their own agenda or some other purpose at odds with the reason for any government at all.

Let's consider the following example of how bureaucracy in Public Education occurs in Middletown:

In October, the EYE reported on a dispute between parents and the BOE Transportation Committee over the bus stop at the intersection of Prout Hill Rd and Crystal Lake Rd (read the original post here). Last week, the EYE learned that one of the cases had been appealed to the State Board of Education, and an impartial hearing board remanded the case back to the Middletown BOE Transportation Committee because "The Appellant did not receive reasonable notice of the hearing before the Transportation Sub Committee." (Read the full decision here.)

The heart of the case is that the appellant received notice the day before the hearing was scheduled: while said notice was postmarked November 10th for a November 15th, 8:30am meeting, the appellant didn't get the notice until the 14th. When he called to ask for more time, he was informed that the hearing would go forward because the District's attorney was already on the way and couldn't reschedule. In fact, the appellant wasn't able to be at the meeting at all, and he was, in the words of the hearing board, "denied the opportunity to present a full case, cross exam witnesses or exam documentary evidence." Based on this, the hearing board concluded that:

The Transportation Sub Committee acted in an illegal, arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable manner. C.C.S. 10-186 contemplates a procedure for appeal, which includes a meaningful hearing before the local board of education....The hearing before the Transportation Subcommittee of the Middletown Board of Education was substantive but one-sided. To be meaningful the other party must be heard from and allowed the opportunity to present evidence, call witnesses, cross examine witnesses - in other words to be seen and heard. A notice of one day and denial of a chance for a continuance short-circuited the meaningful hearing before the local board. Email cannot substitute for the physical presence of the parent. The Impartial Hearing Officer finds no fault with the substantive presentation of the Transportation Subcommittee. The Transportation Committee followed the policies of the Board of Education. The procedural issues denying the Appellant an opportunity to participate, however, prevail.

There it is...Insuracare has come to Middletown. Here's where it gets interesting. I emailed BOE Chairman Dr. Nocera to ask how a hearing could proceed if the person the hearing was for couldn't make it. I also couldn't figure out who was on the Transportation Committee because that committee isn't listed on the BOE website. Dr. Nocera forwarded my email to the members of the Transportation Committee (Bill Grady, chair, and Ryan Kennedy) as well as Facilities Director Ken Jackson, Business Manager Nancy Haynes, and Superintendent Michael Frechette for a response.

I first heard from Nancy Haynes, who said the new hearing is set for February 24th. She also commented, "Because this matter involves student records, we are unable to speak about any other details, and the hearings are conducted in Executive Sessions because of student confidentiality laws." When I asked what part of an educational record could possibly be revealed in a bus stop hearing, Haynes replied, "We can't predict in advance what a parent is going to say....sometimes the reason for change request is because of another student, and so we have to protect that student's confidentiality."

I also asked a BOE member who sets hearing dates and times, and I learned that the central office does the scheduling. In particular, Nancy Haynes is responsible for scheduling hearings. When I asked Haynes how the scheduling takes place, she replied, "After a request is received to hold a hearing, we review the state statute on time frames with the Committee Chair and BOE counsel and then post the meeting on behalf of the Committee." Haynes also commented that the State Statute requires that a hearing be held within 10 days of the request (not 10 days of notice for the hearing itself). This answer didn't make much sense to me (October 28 request for a November 15 hearing) until I looked at C.G.S. 10-186 (b) (1) to see that it actually indicates the board, subcommittee, or local impartial hearing board shall give the person a hearing within ten days after receipt of the written request. (This means the hearing just has to be scheduled within 10 days of the request.)

The parent in this case emailed Haynes on October 28, 2011, and notification of a hearing was dated November 10th. Technically, this would have been one day late except for the October Blizzard and lack of electricity and the week off school and so on. The other relevant factor in when the hearing was scheduled was the fact that an election had just taken place and the outgoing BOE members' terms expired on November 15th at noon. Ryan Kennedy, one of the Transportation Committee members, told me that the hearing had been scheduled for the morning of the 15th because "the past committee was very familiar with the issue, " and an entire new committee could have been named.

