Nearly six years into his tenure as Superintendent of Stamford Public Schools, Joshua Starr is pleased with the progress the city’s schools have made under his watch, while at the same time he acknowledged the challenges that remain.
“I’m really proud of the work that teachers and administrators have done for the last six years,” Starr said last week. “I’m really proud of the people in this system and how they’ve just embraced [the work]. That doesn’t mean they’ve accepted it without questions, but coming to Stamford it was clear what the work was that needed to be done.”
That work means fixing a school system that was in serious need of repair when Starr took over in May of 2005. From curriculum changes, to middle school reform, to the achievement gap, Starr has attacked the city’s biggest education issues head-on.
“One of the things I’ve always said about why I love being the superintendent in Stamford is that the teachers and principals know that we need to get better,” Starr said. “It’s not a matter of whether we have to change, it’s just what does it look like. They’ve set a really high standard for me and my team.”
Starr likes to think of himself as being ”a teacher on a special assignment.” With that being said, his job is to educate just about everyone on what it takes for a school, and for students, to be successful.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a teacher in terms of teaching the community, the administrators, the teachers, in different ways of thinking about how we educate kids in the 21st century and how we move the system and reorganize it.”
Starr points to a number of improvements in the city’s education system since his arrival.
“Things are better now than they were before,” he said. “The curriculum’s better, we have a higher standard, we have good professional development, our scores are better than they used to be.”
At the same time, Starr doesn’t shy away from the challenges the city faces in improving schools and overall student achievement. Nor does he attempt to hide or run away from some of the more glaring problems the schools face.
“There are some schools who folks were worried about a few years ago that are doing great now,” Starr said. “But then you look at some other things and say ‘we have a long way to go’ and where are we going to find the energy and the resources to really turn it up in some ways.
“On one hand I think we’ve laid a really good foundation over the last five and a half years, and I’m quite proud of that. On the other hand, we need another five years to get to the next level.
“[The] kids who have traditionally done very well, we continue to serve them very well. And we’ve found a lot of ways to serve kids who haven’t traditionally done well. And yet we still have some chronically underserved kids, particularly at the high school level, who we haven’t moved and I’m really concerned about that.”
Asked to elaborate on one specific area – the achievement gap – where Stamford has made some progress but where plenty of work remains, Starr said the problems that plague cities like Stamford run a lot deeper than just that one single issue.
“I think that’s a symbol of the issues that are throughout the system, but it’s not like if we just address the chronically underserved and underperforming kids our work will be done,” Starr said. “I think it’s a much larger issue we have around how you organize a system and educate a community to think a little differently about education. What does it mean to be educated in the 21st century? What does that mean in terms of time, in terms of standards, in terms of technology? What does it mean to organize community resources? Our kids are interacting with adults and agencies throughout the community. How do you link those so that there’s consistency in what we’re trying to teach our kids and how we’re trying to teach them?
“If all the black kids and Latino kids and poor kids and English language learners and special ed kids were doing as well as they should be and everything were equal, we still wouldn’t be done because we’re not as competitive as we need to be.”
To back that up, Starr cited a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics saying that 83 percent of jobs require some type of college education.
“Fundamentally, if the purpose of education is to perpetuate the chosen social and economic order, we’re failing miserably at it in America today,” he said. “We’re not preparing kids to be successful in college, or even get to college, and we’re not preparing kids to engage with people of multiple perspectives and abilities. We’re not giving them the tools to communicate. Those are the kinds of things that have to be addressed. The minimum is the achievement gap issues.”
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So where do we go from here? Starr answered that question, and more, in my interview with him last week. Later this week I’ll have more on what Starr says must be done to improve education in Stamford and beyond. Plus, we’ll get the superintendent’s take on teacher accountability. Stay tuned.
The only way he’ll ever close the achievement gap is if he finally decides to….get rid of the administrators who treat the schools like their own personal singles bars, who treat the kids as sub-human, and whose “leadership” abilities are about as close to non-existent as can be. He’s nice and cozy in his ivory tower, burying his head in the “data” while forgetting that he might want to step foot in a school once in a while. His reliance on the building administrators to give him a clear picture of what’s actually going on would work if he didn’t have the dregs of society working for him. He should go talk to some of the teachers if he wants to know the truth. We’ve all been so beaten into believing that we’ll lose our jobs if we open our mouths. We’re about to crack. We’ve had enough.
