Everything seems to be going so smoothly that it is hard to find a controversial issue to discuss. I'll continue to leave the topics up to you............
The "stuff" hasn't hit the fan yet over the real impact of all those whacky Susan Marks/Lynn Sue Haynie budget cuts. Watch and see when they have to find money for special ed, employee grievances and more staff to handle the crowded classes.
Of course there are feelings regarding the severe budget cuts, but one has to keep going forward. This is going to be a tough year because of Marks and Haynie. Try to look beyond that. If not, you probably should leave the school system. We certainly do not need staff dragging us down any further.
I noticed the budget schedule for next year's budget has been given to the Board by Daddona. It looks pretty transparent to me. Parents are involved from the beginning. All parents should take note that the Interim Superintendent wants your input during the month of November. Good move, in my opinion.
We'll see who really wants parent input. Will CO actually reach out to parents and let them know about the focus groups, or will it be the same 20 parents who come out? If you actually want to work with parents you have to actively reach out to them. Unlikely that will happen. Hopefully parents won't be sleeping until the cut list is announced.
We do care very much about the input of all parties. At Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting, we will be reviewing Supt. Daddona's plan and discussing how and where meetings should be held and what we need to do to encourage as broad a group of citizens to speak as is possible. Of course, we will be soliciting public input on how to better obtain public input, but ironies aside, the Finance Committee will be working diligently to assure wide public participation in the planning for the budget.
Sue Haynie continues to try to destroy Superintendent. Daddona. She demoralizes all teachers when she does that. He is the first teacher to come up from the ranks to become a superintendent. He has the students in Norwalk in his heart when he makes decisions, not like the out of towners who came and made things worse here. Sue and your sidekick, Mike, leave him alone! When you are nasty to him, you are nasty to teachers!. Thanx for letting me air that.
The Board of Education Chairman should be reading these comments! He needs to control those meetings. When Haynie attacks him and every decision he makes, she shows herself to be a hypocrite. Did she ever challenge anything Susan Marks did?
It would be really nice if this blog took to discussing real issues and ideas that parents care about instead of the very stale bashing of Susan Marks-Sue Haynie.
We get it already. This district had a bad reputation, long before either one of these women showed up.
Look to the schools and ask why parents are leaving Fox Run, Rowayton and Marvin. What about the families that skip middle school altogether and have for years(think Ponus and West Rocks)What is happenging over at Nathan Hale these days? How is the new principal at Norwalk High working out? The schools are where the action is, not the BS down at central office.
It is not new that parents are leaving Fox Run, Rowayton and Marvin Schools. I can remember when this was happening during the Superintendent Sloan years. There were studies done back then on how to stop the flight to the three Ws, Westport, Wilton and Weston. This time, the severe budget cuts are causing flight. Also the shootings in Norwalk, the crime......there is always something.
What we are seeing is a reflection of a much larger picture. Norwalk's politics are no different from what is going on in many school systems and, in fact, in the national political arena. If you think charter reform is the answer, well, you may be the only person on this earth with a solution. Good luck with that one!
The principal of Norwalk High is doing a good job, from what I hear. He has high standards and is holding teachers accountable. He also isn't allowing texting in school. He is not a social principal. I like what I hear.
What makes you say that? Are overcrowded classrooms, lack of available aides to support these teachers and students and teacher vacancies that are slow to be filled an indication of doing a good job? When did keeping things status quo in a failing district with a dysfunctional BOE become a success? Have we lowered our expectations that much? I'm sorry, I don't agree with you. We need a visionary who can execute a plan and stand up to politician along the way. We need a search firm because I wouldn't trust this BOE to find the next Superintendent on their own. We need the Superintendent search to continue and we need the stakeholders involved in the process.
The budget cuts that were made are not this Superintendent's fault. Keeping things status quo? Not at all. The district is moving forward and is beginning to heal. The only person who is pushing for a nationwide search is the unmentionable Sue Haynie. I've heard about lots of good things happening in the last 30plus days. Do your homework! You will hear good things...unless you are an apple rotting on the tree........
