DCF Exonerates Former Principal Patricia Girard of Abuse Allegations

BOE Chairman Dr. Gene Nocera has released the DCF report clearing former Farm Hill Principal Patricia Girard of abuse or neglect of a child (or children) in connection with the "Scream Room" allegations of January 25, 2012.

According to a State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families Report dated 3/30/2012, an investigation found no substantiation of abuse.

Girard left her position as Principal on January 30th, and Interim Principal Mark Proffitt stepped in until a new principal can be hired. That search is underway, but complicated by the subsequent departure of Superintendent Michael Frechette and Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges last month. At this evening's Board of Education meeting, Interim Superintendent Dr. David Larson specifically mentioned the importance of finding a new Superintendent before vacancies at the building level are fulfilled so that the new head administrator has input on two new Elementary principals (Farm Hill Elementary School and Woodrow Wilson Middle School) and an assistant principal at Middletown High School.

Interestingly, the BOE also voted this evening to modify Policy 4111 (Personnel - Certified). Specifically, the old policy regarding the hiring of Administrative Staff allowed the Superintendent to override the interview committee's candidate selection. The new policy calls for a slate of finalists to be recommended to the Board of Education for interviews, with the Board and the Superintendent interviewing candidates together.

The Board of Education has hired Cooperative Educational Service to assist in the search for a new Superintendent, and is hopeful that the search will be concluded by the end of June.

Farm Hill Interim Principal Delivers On District Promise

On Thursday, January 12th, 2012, then Superintendent of Schools Michael Frechette told the parents gathered at the Farm Hill PTA meeting that he was "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." Frechette's comments were of course made in the context of the "scream room" controversy, and by Monday, January 30th, Farm Hill Principal Patricia Girard had stepped out on an indefinite leave of absence.

Girard's replacement, a former principal at both Spencer and Lawrence Elementary Schools, was called out of the classroom and back into the principal's office. Citing a need to better balance his work/life responsibilities, Mark Proffitt had previously stepped out of administrative duties with an eye toward retirement along side his wife, a veteran teacher of 35 years in the Torrington School District.

So when Dr. Frechette called and asked Proffitt to step in as interim principal, Proffitt was very upfront about his plans to retire this summer: "If I were in a different place in my life, I would love to stay here. I'm having a great time working with teachers, parents and children here at Farm Hill." Because he agreed to stay only though the end of the year, Proffitt hopes a new principal is found before the end of the year so there is time to begin the transition process while students are still in school to see what's happening.

In the meantime, in just five short weeks, parents and PTA President Apryl Dudley agree that Farm Hill is "a completely different school." Dudley commented,

I have been at the school all morning. I find it hard to leave because it is now such a happy, positive environment. I can't stress to you how much happier the staff and students seem to be now that Mr. Proffitt has been here! I just met with him this morning about more exciting and fun events he is planning for the school and our 5th graders. I look forward to working with him for the remainder of this school year and hope his positive behavior and great ideas continue next year with a new principal. The school which once had a "Black Cloud" lingering over it now has "sunshine."

Mark Proffitt obviously is excited about the positive direction he sees the school moving in. “My big issue and primary focus at this point is to gain as much positive press about the school as we can.” His secondary focus is to reach out to parents to engage in a meaningful dialog, and a third priority is to maintain open communications. To accomplish these goals, Proffitt has turned to some "old school" techniques to build community:

[Author's note: I say "old school" because it's stuff I remember from my elementary school days, and I'm fairly old, so that counts as a legitimate descriptor as far as I'm concerned.]

• There's a new white board in the main hallway at the foot of the stars that lists all the events/important information happening at the school in one place.
• All the school events between now and the end of the year are posted on the school's website.
• Morning announcements occur each morning over the intercom, including the Pledge of Allegiance*, a time for silent meditation, updates on activities, student reminders (including behavior expectation reminders), and acknowledgement of student accomplishments outside of school functions.
• Mr. Proffitt gets on each bus every morning to greet students and gets back on at the end of the day to say good-by.
• Mr. Proffitt is very visible during the day in the cafeteria, the playground, the hallway, and even in classrooms.
• On Fridays, Mr. Proffitt's Reflections go home with students, and all of the weekly letters are posted here on the school's website.
• A DATTCO bus has been arranged to pick up families from Traverse Square and Green Street for all PTA activities through the end of the year.
• The Partnership Committee has met and is ready to roll out a new Social Compact at parent conferences during the week of March 28. Parents will also get a fridge magnet listing the STARR behaviors (Safe, Trustworthy, A+ Attitude, Respectful, Responsible) the school teaches and enforces in the social curriculum.
• Mr. Proffitt personally visits Traverse Square and the Green Street Art Center as part of his after school routine to conduct parent outreach and to support the after school programs in those locations.
• The student survey on school climate, set into motion by the Superintendent's Farm Hill Support Plan, has been conducted and is awaiting final review.

While concrete evidence of changing attitudes satisfies even the most serious doubters, also noticeable was a language change: Mr. Proffitt used words like positive, caring, responsive, pro-active, vigilant, firm, respectful, and visible to describe his job and his focus. He also spoke confidently of his "menu" of choices to address student behavioral issues as they arose, and easily rattled off more than half a dozen options available to him when students act out. Not coincidentally, no phone calls have been made to the police since Proffitt's arrival more than five weeks ago, and he insists that the atmosphere on the buses has changed for the better.

"When you expect kids to misbehave, of course they do. When you expect a high standard of behavior out of kids, then they rise to your expectations and behave well, " Proffitt explained. This pro-active focus, instead of a reactive one, seems to have won over the hearts of Farm Hill students and parents, and many are already wishing Proffitt would stay. Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges confirmed that the search for a new principal is underway, with the "in-house" posting closing this week. This means that by contract, Senges has to post the job opening to district administrators first. Senges also talked about the selection process itself:

There will be parents on the Committee and the plan is to have finalists meet parents and staff prior to the Board making its choice. It is also our hope to have someone chosen before the end of the year, so that there will be an opportunity for the community to meet the new principal.

In the end, Proffitt admitted that a school is "only as successful as our parents' involvement," meaning that he needs parental wisdom, support, and thoughts on how to challenge and support all Farm Hill students. He went on to say, "I need to let parents know 'we need you,' and if we have their unconditional support, that's key!" Proffitt also credited Donna Merino, the District's Parent Resource Coordinator, as a key player in the effort to reach out and engage parents in the school's mission.

Now, if only Public Works could make some headway on the parking lot situation, Farm Hill might just be well on the road to sunnier days!

*In case you're curious...

I'm from the Midwest originally, and I've never experienced a school that didn't have morning announcements and a collective Pledge of Allegiance to start the day. Eighth graders at my school had the honor of reading morning announcements and leading the Pledge. It was a nerve-racking rite of passage, but an awesome one at the same time. I have to admit I was a little shocked to hear that the pledge wasn't part of the morning routine at Farm Hill. Here's what I found out after a review of state law and BOE policy:

C.G.S. Sec. 10-230. Flags in schoolrooms and schools. Policy on the reciting of the "Pledge of Allegiance".

(c) Each local and regional board of education shall develop a policy to ensure that time is available each school day for students in the schools under its jurisdiction to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance". The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to require any person to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance".

Middletown Public Schools Policy 6115 (a) Pledge of Allegiance

Each school within the district shall provide time each school day for students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Such recitation is voluntary.

I'm not trying to start an argument about whether or not the Pledge forces religion on those not wishing to have it, I'm simply trying to point out that simple rituals have immense power to create community. I suppose someone could also call it brain-washing if he or she were really anti-government, but please try in good faith to see what I'm after. There was no magic used at Farm Hill to make a huge difference in a small amount of time...no pixie dust, nothing in the water, no secret formula. It was simply good customer service, plain old common sense, and a man who loves children and teachers leading in a job he absolutely adores. So let's replicate those efforts everywhere we can! We can get behind all the other fine teachers and administrators in our town, collectively expect the leadership that brings the results we desire, and push hard in the direction of the change we want [and yeah for the Pledge of Allegiance too]!

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.]

Middletown Mother Begins Online Petition: No Confidence in Special Ed. Dept. Admins

Letter submitted to the Eye Editors from a mother of a child receiving special education services in the Middletown Public School system:

To the Editor:

I have created a petition addressed to Mayor Daniel T. Drew, the Common Council and Board of Education members which seeks the terminations of Ann Perzan, Laurie Slade and Mindy Otis of Middletown's Department of Pupil Services and Special Education.

The three administrators have consistently failed the students in this town and their families. They have violated the rights of children with disabilities by not providing them access to services that they need to learn in a non-restrictive environment. They have not included parents in the process of changes that directly impact the children with special needs, their families and the mainstream community.

They have not provided their staff with infrastructure needed to implement learning. They have failed to keep special needs children, their staff and the community safe. The evidence of this is their recent decision to disband the DEAL program housed at Lawrence School and place special needs children into the community without infrastructure to ensure that the children are safe; that the staff are trained properly to deliver services; and that communication and training were conducted to the general population and staffing.

As the leaders of the Special Education Department, this is unacceptable behavior and their actions prove they are not competent in their positions and need to be removed immediately.

We have lost confidence in their ability to provide a nurturing environment that ensures our special needs children are being educated in a safe, legal and least restrictive environment.

Jane Flanders Majewski, Middletown

http://www.change.org/petitions/middletown-connecticut-residents-seek-change