Comment by Fed Up Stamford Teacher — February 9th, 2011 @ 9:47 pm
Stamford schools [stink] – they are not as good as they used to be 5-10 years ago. They are in the bottom 10% around CT. All the programs in the schools are oriented on the weakest students, there is no stimulus and rewards for the good achievements, there is no advanced programs and school principals get changed every year or so. The only presumably good school is Rogers with good multilevel program, long waiting list and zero chances to get in – so why don’t you do all the school programs like Rogers, if you know that it is good and parents like it? This does not require any extra money.
And by the way, everybody on the BOE should live in Stamford and desirably have kids in public school. People leave Stamford because of schools and home prices and businesses go down.
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 7:55 am
Five to 10 years ago people were clamoring for change.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:05 am
“Be careful of what you ask for because you may get it”. I had a child in Stark school 10 years ago and she is doing well – now people are scared of Stark.
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:26 am
My point is that five or 10 years ago it seemed that many people were disenchanted with the schools.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:30 am
Charles, it is rather humorous, if not ironic, that ten years ago you were still in high school and not in a public school. Certainty you would not have known anything about changes in Stamford schools since you were attending a catholic school, where changes were required in all aspects. Your comment? Marcus, M.D.
Comment by marcus — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:37 am
I graduated from high school in 1994 so it’s your math that I find humorous (and ironic). Ten years ago I was in my first year as a teacher.
I never attended public schools. However, I grew up in Stamford and lived there for a while after college. I know all about Stamford Public Schools.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:50 am
C’mon Mr. Costello, this looks like another nice-nice piece. Why won’t someone at the Advocate dig just a little and take a factual look at our white knight superintendent. Any kind of ability grouping will be gone in this city, at all costs, no matter what ethical or moral casualty results. The ends justify the means is always such an honest path to a goal, isn’t it? For example:
The recent IB “survey” was a biased, leading piece of incompetent garbage.
There is a consistent equating of grouping with tracking (which it is not).
There is consistent threatening the BOE with legal action if they don’t bend to his will.
Those who don’t fall in line with him seem to have short professional lives.
He seems to spout things off whether factually correct or incorrect to put forth his point of view.TALK TO BOE MEMBERS!
I find him intellectually (and otherwise) dishonest.
NOT OK.
So if you’re going to kiss his behind because you think he’s God’s gift to education, please do this community the basic editorial service of making sure that he’s as fabulous a guy as you think he is and then people like me will go away.
Comment by Another Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:55 am
I am stunned at what goes on at school and very unhappy with the public education system in Stamford, my child tells me horror stories of what goes on at school, students stabbing teachers, theft in the classrooms, the teachers unable or unwilling to control their classrooms, my child is bright and doesn’t feel connected to his school or his classmates he has no friends and feels like there is no one like him at school, we applied to two magnet schools but did not get in, we are in the process of looking to leave Stamford before my other children have to enter MS or god forbid high school…;(…..good luck Starr!!
Comment by Middle School Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:59 am
The Advocate hasn’t given him a free pass in any way. Go back and look at their reporting and editorials (as I have) and you’ll find that they’ve taken him to task plenty of times.
You make some pretty serious claims. I would check those before you state with such confidence.
In any event, I disagree with your assessments.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:04 am
…and do you think that Starr’s comment to parents who want to opt out of IB, that transportation is not guaranteed, is not specifically targeted to punish and force his view. We bus kids in this town EVERYWHERE for EVERY magnet, program, school, whatever. BUT anyone who choses OUT of IB has to figure it out??!! What do you think the intent of that is, Mr. Costello? He is Ken Lay. He is Al Dunlap. He is Wall St. pre-meltdown. He is every leader who for a period of time was allowed to make up his own rules. Actually closing the gap BEGINS IN THE HOME. The schools provide the follow-through, the support, the tools. They cannot, however, cure without action/behavior in the home.
Comment by Another Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:05 am
“He is Ken Lay. He is Al Dunlap. He is Wall St. pre-meltdown. He is every leader who for a period of time was allowed to make up his own rules.”
Totally inappropriate. And false.
“Actually closing the gap BEGINS IN THE HOME. The schools provide the follow-through, the support, the tools. They cannot, however, cure without action/behavior in the home.”
I totally agree. And how’s that working out?
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:11 am
Mr. Costello:
I appreciate your position and respect your opinion. My suggestion would be to go to the BOE website pull the phone numbers of the members and call them …off the record if necessary, and see if I’m making this up. I am immaterial to this, one person’s opinion. Let the facts speak for themselves, but someone has to be willing to pursue those facts. This is a complex topic.