So what's the point? Well, in the movie, Bob Parr's clients paid for their insurance, but the company did whatever it could to not pay out any claims. Here, in Middletown, parents pay more than 1/2 the town's budget to the Board of Education, but there are multiple cases of parents frustrated at the bureaucracy they must navigate. Not only are you ignored (remember that this case first came to light because no one would schedule a Transportation Hearing), but then it also appears that the process is manipulated against you. I asked Nancy Haynes point blank how this case could go so wrong, and she replied, "I really don't know."

Please don't misunderstand. I know there are plenty of times when the front office gets it right. Middletown has seen an amazing change in CMT scores and overall student performance in the last few years. In fact, the parent involved in this case also blogged about why Middletown should care about the "scream rooms" incident, and he had this to say to the EYE about why he did it:

Regarding the contents of my blogpost: There has been no shortage of events in the recent years to tarnish the image of our schools, which directly effects the entire community in a negative manner as I stated in the blog. The public perception of our school system is poor, which is a shame. There are hundreds of teachers, lower level administrators (principals, vice principals, curriculum directors and department heads) and other employees that work hard every day to provide a safe environment for our children to learn in, and do a fantastic job of providing a top notch public education for our children. Unfortunately, the public image of the system is seen by the public from the top down, not the bottom up. It is my hope that the Middletown BOE as a whole will come to this same conclusion, and make the necessary positive changes in leadership required to correct the negative image so we can all move on from these past issues together, as a community, and change the perception of our schools and the city as a whole to what it should be: A great place to live and work.

I couldn't agree more. However, it takes something like 10 positive experiences to undo a negative one, and it's only been negative out of that part of town for some time. Furthermore, I don't think we have a common definition for the word "transparency" in this town. You don't walk up to a window and ask it what's on the other side: you just look through it. The window doesn't do anything different to be transparent, and it doesn't have to tell you specifically what's behind it. You can just see by virtue of how the window is.

No student confidentiality is compromised by a frank discussion of policy and procedure. Transparency is an attitude and an understanding of who your client is and how best to communicate with him or her. It's not enough to argue that "we're making the best decisions for the kids that we can," when, in practice, it's impossible for parents (the very people who know Middletown children the best) to know or to understand how and when decisions are made. For example: about 3 years ago, when the district cancelled a huge number of bus stops to save on fuel costs, the only indication parents got that something had changed was the bus number on the little card from DATTCO that arrived in the mail the week before school started. A huge uproar followed, and it could have been avoided in part if a letter had gone home much earlier in the summer explaining the changes and why they were happening. Since times and stop locations were now much different than before, parents had to make adjustments in work schedules and other care coordination, and who realistically could do this the week before school starts?

I'm not the only Elastigirl in town, and I do wish that the negative attention would go someplace else. Us "super parents" have to be able to trust the process that manages education in our town, but the last couple of years have been really scary. Furthermore, for any change to occur, it has to be organized and efficient to be effective and lasting, and it needs competent leadership and specific goals. So take a moment and consider one or two very specific and concrete things the BOE or the Central Office could do to communicate better or be more transparent. I don't mean for you to say "communicate better" or "be transparent." I mean something like "List the Transportation Committee on the BOE website and provide a link for requesting a transportation hearing."

Post a reply to this article, or email BOE Chairman Dr. Nocera (genenocera@gmail.com) with your specific suggestions. It follows that if parents expect transparency, government should be able to expect specific feedback on how that transparency is working.

On a happier note, I've heard great things about Farm Hill's interim principal, and I'm hoping to share those details in the next week. Rumor has it the mood has completely changed, and that would be some welcome, happy news that this town desperately needs!

Large Crowd Disappointed at Board of Ed Meeting

It was standing room only at Tuesday night's regular Board of Education meeting. Much of the standing was done by the five media camera crews and a handful of print journalists who also attended the meeting. The mood in the room was rather tense, and the crowd was prone to several instances of loudly spoken comments in response to something said by one of the board members.

The Superintendent's inability to answer any of the specific questions posed to him regarding the use of "time out" rooms at Farm Hill Elementary School seriously disappointed and/or angered the parents in the audience. The agenda was re-arranged to allow the Superintendent to present his report on Farm Hill immediately following the adoption of the agenda (view the report here, look for the Talking Points, Farm Hill School link). Most of the Superintendent's report contained information that had been shared with parents at the Farm Hill PTA meeting on January 12th (coverage of that meeting can be found here). Upon the conclusion of the update, BOE Chairman Gene Nocera commented that due to on-going investigations, the board's discussion of what was happening at Farm Hill would be limited to the Superintendent's Report. Nocera did promise, however, that a full public discussion would follow the conclusion of all investigations. [Author's note: this statement was not well received by the audience.]

Farm Hill PTA Meeting Attracts A Large Crowd

Last night's regularly scheduled PTA meeting at Farm Hill Elementary School drew way more than the normal "ten or so" parent attendees. In fact, the media contingent alone easily passed that benchmark with at least five camera crews and several print and internet reporters there as well.

PTA President Apryl Dudley conducted the beginning of the meeting as she normally would have, talking about upcoming events such as the sale of candy roses for Valentine's Day or the box top collection. When she finished, she turned the meeting over to Superintendent Michael Frechette, who was joined by BOE Chairman Gene Nocera, Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges, Farm Hill Principal Patricia Girard, and other central office staff. Five current BOE members were also in the audience (Sheila Daniels, Ed McKeon, Ava Hart, Bill Grady, and Mitchell Wynn) as well as former member Sally Boske. Mayor Dan Drew was present, although he had no official involvement with the proceedings.

Dr. Frechette began his presentation by confronting the "untrue rumors" he said were circulating around town. In particular, while some special education students (less than 10 at Farm Hill) might use a time-out room as part of their individual behavior plans, no one has ever been seriously injured as a result of being in such a room. Frechette confirmed that some students had banged their heads on the wall, another wiped blood from a cut finger on the wall, and a few students had urinated in the room. Currently the rooms in question have a door that can be locked from the outside (with the principal and building super holding keys), but that lock is scheduled to be removed today. Since the beginning of school in September 2011, police and/or emergency medical staff have been summoned to the school 9 times (6 medical, 3 behavior), but there is no direct link to students being in the time-out room who then need an ambulance. "In fact," Dr. Frechette clarified after the meeting, "one of the ambulance calls was for a bus driver and it had nothing to do with the students."

Citing communication, climate, and student management as the three main "issues" facing Farm Hill, Frechette said that the central office had been aware of problems at Farm Hill since the fall, and had been "working at the lowest level" to resolve those issues. Admitting that this approach hadn't worked as it was intended, Frechette then resolved to take a more aggressive approach: "I'm committed to turning this around...we need to be transparent with our outcomes and clear with parents, clear with students, clear with staff, and we need to talk about the issues we face. Communication here really needs work....Quite frankly, it has gone on too long." His comments were met with loud applause, and then it was Principal Patricia Girard's turn to talk.

Girard thanked parents for coming to the meeting, commenting that it was the first step in addressing the concerns facing the school. She acknowledged that it was her responsibility to have clear communications at the school, saying "it's lacking." Girard went on to say that there would be two opportunities for parents to be directly involved: first, as the parent compact is being re-written to focus on the school's climate, and secondly, on the Climate Committee itself. There were sign-up sheets available outside the meeting area, but parents can contact the school office as well if they are interested in participating.

Girard then turned her comments to address the rumors and accusations she had heard: "The rumors are scary and unfounded. There is a perception the school is out of control." She went on to explain, step by step, how the "time-out" room is used:

• A student is monitored at all times in the time-out room
• The child can't lock him or herself in
• The child is never left unattended
• The staff member may be in the room or just outside the door
• There is a window in the door to see into the room
• A staff member who uses a time-out room has received de-escalation training
• Only students who have the use of a time-out room as part of their personal behavior management plans (approved and signed by the parents) use the room in this fashion
• The time-out room is used as a last resort
• If a student requires more restrictive action to control his or her behavior, more accountability procedures are activated including parental notification and other required documentation

Laurie Slade, Supervisor of Special Education & Pupil Services explained further:

• Students who have Behavior Management Plans are those with serious emotional disturbances, not just random regular students
• These students also have a very specific educational plan
• State law governs how and when students can be restrained as well as when parental notification occurs
• Intensive Case Management (ICM) does not refer to a program but rather a student who requires additional support services or is more seriously disabled
• If a time-out room is used to de-escalate a student's behavior, a documentation report is generated that covers what happened, including who was involved, what time it happened and how long it lasted, a nurse's assessment of any possible injury, and the frequency of the event.

Board of Education Chairman Gene Nocera spoke next, saying "The Board of Education is deeply concerned by the comments made at Tuesday night's meeting, and we will look into all allegations to be certain we are following best practices and state guidelines." Nocera then commented that "mistakes have been made, and we're here to correct those mistakes." Before opening up a general Q&A session, Dr. Nocera asked the crowd to "be respectful with your questions...we'll stay here as long as we have to."

It would be the understatement of the year to say parents were upset. More than 30 parents got up to ask questions, some more than once. Many of the questions centered on use of the "time-out room" and who could be placed into it, who monitored it, why it was located at Farm Hill, did other schools have one, and why wasn't it padded. There was much confusion over terminology as the same room is used for "time-out" for students with behavior management plans as well as an "alternative learning environment" for the general school population.

Some parents asked about their child specifically, wondering who determines if the room is used as a "time-out" or an "alternative learning environment," stating that their children reported being in the "scream room" without any parental notification it had happened. Others expressed frustration at previous attempts to bring issues to the attention of the administration, feeling ignored and unheard. In particular, PTA President Apryl Dudley said that after she had sent her letter on January 6th, she was told by several BOE members that the Superintendent would contact her directly. "It's been 7 days now, and I haven't heard a thing." At that moment, Dr. Frechette apologized directly to Dudley, but the crowd's reaction was not kind to his response.

Two young Farm Hill female students (both about 10 or so) waited in line to speak. The first cried during her comments, saying it was scary to come to school and that she didn't know what to do. The second girl echoed her classmate saying, "I don't know how to do my homework...how did this happen to our school?" Principal Girard responded to both girls with an apology: "I'm sorry, I will do whatever I can to make it better. We care about you and we promise to make it safe."

Other parents were concerned about the lasting impact on their child's psychological well-being. Several mentioned that their children were afraid of school and that the continual disturbances weren't fair. One parent said that "if these kids are so disruptive and need that room, then maybe they shouldn't be in our school at all." Loud applause followed this comment. A follow-on question asked about the DEAL program, noting it had been very successful and well-liked. Ann Perzan, Director of Pupil Services and Special Education, told the audience that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act changed in 2004, and the DEAL program was no longer in compliance with the requirements of the law. [Author's note: At Tuesday night's BOE meeting, Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges told the board that when the DEAL program dissolved, programs were set up at both middle schools, the high school, and then at the elementary schools nearest the largest concentration of the student population needing those services. Last year, Bielefield Elementary housed the special education program, and this year it moved to Farm Hill to follow where the students were actually located.)

Several very dramatic moments occurred during the more than two-and-a-half-hour long meeting. Parents yelled at each other ("you don't understand what my child goes through." "No, YOU don't understand what MY child goes through."), parents yelled at the principal and superintendent ("We have no confidence in this system...you've done nothing to make me feel comfortable or to give me confidence..."), and parents yelled comments while another parent was trying to ask a question. More than one parent tried to offer a positive comment or to suggest that working together might be more effective than finger-pointing, but those comments were few and far between. Local 466 Union President Jeff Daniels got a standing ovation for his comments that the administration needs to let teachers and staff do their jobs without fear of retribution. Daniels also suggested that he had specific evidence to prove the whole truth wasn't being told about what was happening in the "time-out rooms," noting, "I feel bad for my community and I'm here to help in any way I can, but if people are scared to do their jobs, then we're going to have a problem."

Another particularly tense moment occurred when a parent commented to Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges, "your noticeable silence is offensive." Senges replied that she had not been asked a direct question all night, that most of her work is behind the scenes, that lots of work had gone into putting a response plan together, and that "we came here tonight in a very honest way. We care about every child. We heard you, and I've kept silent because I've worked with these very dedicated educators for six years and I can't believe the very offensive, rude comments I've heard tonight." Senges was immediately interrupted by BOE Chairman Nocera, who said, "I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything offensive or rude tonight. People are entitled to their feelings and we can't heal if we don't stop arguing."

BOE Chairman Gene Nocera finally called a halt to the questions at 9:15pm, saying that there were several students in the building who needed to "go home and get to bed" since tomorrow's a school day. Nocera offered parents with additional questions the chance to talk with staff for as long as they needed. Principal Girard asked parents to write down their questions or concerns on the notecards provided for that purpose, and she promised to review them and address them in the coming weeks.

After the meeting concluded, many parents stayed behind to ask questions and to continue conversations between various groups of people. Several meetings were taking place in the morning (today, Jan 13) with staff, administration, and the board of education.

UPDATE: The Board of Education announces a 3pm press conference at the Central Office at 311 Hunting Hill Ave. in Conference Room A (room #7)

New Board of Ed Settles In

Last night's regular Board of Education meeting was all about process and board members settling into their roles and responsibilities. The Board voted to approve committee assignments and Adopt-a-School responsibilities. If I followed the amendments correctly, the breakdown looks like this:

• Budget Committee: Ted Raczka (chair), Ryan Kennedy, Ed McKeon
• Communication Committee: Ryan Kennedy (chair), Ted Raczka, Mitchell Wynne
• Policy Committee: Sheila Daniels (chair), Bill Grady, Ed McKeon
• Curriculum Committee: Bill Grady (chair), Sheila Daniels, Mitchell Wynne
• Transportation Committee: Bill Grady (chair), Ryan Kennedy, Mitchell Wynne
• Feasibililty Committee: Ed McKeon (chair), Cheryl McClellan
• MFT Negotiaitions: Sheila Daniels, Ava Hart
• TEMS: Cheryl McCellan
• ACES: Ava Hart

There was a bit of disagreement over whether the Feasibility Committee actually existed and what its role was supposed to be, but the objections of board members Ted Raczka and Bill Grady were overruled in the end. BOE Chairman Gene Nocera said he would plan to have the committee's responsibilities confirmed at the next BOE meeting.

In District Highlights, MHS Principal Robert Fontaine summarized the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) visit and the high school's accreditation process. Every ten years the high school goes through a rigorous review process lasting almost 3 years: first the school does a self-study, and then it is visited by a "team" made up of school administrators from the six New England states. Winter Storm Alfred rearranged the originally scheduled visit, so 9 of the 13 original team members were able to return on November 30th and December 1st to complete the visit. Principal Fontaine shared that he was told the NEASC team was very impressed with the reception it received at MHS: "The Committee was very impressed with our students and their behavior and their intellectual engagement...our students were well behaved and represented themselves well." The official results will be published in May, and the school will have either two years or five years to implement any recommendations the committee has for improvement.

Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges spent a considerable amount of time explaining the 2011 CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test) results to the board. While "miraculous" results have been made in the reading scores for Middletown students, math and writing score have lagged. Senges assured the board that the administration has already taken steps to address the problem: for example, the amount of time in math in 6th grade has doubled to 80 minutes from 40 minutes to address the drop in math scores between 6th and 7th grade. "Closing the achievement gap further means being more strategic since other sub-groups are not achieving at the same rate," Senges told the board. "What it really boils down to is that we've accomplished this with no additional increase in our budget in three years, and if you want this achievement to continue, we have to provide the resources in our budget to make it happen."

Board member Mitchell Wynn asked Senges for specific examples of what the district is doing to improve the gaps in CMT scores, and Senges replied, "We pretest before we teach anything. Then teachers get together to decide what the students need to learn first before anyone continues on. We're trying to teach missed material in a new way, and give more time for students to get it. We're also differentiating between students so not everyone is learning the same thing at the same time..." [Author's note: since I have been covering the Board of Ed, there has been a systematic attempt to get rid of tracking (this is the process of dividing students into groups by ability for teaching purposes). The argument against tracking was that honor students are always going to do well, and students at the other end would benefit by being in the same group with higher achievers. I'll apologize if I'm not understanding it correctly, but now it seems like pre-testing and differentiation is exactly the same process but just a new name...]

When a few board members asked if she was consulting other districts with problems similar to our own, Senges got very defensive: "I want to say this with all due respect: we're doing better than any other district our size with similar achievement gaps. Our teachers know what they have to do and they are doing it. Other districts are coming to us to see what to do, we don't need to go to them."