You are blaming the superintendent for Chiarmonte being a jerk at West Rocks? You've got to be kidding! He wasn't anywhere near there! You must be a crazy apple! The Commissioner in Norwalk? You think that was because he thinks the superintendent isn't smoothing things over? You are the biggest trouble maker around! The State Dept. really likes our current Superintendent. He works well with the State and has it in writing that he is doing a great job., from what I've heard. Ask him for a copy of the letter. I'm sure he would be happy to show it to you.
"People" who are in the know tell me that the Commissioner was in Norwalk because Chiarmonte sent a letter to him at Susan Marks' direction. It bashed some Board of Education members for being tough on Marks and the unions for not supporting her.
As it turned out, Marks didn't know what she was doing. She had no experience. She made big mistakes. Why would the intelligent members of the Board support her? Why would the union support the worst superintendent ever? Marks could not face that she was the reason behind the lack of confidence. It's called denial! Superintendent Daddona has taken steps to create a supportive Board and it seems to be working. He has a majority of people working together, and, from what I am hearing from many different people, they like his methods. Jack's uncalled for argument with Moore is something Jack needs to take responsibility for. No one can control the act of a single emotionally reactive Board chairman wherever and whenever he chooses to act out. The Susan Marks days are over. She needs to move on and so do we.
In the hope of promoting a positive development, I would like to encourage the entire community to attend a series of focus group meetings on the budget which will be scheduled in November. The focus groups will be held in conjunction with the Finance Committee of the Board of Education and Supt. Daddona. One meeting will be held at each middle school- the focus of those meetings will be to address what is and isn't working in that particular middle school and the feeder schools that it serves. Another meeting will be held at Norwalk High School to address concerns from all three of our high schools. The final meeting will be held at a centrally located place and will be an opportunity for all members of the community to address school budget concerns. What we are hoping will happen is that the public will let us know those areas where we need to think about increasing funding and also let us know if the cuts that were made during the last budget are working out well. The Superintendent will then take all of that input and incorporate it into his proposed preliminary budget which gets submitted to the Board of Education in December. That same input will be shared with the Board of Education for use in our evaluating the budget proposal. The schedule of the meetings will be posted on the Norwalk Public Schools website and I will be post several messages on this blog with the information as well. Steve Colarossi email: stevecolarossi@gmail.com
I would respectfully tell you that the public might not yet know what is not working out well.
In big schools with reductions in leadership, most of the time is now spent on management and compliance, and leadership is suffering. Special Ed will suffer, as administrators do not have the time to really know identified students and those in the pre referral process. Discipline will suffer, as there is not enough manpower to provide consistent follow up. Learning is already suffering with larger class sizes, and more and more behavior issues jammed into each classroom. Growth and improvement in the classroom will suffer for the same reason. Student safety will suffer, since more and more we will have to place teachers in charge. Is this advisable, in buildings of 500-600 children, with lockdowns, neighborhood shootings, and last minute decisions to hold bus dismissals as occurred last week?
It will take time, and the effects of 2012-13's devastating cuts will be cumulative. I urge the public to look below the surface, talk to their child's teachers and administrators, and then make informed decisions.
I agree that the 2012-2013 budget has caused major problems for the district, but - to the credit of staff- everyone appears to be working really hard to make the year the best possible for the sake of the students. Do we need to get out and make sure next year's budget is a good one? A resounding YES! In light of the conditions the staff is forced to work with this year, thank yous are not good enough. If parents want to show gratitude, organize breakfasts and lunches at your school monthly to show staff you are grateful for their extra efforts. Do something, for heaven's sake! It's not the fault of staff ( in the schools) that the budget is creating shortages in schools.
Because my wife is a teacher (and, may I add, an amazing and nurturing educator), I cannot and do not participate in any discussions about the contract negotiations. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, I do not even offer general comments about the matter. The arbitration hearings are open to the public. The schedule is posted on Norwalk Public Schools website.
Am I wrong to wonder why nothing more was written about the West Rocks principal throw-down? The Norwalk Daily Voice ignored the story (but they favor the old Marks cheerleader team). The Hour ran one story and dropped it. Good luck if you wanted to find it in the on-line edition.
The West Rocks issue and its consequences are a matter for the Board and the Superintendent to discuss. Personnel issues are certainly confidential. The Board intends to take up the role of their members in schools.