Comment by Another Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:11 am
“Students stabbing teachers”?
“Theft in the classrooms” happens everywhere. “Teachers unable or unwilling to control their classrooms” happens everywhere.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:12 am
You have every right to state your opinion. My concern was with the accusations you made.
I understand your position.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 9:19 am
So what I see here is that parents and teachers are all wrong and Mr. Starr is right. What good can come from teachers who have two choices – to be quiet or to be fired? Mr. Starr is not interested in the success of Stamford schools or Stamford city altogether – he only cares about the raw performance scores by any means. Nobody in clear minds wants their kids in Stamford public school, and this is the future of our city!
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:02 am
In our discussion, Mr. Starr was very supportive of teachers. I’ll post that article this week.
“Mr. Starr is not interested in the success of Stamford schools or Stamford city altogether – he only cares about the raw performance scores by any means.”
I don’t know how you can make that claim.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:07 am
Those comments were not my opinion, they are facts and what “accusations” are you saying I made, who am I accusing? and of what? I got a phone call at home from one of the teachers telling me what goes on at school, and “how she is concerned for my son” and doesn’t want me to pull him out of there because he is such a gift to her classroom and more of what all the children should model, and she tells me about the teachers who gave up on education a long time ago, and what a great job we as the parents did with this child, I do my part but I don’t think Starr does his, my son isn’t being challenged in school and on a side note my children have been in private school until now, I was hoping to give public school a chance but I see I may have to do that elsewhere!!
Comment by Middle School Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:17 am
Charles,
It is my feelings, because Mr. Starr in not a Stamford resident, and I may be wrong. But this is a good opportunity for you to talk to the teachers and parents as other suggested and post your findings. This is the only way to find the truth. I have never posted to the blogs – I am writing this because I am really concerned.
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:55 am
I understand your concerns.
By the way, Starr is a Stamford resident.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:57 am
The accusations were made by “Another Parent.” My comment was not directed toward you.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 11:01 am
Since when? Since he’s got reelected? Just out of curiosity – what school do his children attend?
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 11:44 am
I have children who graduated from SHS apx 10 years ago. The school was better then. There was less violence. There is open alcohol and drug use with little consequence. You have to walk around your classroom trying to find the source of the odor and then try and get security or nurse to help you further. Admin does not back strong consequences. Students who fight are back in class next day. Ability of kids and work ethic is seriously declining because good kids are not rewarded with challenging work. They know the attention is focused on underachievers and by HS they are tired of waiting for kids to catch up. The culture needs to be excellence not fairness…equality means equal opportunity not equal outcome. All kids start out in the same kindergarten classrooms. “grouping” is a result of their individual achievments…why should kids who can read at 2nd grade level in Kdgn have to wait for kids who have never seen the alphabet…it never ends, and instead of praise they are made to feel bad for the underprivileged kids and feel guilty that for some reason there parents’ have been working their butts off to help them get a good start.
Comment by tiredteacher — February 15th, 2011 @ 11:58 am
Superintendents don’t get elected. They are selected and appointed by the BOE.
Starr did receive a contract extension from the board. Since then, he has moved with his family from Brooklyn to Stamford.
As far as what schools his children attend, in my opinion it would be inappropriate to discuss that on this blog.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
Ok, elected by BOE. By that time the damage was done!
tiredteacher – I can’t agree more!
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 12:11 pm
A few responses and counterpoints.
- I am not sure what the measurements are that say schools are worse from 5 or 10 years ago. Scores are up pretty much across the board from 2006-2010, which is all the current data for latest version of CMTs and coincides with Starr’s terms. This means scores are up for every subgroup, white, Asian, black, hispanic, etc that is provided by independent CMT Site. I have reviewed and calculated and welcome anyone to dispute
- Bottom 10% of schools? what is your data source for this? we have 150+ school districts in CT (this is where the school funding money is really wasted) and most of them of 20% the size of stamford or smaller. very hard to compare that way. we compare pretty well to our subgroup (which itself is strange mix of Danbury, West Hartford and small Ansonia).
- I welcome Charles talking to the BOE members, but to the whole board, not just the newly elected Agenda-driven members.
- Grouping/Tracking are linked because everyone knows one leads to another. Stamford is really behind the curve here. Do you know that six grade scores were UP last year? Many middle school parents/community groups acting as if this didn’t happen. We also improved in how scores change from 5th to 6th, which has always been an issue here.