Not many individuals spoke at either of the public sessions, but significant among those who did were the Mayor, Dan Drew, and Common Council member Grady Faulkner. Mayor Drew commended the BOE for the positive working relationship between the two entities so far, noting that "we've resolved a potential dispute and I'm sure we can continue to make progress and work together to resolve any remaining issues." Drew went on to comment that he had an open door policy and that he appreciated the open communication that was starting to form between the BOE and the city. Councilman Faulkner asked the board to consider more visible events during Black History Month in February: "There's a large black population in Middletown and it's been kind of quiet for the last few years during Black History Month. I'd really like to see something more done."

Finally, it's December, and that means budget time. Superintendent Michael Frechette will present his budget to the Board of Ed at the December 20th meeting, with the first look coming at the December 19th Budget Committee meeting. Members of the public are welcome to attend the Budget Committee meeting, and I would encourage you to pay particular attention to how this new board works together in the coming months. It's one thing to play nice in the two-meeting honeymoon after the elections are over, but it's something entirely different to produce a budget! Stay tuned!

Sign Of The Times...A Commentary

If you've followed Board of Ed business at all the last few years, you'd know that members sit in the same place for each meeting. I never really thought about how that order was established until I sat through this first meeting with the new board and noticed everyone was all moved around. Specifically, the Superintendent now sits next to the Asst. Superintendent on the far right (instead of sitting next to the BOE Chairman, Dr. Nocera, who is in the yellow shirt on the far left of the picture), and Business Manager Nancy Haynes isn't seated at all anymore.

I asked newly elected BOE member Ed McKeon who assigned the seats, and he replied that seating is basically determined by the number of votes received during the election, but that BOE members also worked it out as to where people would sit.

Interestingly, after turning over the Chairman's seat to Dr. Nocera, Ted Raczka chose to sit at the very far left side of the room, next to Marcy Poppel (the Superintendent's administrative assistant who takes minutes of the meeting). There were several empty seats between Ted and the nearest BOE member, Cheryl McClellan, which meant I couldn't get Ted in the picture with everyone else.

I also find body language very interesting, and all of the new BOE members were sitting up and forward in their seats. They appeared shiny and new and interested in what was going on. Sitting BOE members like Ryan Kennedy and Bill Grady were far more relaxed in their seats, and tended to lean back and away from the conversation. And then there was Ted, very disconnected from the rest of his board members, resting the side of his head in his hand for most of the meeting.

I comment on seating arrangements and body language because both are a real clue as to how people get along (or don't), and what they think of their personal value as compared to a group value. I was encouraged to see a Democratic Chairman nominate a Republican Vice-Chairman, even if two BOE members voted against her. I was also encouraged to see the board (mostly) sitting together, with the Superintendent next to the Asst. Superintendent on the far side of the room. Visually, it sends an organized message (like groups sitting together), and it's comforting to us OCD types.

Mostly, though, I'm hoping it's not for show. Politics shouldn't matter when it comes to getting the best possible education for our children, and I'm hoping that the new Board of Education will remember that. There is much to do in the months ahead as the budget cycle is already starting. I'm looking forward to getting to know this new board, as I hope you are. Stay tuned!

Board of Education Elects New Chairman

Dr. Gene Nocera, former principal of Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Macdonough, Bielefield and Snow Elementary Schools, was elected unanimously as the new Chairman of the Board of Education at Wednesday evening's meeting. Sheila Daniels was elected as Vice-Chairman and Ed McKeon was elected as Secretary. After thanking out-going Chairman Ted Raczka for his years of service, new Chairman Nocera commented that he wants to do his "very best to serve the children of Middletown" so that the public school system goes from "first-rate to world class."

The meeting moved along quickly: committee assignments were suggested verbally by Chairman Nocera, but he wanted BOE members to process his suggestions and provide feedback in the next few days.

MHS Principal Bob Fontaine gave an update on the District Accreditation visit that was supposed to start October 30th: the NEASC team tried to continue the visit in spite of Alfred, but decided to give up when it became obvious that school would not resume to finish out the visit. The rest of the visit is tentatively scheduled for December 7th and 8th. Fontaine expects that MHS will receive full accreditation, but the final report won't be released until about May.