I don't get why it is such a big deal. A Board Chairman abused his role. The Board needs to deal with their own. This is one issue that is a non-issue. If it happens repeatedly, then it becomes a real issue.
Four of us (Mr. Kassimis, Ms. Murray, Ms. Rivas and me) voted for a reasonable compromise I had offered to allocate over $200,000 to address the class size issues. The strength of the compromise was that it authorized the superintendent to decide how to spend those funds between aides and teachers to best address the learning needs of the impacted children. Class size matters- larger classes, crowded classes negatively impact student learning. I summarized the research on my website (http://colarossifornorwalk.com/Page_3.html). Therefore, whether one feels that the class size rules in the teachers' contract are enforceable or not is irrelevant to the fact that it is a student learning issue that needs to be addressed.
Thank you for a thoughtful response. I agree student learning is the issue. That is the only thing this vote should have been about. I don't understand how your fellow board members can approve positions in central office, yet not approve positions that will have the most impact on learning. But then, nothing this board has done has made sense.
Thank you Mr. Colarossi. I find it interesting that 2 republicans and 2 democrats have been able to put party politics aside and think about our kids. That's who we care about! I guess the other 5 are in it for the wrong reasons.
Is class size an issue anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThe "stuff" hasn't hit the fan yet over the real impact of all those whacky Susan Marks/Lynn Sue Haynie budget cuts. Watch and see when they have to find money for special ed, employee grievances and more staff to handle the crowded classes.
ReplyDeleteSmooth?...Moral is at an all time low
ReplyDeleteOf course there are feelings regarding the severe budget cuts, but one has to keep going forward. This is going to be a tough year because of Marks and Haynie. Try to look beyond that. If not, you probably should leave the school system. We certainly do not need staff dragging us down any further.
DeleteLook at the Rookie's legacy . . . wow- that was quick.
ReplyDeleteIs it any wonder lots of us parents are bitter?
I noticed the budget schedule for next year's budget has been given to the Board by Daddona. It looks pretty transparent to me. Parents are involved from the beginning. All parents should take note that the Interim Superintendent wants your input during the month of November. Good move, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see who really wants parent input. Will CO actually reach out to parents and let them know about the focus groups, or will it be the same 20 parents who come out? If you actually want to work with parents you have to actively reach out to them. Unlikely that will happen. Hopefully parents won't be sleeping until the cut list is announced.
ReplyDeleteWe do care very much about the input of all parties.
DeleteAt Wednesday's Finance Committee meeting, we will be reviewing Supt. Daddona's plan and discussing how and where meetings should be held and what we need to do to encourage as broad a group of citizens to speak as is possible.
Of course, we will be soliciting public input on how to better obtain public input, but ironies aside, the Finance Committee will be working diligently to assure wide public participation in the planning for the budget.
Sue Haynie continues to try to destroy Superintendent. Daddona. She demoralizes all teachers when she does that. He is the first teacher to come up from the ranks to become a superintendent. He has the students in Norwalk in his heart when he makes decisions, not like the out of towners who came and made things worse here. Sue and your sidekick, Mike, leave him alone! When you are nasty to him, you are nasty to teachers!. Thanx for letting me air that.
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying that. Many of us feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe Board of Education Chairman should be reading these comments! He needs to control those meetings.
ReplyDeleteWhen Haynie attacks him and every decision he makes, she shows herself to be a hypocrite. Did she ever challenge anything Susan Marks did?
Please . . . we know that the chairman is weak and one member especially nasty.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the other people doing to step up? Who is filling the void?
It would be really nice if this blog took to discussing real issues and ideas that parents care about instead of the very stale bashing of Susan Marks-Sue Haynie.
ReplyDeleteWe get it already. This district had a bad reputation, long before either one of these women showed up.
Look to the schools and ask why parents are leaving Fox Run, Rowayton and Marvin. What about the families that skip middle school altogether and have for years(think Ponus and West Rocks)What is happenging over at Nathan Hale these days? How is the new principal at Norwalk High working out? The schools are where the action is, not the BS down at central office.
Let's talk about some real suggestions for solutions instead of more bashing about the past.