- NCLB?? Starr has to focus on raising the scores of the lower performing students above Goal/Proficient. That is what the district and therefore starr is measured on. if you don’t like this write your congressman. but he has no choice but to follow this path.
- You seem to be making a lot accusations about school safety without much back up data.
Clearly there are those that don’t like Starr but the Ken Lay/Al Dunlap is a fairly strange analogy. For the Ripp middle school parents posting here (seems obvious that’s who is angry right now), is it the program you don’t like, the process of implementing it or just that you don’t want to be magnetized (which as of now you aren’t)? it really isn’t clear.
- “Actually closing the gap BEGINS IN THE HOME. The schools provide the follow-through, the support, the tools. They cannot, however, cure without action/behavior in the home.” This is a very nice and convenient (i.e., lazy) way of thinking that ensures that the lower class stays that way. A community either tries to develop everyone or you have a class/caste system. Find me a country that is succeeding that doesn’t have a real focus on educating everyone.
- This city/country/state needs to educate everyone. Think beyond your four walls. If you want your small neighborhood school where everyone is the same as you (as in income/economics, not color) I am not sure if Stamford will be that place nor is any other ‘city’ that way.
I hear lots of complaints but no proposed solutions to anything. Getting rid of Starr is short sighted and solves nothing. please make a suggestion that achieves a result and if you ONLY care about your own kids just say that and we can end other discussion. While I certainly care about mine first and foremost, I am able and willing to look beyond my family to try to achieve something as a community.
Comment by Yet another parent in stamford — February 15th, 2011 @ 12:46 pm
To the Tired Teacher I applaud you for standing up to what is honest and true, I decided to give up my career to be home with my children so that I can give them the best possible education and not a day goes by that I don’t spend every afternoon making sure they do there homework and study and are taking advantage of the tools they have been given, I don’t feel he is been given a chance to do the best possible work he can do, he tells me his teacher spends a lot of time disciplining his classmates who are a distraction he says, and he tells me most of them don’t do their homework, why does he have to? I stay in constant contact with the teachers who care to make sure they see my son succeeds and that he doesn’t get swept up with the other kids. I also teach at home and make sure he is well rounded its not fair I want to do better by my kids but I am afraid I am failing them by sending them to Stamford Public Schools, I know the difference between parents and administrators and teachers who care and those who don’t, its a shame because I love my community and the city but the education here leaves a lot to be desired, Wilton or New Canaan may be my new home soon, and I am very grateful to the teachers who guide him, he says they are the only ones he is connected to, he sense’s they have his best interest and he responds with amazing grades and respect. Something needs to be done and fast!!
Comment by Middle School Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 12:57 pm
As far as I know one of his children attends Stillmeadow ES as of last year. It was in the paper some time ago. And yes, as one of his concessions, to get the one year contract extension he agreed to move to Stamford. Prior to that he commuted for about 5 or 6 years to Stamford.
Charles, what you hear here from Stamford parents and teachers is the frustration of a group of people that want all kids to excel and not only the lowest group. We are in the process of alienating and shutting out our highest performing students and their parents.
The whole heterogeneous grouping movement and forcing higher achieving students to become academic role models to inspire lower performing students to improve academically serves only one student group.
I, as most parents, are not against heterogeneous classrooms. They are appropriate for non-core subjects. But for math, science, reading and writing it is a recipe for disaster. Especially if you consider the diversity of the Stamford school population.
We are not all the same. We do not comprehend intellectually at the same level and speed. We are not all college material. Why do we think our children are? This is one of the issues a lot of parents and teachers do not agree with Mr. Starr.
Every move that the SPS system has made in the past 7 years is not to increase academic excellence but to, as tiredteacher said, promote equality by lowering standards (Middle School Reform and abolishing ability grouping)and introducing curricula geared towards the intellectually weaker students (e.g. Everyday Math).
I heard Starr talk multiple times and have had discussion with him myself (while our children were still in the SPS system). He does come across as a very smooth talker, reminds me often of a politician, and sounds very sincere. But, as Another Parent stated, I also have found him factually incorrect in his speeches. Once he addressed our PFO and even our school principal, who is one of his supporters, had to point out to him that she politely disagrees and that the numbers he cited were not correct. Which was true.
Comment by Facts — February 15th, 2011 @ 1:05 pm
To Yet another parent in Stamford:
>please make a suggestion that achieves a result
See comment #2 – “why don’t you do all the school programs like Rogers” – it may be as easy as that
>Bottom 10% of schools? what is your data source for this
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/CT/cityrank.aspx Rank 147 out of 174!
