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cross post from HatCityBLOG

I was on the interviewing committee…and this has nothing to do with the candidate, it has a lot to do with the process.

I think as leaders, at time point when the flaws came in this particular situation, that we should have stopped the process and started again.

-Comment from Board of Education member Gladys Cooper regarding
flaws in the principal search process

I sat on the interviewing committee and my overall impression was that frankly, I felt pressured. I felt that it moved very quickly and it’s such a critical position and I had hoped that we would go out again and continue the search. However, this has nothing to do with the candidate, I’m just talking about process.

…the board of education does have the option to interview the finalists candidates, and I really wished we [the board] had this opportunity to interview Mr. Rossi…I know it’s impossible to go out again at this time, but I do wish we had more opportunity to interview Mr. Rossi.

-Board of education member Joan Hodge

Last night, although members of the Board of Education voted to approve the appointment of Dr. Robert Rossi as Principal of Danbury High School, the fallout over the principal search process was still paramount on the minds of many in attendance.

Although the News-Times did a write-up on last night’s vote, as one who made the trek to last night’s meeting, when it comes to providing a full account of the comments made by board members during the vote for Rossi, I felt the article failed short. This lack of complete analysis is most aparent when it comes to comments from board members who were critical of the handling of the search process (with the most critical comments coming from interview committee members Joan Hodge and Gladys Cooper).

In an effort to provide more information on what transpired last night, I videotaped the entire meeting for the public…and here’s what actually happened.

As you can see in the clip, the controversy regarding the search process extends beyond the critical comments made by the Mayor, Minority Leader Tom Saadi, Common council members, and the News-Times editorial board staff as members of the board made also made their feelings known to the public.

Will the criticism translate into change in the way the board searches for administrative candidates in the future…well, that remains to be seen.

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Cross post from HatCityBLOG

As we come to the end of the school year, today, The Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN) released its third annual comparison of official high school graduation for the area.

The analysis, based on a comparison of graduation figures by the Connecticut State Department of Education and Education Week’s Diplomas Count project (an independent group), shows a gaps of up to 39 percent between the two reports.

ConnCAN’s press release explains things…

The most accurate way to determine graduation rates is to track students on an individual level over a four-year period using a longitudinal database system to assess how many students actually receive a standard high school diploma. The Connecticut State Department of Education bases graduation rates on an older, less accurate methodology that relies on students to declare that they are dropping out and on districts to fully report these dropouts. The Diplomas Count methodology is the closest estimation possible without a longitudinal data system.

The Diplomas Count project provides the most accurate rates possible today by capturing the four steps to graduation: three grade‐to‐grade promotions (9th to 10th, 10th to 11th, and 11th to 12th) and receiving a diploma. However, because Diplomas Count does not have access to longitudinal data for individual students, this method is limited because it cannot distinguish between students who drop out and those who transfer to a private or out-of-district school. This study is based on 2006 data, the most recent year available for this project.

[...]

In 2007, the state legislature allocated $6.4 million over two years for the Connecticut State Department of Education to build a longitudinal data system with the capability to develop graduation rates on a cohort basis – such as used in the Diplomas Count study. In the past, the department has indicated that its goal is to have such a system up and running by 2010, five years after Governor Rell first committed the state to implementing this system in July 2005 when she signed a compact with the National Governors Association.

“Our hope is that this analysis boosts the effort to more accurately measure Connecticut’s graduation rates,” said ConnCAN Chief Executive Officer Alex Johnston. “We can’t fix Connecticut public education until we know what is broken, and we won’t know what’s broken until we measure it correctly.”

I know what you’re asking…how did Danbury High School rate in the report. Well, the results aren’t that great.

As you can see, the graduation figures from the State Dept of Ed’s less accurate methodology shows Danbury with a graduation rate of 89.5 percent while the report from the independent Education Week’s Diplomas Count project has the rate at 68.5 percent.

With Danbury having such a large graduation gap between the two reports, you can see ConnCAN’s point when it comes to the need for the state to implement a longitudinal database system so we can track graduation rates more accurately.

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Since my initial post on the outrage stemming from the Danbury school board’s site visit to Arizona, my email has been flooded with questions regarding the cost of the trip.

Here’s what’s been reported in the press. From the News-Times 06.03.09.

School Superintendent Sal Pascarella said five people, including himself, took the trip last Thursday to interview one of two finalists for high school principal.

Both candidates previously traveled to the Danbury for the initial stages of the interview process, he said.

Others on the two-day trip, which Pascarella said cost about $3,000, were two high school administrators and education board members Irving Fox and Rachel Austin.

[...]