DeleteIt is not new that parents are leaving Fox Run, Rowayton and Marvin Schools. I can remember when this was happening during the Superintendent Sloan years. There were studies done back then on how to stop the flight to the three Ws, Westport, Wilton and Weston. This time, the severe budget cuts are causing flight. Also the shootings in Norwalk, the crime......there is always something.
ReplyDeleteMaybe what we're seeing is worst side of politics in the schools. Can anyone say "charter reform"?
ReplyDeleteWhat we are seeing is a reflection of a much larger picture. Norwalk's politics are no different from what is going on in many school systems and, in fact, in the national political arena. If you think charter reform is the answer, well, you may be the only person on this earth with a solution. Good luck with that one!
DeleteThe principal of Norwalk High is doing a good job, from what I hear. He has high standards and is holding teachers accountable. He also isn't allowing texting in school. He is not a social principal. I like what I hear.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the Board of Ed spending lots of money for a search firm? If the interim superintendent is doing a good job, why not give him a chance?
ReplyDeleteI can't figure that one out either. He seems to be doing a great job!
DeleteWhat makes you say that? Are overcrowded classrooms, lack of available aides to support these teachers and students and teacher vacancies that are slow to be filled an indication of doing a good job? When did keeping things status quo in a failing district with a dysfunctional BOE become a success? Have we lowered our expectations that much? I'm sorry, I don't agree with you. We need a visionary who can execute a plan and stand up to politician along the way. We need a search firm because I wouldn't trust this BOE to find the next Superintendent on their own. We need the Superintendent search to continue and we need the stakeholders involved in the process.
DeleteAgreed!
DeleteThe budget cuts that were made are not this Superintendent's fault. Keeping things status quo? Not at all. The district is moving forward and is beginning to heal. The only person who is pushing for a nationwide search is the unmentionable Sue Haynie. I've heard about lots of good things happening in the last 30plus days. Do your homework! You will hear good things...unless you are an apple rotting on the tree........
ReplyDeleteNope, not an Apple, just eyes wide open.
DeleteBeginning to heal? Then what in the heck happened at West Rocks yesterday and why was Commissioner Pryor in Norwalk today?
ReplyDeleteYou are blaming the superintendent for Chiarmonte being a jerk at West Rocks? You've got to be kidding! He wasn't anywhere near there! You must be a crazy apple!
ReplyDeleteThe Commissioner in Norwalk? You think that was because he thinks the superintendent isn't smoothing things over? You are the biggest trouble maker around! The State Dept. really likes our current Superintendent. He works well with the State and has it in writing that he is doing a great job., from what I've heard. Ask him for a copy of the letter. I'm sure he would be happy to show it to you.
Flight from Norwalk is mainly based on the shootings that have increased. It's not mostly the school system. People are running.....scared!
ReplyDelete"People" who are in the know tell me that the Commissioner was in Norwalk because Chiarmonte sent a letter to him at Susan Marks' direction. It bashed some Board of Education members for being tough on Marks and the unions for not supporting her.
ReplyDeleteAs it turned out, Marks didn't know what she was doing. She had no experience. She made big mistakes. Why would the intelligent members of the Board support her? Why would the union support the worst superintendent ever? Marks could not face that she was the reason behind the lack of confidence. It's called denial! Superintendent Daddona has taken steps to create a supportive Board and it seems to be working. He has a majority of people working together, and, from what I am hearing from many different people, they like his methods.
DeleteJack's uncalled for argument with Moore is something Jack needs to take responsibility for. No one can control the act of a single emotionally reactive Board chairman wherever and whenever he chooses to act out.
The Susan Marks days are over. She needs to move on and so do we.
In the hope of promoting a positive development, I would like to encourage the entire community to attend a series of focus group meetings on the budget which will be scheduled in November. The focus groups will be held in conjunction with the Finance Committee of the Board of Education and Supt. Daddona.
ReplyDeleteOne meeting will be held at each middle school- the focus of those meetings will be to address what is and isn't working in that particular middle school and the feeder schools that it serves. Another meeting will be held at Norwalk High School to address concerns from all three of our high schools. The final meeting will be held at a centrally located place and will be an opportunity for all members of the community to address school budget concerns.
What we are hoping will happen is that the public will let us know those areas where we need to think about increasing funding and also let us know if the cuts that were made during the last budget are working out well. The Superintendent will then take all of that input and incorporate it into his proposed preliminary budget which gets submitted to the Board of Education in December. That same input will be shared with the Board of Education for use in our evaluating the budget proposal.