>Do you know that six grade scores were UP last year?
One can beat teachers to death and get good scores short-term, but eventually we will have nobody
to teach and nobody who teaches. Isn’t it better to have a small but steady progress.
Comment by Parent — February 15th, 2011 @ 2:03 pm
I am here to give the opinion of a junior from Stamford High School.
I went through Stamford public schools Kindergarten through now, and have seen FIRST HAND what the schools were like and are now.
Let’s go back in time to my elementary school graduation in 2005. There were multiple achievements awards given out through the President’s Education Awards Program and athletic programs among others. Even in elementary school students were striving for achievements.
Fast forward 3 years to my middle school graduation. Now, all I got was a poorly photocopied certificate saying that I completed middle school. That was it.
The common explanation for this is to not make students who did not get the award feel left out. Well what about the student who works hard in the classroom and home, then sees someone who missed half the school year get the same acknowledgment?
Yes, the test scores are higher. The reason? The tests themselves are getting easier. I am willing to bet that more students will get 5s on a certain AP exam this year than last year. It won’t be because our generation is smarter or that the schools are better. It will be because a student no longer looses that 1/4 of a point per wrong answer. Making tests easier does not make us look smarter, but rather only brings us down.
As many parents and teacher have already mentioned, there is no division at all among students of different levels. If in 5th grade teachers are still teaching how to put sentences together, why bother having an ESL class? You might as well cut ESL and have more money to waste on something completely irrelevant rather than on the students. Grouping of students made sure that no student fell behind or vice versa wasting their time. The children were able to learn at their own pace and that is what led to good test scores.
Comment by A Student — February 15th, 2011 @ 3:58 pm
Interesting. Please keep contributing.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 15th, 2011 @ 4:01 pm
Comment to Yet another Parent:
The supposedly increase in student test scores in Stamford is not a surprise. If you look at the last 5 years the test scores for the state of CT have gone up as well. I doubt that our level of education overall has gone up, though.
A good link to find out about the SPS system:
http://www.stamfordparents.com/stamford_school_info/stamford_public_schools/stamford_public_schools.html
Comment by Facts — February 15th, 2011 @ 4:59 pm
What a intellectual pleasure to read Bob Horton’s essays. Charles, I do hope that you read carefully what Mr. Horton writes. Moreover, perhaps you too can model how masterfully his insights are related to the issue at hand and, without a hint of arrogance. We can all learn from Mr.Horton’s professionalism, don’t you think? Your Colleague, Herb
Comment by herb — February 15th, 2011 @ 8:43 pm
IS IT JUST A FREAK THING THAT AS WE HAVE INCREASED STANDARDIZED TESTS ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER HAS INCREASED. CAPTURE A STUDENTS HEART THEIR MIND WILL FOLLOW!!!
Comment by sal buchetto — February 15th, 2011 @ 10:15 pm
Perhaps my comments about test scores come from a fairly jaded place, given an influential (high income/involved parents) group called SREE put out an ‘analysis’ saying how bad 2010 6th grades scores were and pushed an electoral result on the basis of this analysis. I am an analyst by profession, and at heart so I speak from experience. So if we can make a change that benefited in 1 year the lower performing students and it has a positive result overall, yet, intellingent/influential individuals put out and publish an analysis that is flawed at best, and purposefully misleading at worst, I am not sure what it would take to have a meaningful dialogue about this in Stamford.
Rogers I think has been a very good story, though it benefits (and benefited) from a very high income district in shippan and an extremely involved PTO and good principal/admin. My understanding is that several board members don’t want IB in Ripp is because the grouping strategy does not fit their agenda or narrative. Rogers should put that concern to rest.
There is also another elem school that has done well (besides Westover) called Toquam which has a large amount of differentiated instruction, co-teaching class rooms, etc, which fit very well the heterogeneous classroom model. In fact, we *yes i am a toquam parent* took in a large population of children in last 2 years (mostly ex_rogers district, economically challenged) and maintained good performance.
I would love to see the successful models replicated (and financially/operationally supported) across the district.
I am parent in the SPS so i don’t need to go to an outdated website such as stamfordparents.com.
Comment by Yet another parent in stamford — February 16th, 2011 @ 12:12 am
I read Bob Horton’s column every Friday.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 16th, 2011 @ 7:46 am
For those who is interested: IB vs. AP
http://www.truthaboutib.com/isibsuperior/ibvsap.html
Comment by Parent — February 16th, 2011 @ 11:32 am
I have many solutions to the budget crisis an increase to education I am a product of the stamford public school system since 1968 kindergarten and graduated Rippowam 1981 when it was a High School. My son is attending newfield school,at this point I am very happy with the results obviously we have only just begun, My solution is easy, you remove all the non residence who are attending our schools over crowding them and stealing education from the tax payers no one will address this issue and it is the most important,Greenwich removed over 300 students this hudge savings can go into special education and other programs that children need it’s time to use common sense it is a no brainer,I challenge anyone in a goverment position to tell me why that hasn’t been done yet and what are we waiting for? So we can have more children draged to the bottom.
Comment by Robert Katchko — February 17th, 2011 @ 6:58 am
To Middle School Parent: I was just having a discussion with a work colleague re how he is having issues with his child’s school because the teacher spends a lot of time having to discipline certain students, so she is distracted from teaching. Funny thing is though, his child goes to Fairfield schools. My point: every public school has issues.
I am sure there are some better systems out there, but if the town’s wealth was the cure-all, then Greenwich schools would be perfect, and they sure aren’t. I have a friend who lives in Stamford and teaches in Greenwich. He said given the choice (and it is a real choice, since he can pay to send his kids there as a Greenwich teacher) he’d rather have his kids go to Stamford. Why? Because there are so many kids in Greenwich who are either screwed up by their parents wealth or lack of it in a very money-conscious town, and there is a high amount of drug use. Enough drug use that half the kids in the special ed classes really aren’t learning-disabled, they’re just wacked out on drugs so much that people think they are. No joke!
So before you run to Darien, New Canaan, Westport, etc, do a little more research, see if you want your kid growing up in a very homogenous community, and be aware of the drug use. Not just a little pot, I mean snorting heroin, ecstacy, you name it. Things are a little different these days than when you were in school.
Comment by Mark — February 17th, 2011 @ 11:28 am
Dear Inspector Mark- Where is your empirical evidence that such drug use is out-of-control in New Canaan, Darien and Westport? Are you just using anecdotal references to please your wide open and generalized opinions? Are you another alarmist- code red personality? Please do not splatter these towns and their exceptional school districts with such misinformed generalizations and anecdotal “yak-yak”. You are sounding as if you would very like to be a part of N.C. Darien and Westport, but just can’t swing it! Herb
Comment by herb — February 17th, 2011 @ 12:44 pm
You hear that Mark, “Herb” doesn’t think drug use exists in suburban America.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 17th, 2011 @ 12:51 pm
To Herb,
The nicer the town, the better the drugs. It has always been that way; you surely can’t be that naive. The private schools are where the really ‘expensive’ drugs were in the mid-80′s and I know it is unchanged now.
Comment by Yet another parent in stamford — February 17th, 2011 @ 3:59 pm
Exactly. In fact, over the past school year Greenwich police arrested 72 students for drugs in that town (but just one was identified as a private school student). That marked 70% of all arrests of young people in town. Most of those arrests were for pot. Indeed, there are several surveys of young people in Southwestern Connecticut that suggest that marijuana usage is over 40%. Binge drinking is also high, and well over half of all high school students in our region have drunk alcohol. The BOE in Greenwich refuses to take part in any survey of risky behavior, preferring ignorance as bliss.
Comment by Sean — February 17th, 2011 @ 4:15 pm
Charles and Inspector Mark: we do not have to slander other districts and school systems with the prevailing notion that drug exists. the issue is that Inspector Mark, along with your meek follow-up, is that New Canaan, Darien and Westport are, by association, drug heavens. I live in one of these three town for over 16 years. You and Mark do not! So please keep your generalizations about drugs and their availability to your own towns, which you both seeming know well. Herb
Comment by herb — February 17th, 2011 @ 4:34 pm
Let me get this straight:
According to “Herb”, drugs do not exist in New Canaan, Darien, or Westport.
Okay. I got it.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 17th, 2011 @ 4:46 pm
Well I know drugs exist in Stamford its been all over the new today how they found a freshman passed out from alcohol poisoning and smoking pot before lunch even started at school, but that’s not the worst of it, I am not naive to believe that drugs don’t exist I was a teenager once too, what I find really bad is that no one has the decency to help this poor girl out as she lye there dyeing and even took a video many things are wrong with the public school system and your right it begins at home if my mother is in prison and I don’t know who my father is there are problems that are never going to be fixed here school doesn’t do that for you but at least I know that if I pay to send my child to a private school, then the other parents who also pay have as much vested in their education as I do my child’s education. Respect for self and others and values are not taught in school they are also not taught at home any longer. Maybe home schooling is a much better idea…..now that I think about it!!!
Comment by Middle School Parent — February 17th, 2011 @ 5:18 pm
Here’s the story from the Advocate. Very sad:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/article/Condition-of-girl-found-passed-out-at-Boyle-1016810.php
Comment by Charles Costello — February 17th, 2011 @ 5:25 pm
Charles, Yes, drugs are all around us, and I never said it does not. Is that clear enough for you. What the heck does this have to do with Stamford, your blog topic? What is your sharp point, if any, Charles? You make monuments to the obvious and we have to accept that. Perhaps because you are still a young adult in your late 20′s, you have much experiencing and maturing to go. Some of us have been around much longer than you, try and have some respect for your elders, Charles. Your Old Friend, Herb
Comment by herb — February 17th, 2011 @ 8:03 pm
I am always amazed how people who send their kids to the public schools and are not part of the “wealthy elite” comment on two things:
1. Wealthy kids are raised by their nannies and their parents have no time for them.
2. Drug use is more rampant with wealthy kids because of their higher disposable income.
Currently sending my kids to very expensive private schools in towns that Mark is writing about I am constantly impressed by the involvement of those very wealthy parents. Not only do they actively participate in their kids schools they also seem to be very hands on with their kids life and education. From my personal experience I can say that most of those kids are polite, well behaved and smart. So far I haven’t seen any drug use but that may be because my kids attend middle school and not high school.
A lot of those same parents volunteer at the homeless shelter in Norwalk (cooking & serving food), at Person-to-Person, or “fill in the blank” a lot of other community service organizations.
Most of them are also very nice people (even to non-Shippan parents living in Stamford).
So bashing of rich kids, their parents and certain towns just shows ignorance from people neither attending them nor living there.
PS. I am not disputing that there aren’t any drugs or nannies!
Comment by Facts — February 17th, 2011 @ 9:31 pm
To Yet Another Parent:
As far as I understood the only problem SREE addressed was the middle school reform and that was their success in the past election.
Your arguments do not make sense, on one hand you condemn SREE and their goals on the other hand you want to replicate Rogers (who rigorously GROUPS OUT), Toquam who also groups out (at least it did years ago in math)and the IB program. You contradict yourself with those statement. Replicating what works (Rogers and Westover=grouping) is what SREE wanted.
Starr’s ultimate goal is to have heterogeneous classrooms not only in middle school but also high school. Read the BOE meeting minutes or listen to Lecker and Grafstein.
Also the website link I posted was not outdated, you just didn’t like what it implied.
Comment by Facts — February 17th, 2011 @ 10:04 pm
SREE did focus on middle school reform, that is true; the candidates they ‘supported’ did get elected, though there is no provable correlation that their support was what allowed them to win. In fact, Leydon was only elected because our wonderful CT “state minority party representation law” .
Toquam is not a grouping school, and does extensive differentiated instruction in the class (I’ve been a parent there the last 6 years), co-teaching (which has high academic students with lower ones in the same class) and other elements that separate from grouping/tracking schools.
Westover is not replicable because results are highly driven by the population there, though there are many good things about the program (teacher coordination, looping, resources, etc) and I am not putting it down.
I’ve heard very clearly that certain BOE members are not in favor in the flexible grouping for IB and that is why they are questioning the RIPP move. It’s not strict enough and yes, I believe they would like to turn the clock back 5-6 years to get close enough to tracking without calling it that. If their son/daughter doesn’t make honors then they want more groups to separate them out from the lower performing students.
My main issue with SREE is that they claim here ” http://www.stamfordree.org/CMT-Analysis.pdf” shows that “The two-group strategy is failing” their quote . My point is that their analysis is deeply flawed and potentially misleading by design (I’m not inside their heads so can’t be certain what the goal was).
They compared 2010 results for Stamford the State. 1 year, to the state and that is all their ‘proof’.
They did not compare any 2010 data to results pre middle school transformation:
• Compare 2010 6th grade results to 2009 6th gr results or any earlier year (hint, scores are up, particularly from lower performing)
• Compare 2010 6th grade vertical results to prior year vertical results. This is 5th grade prior year to 6th grade current year. (Our change, 5th to 6th was generally better than prior years.