School officials said the group had one overnight stay at an airport hotel during the two-day trip.

Many people have questioned the amount of the trip and have asked me to look into it and see if Superintendent Pascarella’s figure is accurate.

Here’s my analysis.

1. The flight:

From what we know, the site visit was to Desert Edge High School, in Goodyear, Ariz. Since the closest mayor city to Goodyear is Phoenix, it’s logical to assume that the people who went on the site visit, flew from either Connecticut or New York to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport:

Since there is no way for me to find out how much a round trip flight to Phoenix cost at the time of the site visit (unless I filed an FOIA request with the school administration), using Priceline.com, I did an cost analysis on a trip to Arizona based on 6/22 to 6/24 (or aprox. 30 days from the time of the site visit:

• 5 tickets roundtrip from New York City (JFK, Newark) to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) cost anywhere between 409-532 dollars per person for a total of 2045-2660 dollars.

• 5 roundtrip tickets from Bradley International Airport (BDL) to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) ranged anywhere between 638 and 1110 dollars per person for a total of 3190-5550 dollars.

2. Hotel

From what we know, those who went on the site visit to Arizona “one overnight stay at an airport hotel during the two-day trip.” Using the simple search, I calculated the cost for a two bed hotel room for one night near the airport.

Here are my results.

• Econo Lodge (2 beds): 60.00 per night

• Best Western (2 beds): 59.49 per night.

• Holiday Inn (2 beds): 99.00 per night.

Finally, I factored in the car rental cost in order for those on the site visit to travel from the airport to the High School:

• Rental for minivan ranged from anywhere between 83-88 dollars per day.

So, lets add things up:

Flight=2045-5550 dollars
Hotel=180-297 dollars (3 rooms/2 beds)
Rental=83-88 dollars
Total (estimated range)=2308-5938 dollars

Now, this is a REAL rough estimate in which I didn’t factor in other items such as food (don’t know if that cost can be reimbursed). You also have to factor in the fact that I did this analysis on June 15th and, as you know, the price of an airline flight depends on how soon you book your reservations.

Basically, in the end, it’s entirely possible that those who went on the site visit paid a total of 3,000 for the trip to Arizona although it’s quite reasonable to assume that the price tag for the trip could be much higher.

…in other words, the debate over the price for the trip continues.

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cross post from HatCityBLOG

It’s been over a week since the News-Times’ Dirk Perrefort published this astonishing quote from Mayor Boughton in which he states that individuals were “discouraged” from applying for the position of principal at Danbury High School.

Boughton, who was a social studies teacher at the high school for nearly 14 years before entering politics, said he knows for a fact there were “internal candidates who were discouraged from applying” for the job. “That’s a problem,” he said. “I know these individuals and I know they are capable of leading that school.”

As I stated in my initial post, I felt it was irresponsible for any member of the media to allow an elected official to make such an accusation without:

• peppering that individual with a series of follow-up questions and/or,
• allowing the person accused to the quote, an opportunity to respond to the charges.

Since it seemed that Perrefort was not going to publish a follow-up to his initial article, I decided to take things into my own hands.

Last night, I attended the Danbury Board of Education meeting and interviewed chairwoman Susan Podhajski and School Superintendent Sal Pascarella. In the following audio clip, I gave Podhajski and Pascarella an opportunity to respond to the mayor’s accusation.

Board of Education chairwoman Susan Padhajski::

School Superintendent Sal Pascarella:

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cross post from HatCityBLOG

In advance of tonight’s Board of Education meeting in Danbury I decided to take a look at the agenda and noticed this small blurb.

The Board welcomes Public Participation and asks that speakers please limit their comments to 3 minutes. Speakers may offer objective comments of school operations and programs that concern them. The Board will not permit any expression of personal complaints or defamatory comments about the Board of Education personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Danbury Public School System.

This can’t be for real. The Board of Ed will NOT allow any form of criticism regarding the Board of Ed a member(s) of the Board of Ed and/or a member(s) of the school system? ?

Based on this bizzare wording, I guess any expressions of praise about board personnel, personnel and students, nor against any person connected with the Danbury Public School System WILL be allowed.

In light of recent questionable decisions by the school board, this restriction on free speech doesn’t seem right…or legal.

UPDATE: Post has been updated to more accurately reflect my position that the BOE is restricting members of the public from criticizing members of the Board of Ed or anyone connected with the Danbury School system.

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Last week, I attended the CT Dems annual Jefferson-Jackson Bailey fundraiser. After the event, I had a chance to speak with Senator Chris Dodd. In the video clip, I asked for his thoughts on the passage of the CreditCARD Act, his role in health care reform, and his views on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor.