Dear Sid,
Welcome to Greenwich. Glad to see we’ve hired a regular Joe to teach our kids. Hope to see you at the games and around town. How about coffee at Glory Days?
But before you get too comfy, read this. This is the best article done on Greenwich by an outside media outlet in a long time, sans the usual cliches about “the Rodeo Drive of the East” and Back Country over-indulgence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/12/education/12education.htm
And then take a look at this chart:
As the chart shows, Greenwich High school ranks No. 23 among all high schools in Connecticut, according to this company PSK12.com, which based the ranking on an aggregation of standardized tests. In 2004, GHS ranked as low as No. 35.
To be fair, Greenwich is a much bigger town than most of the others in Lower Fairfield County, and we’re much more diverse – as cited in the above article. That is why the state has lumped school districts in a designation called District Reference Group. The rationale is that these districts are much more similar in various socio-economic characteristics that affect test scores among students. Greenwich is in DRG B. Avon, Brookfield, Cheshire, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Guilford, Madison, Monroe, New Fairfield, Newtown, Orange, Regional District 5, Regional District 15, Simsbury, South Windsor, Trumbull, West Hartford and Woodbridge comprise the group.
Nonetheless, as you can see, there are at least eight districts in DRG B that out-rank Greenwich.
Now take a look at the charts below. Three out of the top 9 elementary schools in the state are from Greenwich. Not too shabby. Old Greenwich is No. 17 and North Street is No. 29. Glenville is 81. But the problem? New Lebanon is No. 375 and Hamilton Avenue is 325.
How about the Middle Schools, you ask? Eastern Middle School is ranked No. 1 among all schools in Connecticut for the aggregate scores of 2002 through 2006. Wow! No wonder every real estate agent we talked to when we moved here in 2001 wanted to sell us a house in the eastern district. Central is ranked 22.
But where is Western? Alas, Western is No. 60, behind Worthington Hooker, a public school in New Haven.
Just three short years ago, there was such hope in the air, with the hiring of Betty Sternberg and her commitment to elevate the average scores for all of Greenwich students. But Sternberg was a state bureaucrat who could not make the transition to manage the significant challenges of a high-pressured Fairfield county school district. In hiring you Sid, the school board has already achieved one of its goals – because they think you understand how to reach out to all constituents and listen. You live in a town much like Greenwich – Scarsdale – and you appreciate the social fabricate and make-up of all the conflicting forces.
With the severe economic downdraft, these conflicts will be accentuated. Parents of high achieving Ivy-bound kids will want GHS to deliver on that promise. Parents of talented athletes will want our coaches and facilities to be peerless. Artistically gifted students expect Greenwich to have a performing arts center.
But my advise to you, Sid, is: Keep an eye on New Lebanon and Hamilton Ave. Shift the center of gravity away from Old Greenwich and Riverside and Back Country and toward where you can make a difference. High achieving students and their parents have a way of staying as high achievers.The other end of the spectrum is much more intractable.
Let me leave you with one more data point: In the 2007 school year, Old Greenwich had 18 students out of 454 who were identified as those who were not fluent in English, or 4 percent. At Hamilton School, it was 52 out of 377, or 14 percent. Only 5 students at OG qualified for the free or reduced price lunches, while 152 students at Hamilton Avenue did.
Greenwich schools will not regain its luster as long as we allow our challenged new residents to be statistical drag coefficients in the system. For my money, I favor more remedial reading programs to lift our entire average rather than a new performing arts center – if that is the tradeoff that has to be made.
So good luck Sid. Let’s have that coffee, except let’s move it to Two Door on Ham Ave instead of Glory Days.