• Compare Stamford to any other district, including its DIRG.
Based on the effort SREE makes in outreach, elections and their website, the fact they ignored all of those things speaks volumes to me, and many others. The did not want all the data out there because it didn’t support their narrative and goals.
i ignored the site you linked to because it didn’t seem to have 2010 or other current/updated information on it.
Comment by Yet another parent in stamford — February 17th, 2011 @ 10:50 pm
Late 20s? I wish.
Comment by Charles Costello — February 18th, 2011 @ 8:23 am
FYI:
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/School-slamming-ad-irritates-Stamford-parents-1130223.php
Citation: “Starr said the ad doesn’t jibe with the way Stamford parents feel about the district’s schools. According to a recent survey, 69 percent of SPS families would be very likely to recommend that a friend send his or her children to their child’s school.”
How come nobody around me heard about this survey? I know several neighbors, who are about to relocate from Stamford because of schools, despite a serious financial impact.
Comment by Parent — March 14th, 2011 @ 9:24 pm
[...] State of Stamford Public Schools – 2/1/11 [...]
Comment by Buh-Bye Jerry, Hello Josh « The "More" Child — April 25th, 2011 @ 10:23 pm
My first teacher in stamford was Mrs. Small at sprindale elementary in 1971, does anyone know about her?
Comment by gino — May 3rd, 2011 @ 5:32 pm
Reading these posts make me sad. Sad that as a single mother I have to work the equivalent of two jobs to afford my daughter’s school. Sad, that I moved to Stamford and saw first hand through the admissions process how disorganized the administration is. Sad for parents that cannot afford to send their children to independent schools. Sad when I visited our districted school and met the principal who made it very clear to me that no matter how bright my child was, there would be no grouping in her school; and that all children will learn at the same level…all brought down to the lowest “learner” in the class. As you can imagine, that’s when my decision was made. My decision was solidified after the administration lost my magnet school submission for Rogers, assured me they would rectify and even sent me confirmation of this….guess what, never fixed.
I can’t tell you how happy I am with my independent school decision as Stamford fails their city in the education department. Sure, paying $30,000 a year hurts…really hurts, but I an assure you it is worth every extra hour I have to work.
Comment by Parent In Stamford — September 9th, 2011 @ 8:57 am
Sorry to hear about your experiences with Stamford Public Schools.
I commend you for doing everything you can for your daughter.
Comment by Charles Costello — September 10th, 2011 @ 11:04 am
I enjoyed this posting, comments and the links offering additional perspective. I moved to Shippan a few years ago before my child was born, and I”m not sure what we will do for schools. It seems those who share an opinion similar to mine are labeled racist or xenophobes. Well, the fact is, even if I ‘won the lottery’ and got into Rogers (it’s not guaranteed in Shippan, and is filling up with siblings quickly) I am still not sure about it.
I like cities, I value diversity, but I am shocked to read all of the discourse around SPS to be about social engineering — it’s the only thing they seem to talk about. To read test scores comparing those who get free/reduced *lunches* vs. not (is this a standard way to measure?). To hear that racial balancing was the top priority of redistricting ( I can see it making the list, but it seems to be its raison d’etre). To read that 38% of children are not growing up in English-speaking households, presumably relying on the school system to teach them English. I’m not saying this hatefully, I just don’t care for so many of my tax/education dollars to be going toward resources my child does not need. I pay $10K a year in city taxes, half of which goes to the schools – they need to work for my family.
My educational priorities are, in order: 1) academic excellence/rigor, 2) values of respect, honor and kindness, 3) quality of materials, facilities; 4) sports and 5) cultural diversity/global understanding.
I’m not thrilled that the places offering what I consider to be strong educational alternatives (Darien, Westport, etc) are so white and often pretentious/competitive. But I can more easily expose my child to diversity and culture on my own time than I can to teach him math and science every day. In other words, I’d rather close my own child’s diversity gap than have a district so focused on social engineering.
I’m looking for novels by 3rd grade and algebra by 7th and respect for teachers and classmates all along. If Stamford happens to offer that in the near future I’d love to stay. But if it doesn’t, I’m going to move to a town with 30% lower taxes and schools I can use rather than pay for King Low-Heywood Thomas.
Again, thank you for the discourse.
Comment by DairyGodmother — September 22nd, 2011 @ 10:50 pm
Thanks for reading and contributing to the discussion.
Comment by Charles Costello — September 23rd, 2011 @ 5:08 am