The schedule of the meetings will be posted on the Norwalk Public Schools website and I will be post several messages on this blog with the information as well.
Steve Colarossi
email: stevecolarossi@gmail.com
Thank you, Steve.
DeleteSteve:
ReplyDeleteI would respectfully tell you that the public might not yet know what is not working out well.
In big schools with reductions in leadership, most of the time is now spent on management and compliance, and leadership is suffering. Special Ed will suffer, as administrators do not have the time to really know identified students and those in the pre referral process. Discipline will suffer, as there is not enough manpower to provide consistent follow up. Learning is already suffering with larger class sizes, and more and more behavior issues jammed into each classroom. Growth and improvement in the classroom will suffer for the same reason. Student safety will suffer, since more and more we will have to place teachers in charge. Is this advisable, in buildings of 500-600 children, with lockdowns, neighborhood shootings, and last minute decisions to hold bus dismissals as occurred last week?
It will take time, and the effects of 2012-13's devastating cuts will be cumulative. I urge the public to look
below the surface, talk to their child's teachers and administrators, and then make informed decisions.
Thank you for listening.
I agree that the 2012-2013 budget has caused major problems for the district, but - to the credit of staff- everyone appears to be working really hard to make the year the best possible for the sake of the students. Do we need to get out and make sure next year's budget is a good one? A resounding YES!
DeleteIn light of the conditions the staff is forced to work with this year, thank yous are not good enough. If parents want to show gratitude, organize breakfasts and lunches at your school monthly to show staff you are grateful for their extra efforts. Do something, for heaven's sake! It's not the fault of staff ( in the schools) that the budget is creating shortages in schools.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI saw in the paper that they are holding the NFT teachers contract arbitration hearings. How are they going?
Because my wife is a teacher (and, may I add, an amazing and nurturing educator), I cannot and do not participate in any discussions about the contract negotiations. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict, I do not even offer general comments about the matter.
ReplyDeleteThe arbitration hearings are open to the public. The schedule is posted on Norwalk Public Schools website.
Ok. Thanks Steve.
DeleteAm I wrong to wonder why nothing more was written about the West Rocks principal throw-down?
ReplyDeleteThe Norwalk Daily Voice ignored the story (but they favor the old Marks cheerleader team). The Hour ran one story and dropped it. Good luck if you wanted to find it in the on-line edition.
The West Rocks issue and its consequences are a matter for the Board and the Superintendent to discuss. Personnel issues are certainly confidential. The Board intends to take up the role of their members in schools.
DeleteDon't you think that's a bit insincere. If Haynie had been involved or Marks was around this blog would be lit up like an x-mas treee
DeleteI don't get why it is such a big deal. A Board Chairman abused his role. The Board needs to deal with their own. This is one issue that is a non-issue. If it happens repeatedly, then it becomes a real issue.
DeleteHaynie and Marks were repeat offenders.....over and over and over........and over! Haynie is still repeating!
DeleteTopic Idea- The BOE voting down the addition of teachers and aides in crowded classrooms.
ReplyDeleteFour of us (Mr. Kassimis, Ms. Murray, Ms. Rivas and me) voted for a reasonable compromise I had offered to allocate over $200,000 to address the class size issues. The strength of the compromise was that it authorized the superintendent to decide how to spend those funds between aides and teachers to best address the learning needs of the impacted children.
ReplyDeleteClass size matters- larger classes, crowded classes negatively impact student learning. I summarized the research on my website (http://colarossifornorwalk.com/Page_3.html). Therefore, whether one feels that the class size rules in the teachers' contract are enforceable or not is irrelevant to the fact that it is a student learning issue that needs to be addressed.
Thank you for a thoughtful response. I agree student learning is the issue. That is the only thing this vote should have been about. I don't understand how your fellow board members can approve positions in central office, yet not approve positions that will have the most impact on learning. But then, nothing this board has done has made sense.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Colarossi. I find it interesting that 2 republicans and 2 democrats have been able to put party politics aside and think about our kids. That's who we care about! I guess the other 5 are in it for the wrong reasons.
ReplyDelete