Superintendent Michael Frechette spoke briefly about the calendar and the possibility of using Spring Break to recover lost days. The 2011-12 school year already has 7 days to make up, putting the last day of school on June 20th if nothing else changes. Looking back at the last few years, the district lost 8 days last year, 2 in '09-'10, 4 in '08-'09 and 2 in '07-'08. Since the winter hasn't even started yet, Frechette asked the Board to "tell people not to plan vacations over Spring Break" in the event that days have to be made up. New BOE member Cheryl McClellan asked if the band would be allowed to go on its trip even if Spring Break was canceled, and she was told that the band would be able to miss school if necessary. BOE member Ryan Kennedy asked why February vacation couldn't be used, and BOE member Sheila Daniels urged the Superintendent to consider taking a few of those days instead if it became necessary.

Facilities Director Ken Jackson asked for approval to spend funds to replace the walk-in cooler/freezer at Keigwin. It's 35 years old and has developed a frosting problem that would take over $20,000 to repair. It's less than $40,000 for a new unit, and the board approved the use of funds from the Capital PM account.

Finally, Jackson also introduced Lee Osborne, Chairman of the Building Committee for the New Middletown High School and Vocational Agriculture Project, to formally announce that the High School is finished. Once the BOE accepts the project, the State can conduct a final audit and the last of the State funds can be released. Osborne also has to appear before the Common Council in January to ask that the Building Committee be dismissed. Both Jackson and Osborne thanked the members of the Building Committee for the work done over the last six years, and Jackson asked the board to consider a personal letter of thanks to those involved. Osborne also commented on the use of MHS as an emergency shelter: "We were way ahead of other communities in terms of our ability to function as an emergency shelter, and that's thanks to the work of the committee...it might not have been perfect, but we had generators, staffing, and the room to be an effective shelter." The Board of Education voted to accept the project and to send a letter of thank you to committee members.

[Fun facts: The High School took over 10 years, 3 mayors and 3 building committees to complete. It cost $110 million to build and is 282,000 sq. ft of educational space.]

In the second Public Session, parent Jane Majewski welcomed the new BOE members and then expressed her sadness over Middletown's inability to makeover its educational system in the same way it has rejuvenated Main Street and the business community. "I saw the leadership on TV last year, acting inappropriately in my opinion, and it didn't make me feel safe as a parent. It wasn't a good example for my kids, and I'm starting to look at the magnet schools in Hartford. Let's put our children first, take this seriously, and get a paradigm shift to catch up with the rest of our thriving town."

The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm.

BOE Candidate: Gene Nocera - Candidate Statement

The below information is a part of the Eye's Elections 2011 series to provide information to voting citizens and does not represent any endorsement by the Middletown Eye or any of its authors.


Dr. Gene P. Nocera, PhD
Democrat for Board of Education, 2011

Over the course of my 38 year career in the Middletown Public School System as a teacher, doctoral graduate, administrator and elementary and middle school principal, I have acquired a deep understanding of learning theory and teaching. In addition to my impact in the classroom, school and community, I have also worked hard to reach out to influence the school district's culture, providing goal clarification and a positive school climate, helping reduce teacher and community isolation within the decision making process, and sharing the power and responsibility with staff and community.

Establishing a positive school climate of reflection and learning, to improve the overall safe and excellent learning environment for students has always been a number one priority.

In my judgment the greatest contribution a school leader can provide is leadership to cultivate shared values that create a positive school and community climate of openness, mutual respect, support, and educational excellence.

BOE Candidate: Gene Nocera - CFSA Endoresement

The below information is a part of the Eye's Elections 2011 series to provide information to voting citizens and does not represent any endorsement by the Middletown Eye or any of its authors.

October 4, 2011

To Whom It May Concern

From Roch J. Girard

President

RE: CFSA Endorsement for Dr. Eugene Nocera

It is with great pleasure that the Connecticut Federation of School Administrators endorses the candidacy of Dr. Eugene Nocera for the Middleton Board of Education.

Dr. Nocera will be a tremendous asset to the Board of Education given his many years of service as a school administrator and principal.

His talents are many and his unique ability to work with his “people skills” is well known.

We strongly support Dr. Nocera as the Democratic candidate for the Board of Education.

Thank you.

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