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High school seeks additional 2.6% Principal discusses use of computers Reply

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Full story on-line

Home page: Jan., 2024

BY RUTH EPSTEIN

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

FALLS VILLAGE — The first iteration of the proposed 2015-16 spending plan for Housatonic Valley Regional High School shows an increase of 2.6 percent.

During an initial workshop held Wednesday, Region 1 Business Manager Samuel Herrick gave a brief overview before turning the discussion over to Principal Jose Martinez.

Herrick said the gross total at this point is $8,925,096 and will reflect a per pupil cost of $26,333.

Martinez, noting that the school will be preparing for its 2017 New England School Development Council’s accreditation process, has categorized some objectives. He said some funding will be used toward improving the school’s curriculum to maintain its standards.

He will try to reduce textbook costs by using more electronics and has ideas about how to implement additional technology. Martinez plans a two-year phase in of having every student have his/her own electronic devise. He talked about three possibilities: have each child bring his own device; supply a device with an accompanying fee or provide a device without charge.

He favors charging an annual $25 fee and at the end of their senior year, students would own them. During the first year of the program, ninth graders would receive them and in year two, 12th graders would be the recipients.

Policies would have to be devised to spell out what happens if a device is lost or broken, but he said they would never deny access to a student. Estimating costs of the program would be challenging, since some students would be bringing their own.

Instead of “diddling around” with the 1/7th formula, THIS should be the real concern for the Region 1 BOE 1

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From today’s Republican American

(full story available at http://rep-am.com)

FALLS VILLAGE — The New England School Development Council’s enrollment projections, not surprisingly, show declining enrollment for Region 1 schools over the next few years. Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain shared the document from the organization with the Lee H. Kellogg School Board of Education on Tuesday. Kellogg, the smallest school in the region with 78 students in kindergarten through grade eight, could see its enrollment drop to 44 in eight years, if NESDEC’s numbers come to fruition. In the projection, Donald Kennedy, a demographic specialist, notes that NESDEC’s estimates from the fall 2013 data came within 18 students in the region for the fall of 2014. A total of 1,529 were projected, with the actual number being 1,511. Kennedy said the two factors having the greatest effect on future enrollments are a decline in the number of births in the six Region 1 towns and, even more so, the slowdown in migration, which is the result of a reduction in real estate transactions. He predicts there will be a 30 percent decrease in the birth rate in the next six to seven years. The forecast, according to NESDEC, predicts the following decreases in student enrollment in Region 1 over the next three years: 15 fewer at Lee H. Kellogg School; 28 fewer at Cornwall Consolidated (91 this year); 39 fewer at Kent Center School (256 this year); no change at North Canaan Elementary School (280 this year); 18 fewer at Salisbury Central School (273 this year); 13 fewer at Sharon Center School (177 this year) and 32 fewer at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (394 this year).

 

Surprise!…NOT 2

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The Region 1 Search Committee, comprised of the Region 1 Board and the ABC Committee, has completed the first phase of the search process for the vacant administrative position in Central Office. Our consultant, Mary Broderick of CABE, has presented her results to the Search Committee in the form of a Leadership Profile. Based on the responses to nine focus groups and an online survey, the Search Committee has decided to post the position as an Assistant Superintendent. The Leadership Profile and the data behind it will be posted on the Region 1 website on Friday, February  06. The website can be found at this location: http://www.region1schools.org/

 

From this Sunday’s Republican-American…Public weighs in on Region 1 position 2

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BY RUTH ESPTEIN 

full story available at:

Home page: Jan., 2024

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

FALLS VILLAGE — Residents of Region 1 told a search consultant they want these qualities in their next assistant superintendent: quality classroom teaching experience; comprehension of the student learning process; strong ability to work with principals; a promoter of the positive aspects of Housatonic Valley Regional High School and a high level of emotional intelligence.

Mary Broderick of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education on Wednesday held one of several sessions to gather input from residents. The region is looking for a replacement for former Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves, who took an early retirement package effective Oct. 31, 2014.

There has been no firm determination yet as to whether another assistant superintendent or a director of instruction will be hired.

Ed Kirby, a former teacher, high school principal and assistant superintendent in the district, listed the suggested roles he saw for both the superintendent’s and assistant’s position, noting the complexity of Region 1. It has a huge geographic area, is regionalized only at the high school level; and has six autonomous elementary schools that share services with the high school. Kirby said he strongly believes a national search should be conducted and that the candidate’s school district must be visited. He also told Broderick that the new administrator must take a serious look at declining enrollment — in the 1970s there were 780 students at Housatonic; now there are fewer than 400. He or she also must work with the state legislature on seeking relief from unfunded mandates and get a grasp of the area and its history, Kirby said.

Louis G. Timolat of Falls Village said when Marvin “Muff” Maskovsky was superintendent, he initiated the title of assistant superintendent, but it was honorific. He said he wasn’t looking for a deputy superintendent, but the name gave prestige to recruiting a director of instruction. That position is very important and should not be diluted with other functions, he said.

Marshall Miles of Salisbury said he believes teachers are the strength of the district and that one of the weaknesses in the system “is the seemingly nonlink between administrators and teachers.” He also said Housatonic is losing many students to private schools and that declining enrollment must be addressed.
“How is this building going to pay for itself when it’s down to 300 students? That is not being discussed. How do we get students back?” Miles asked.

Falls Village First Selectman Patricia A. Mechare also touched on the need for promoting Housatonic. She said the programs, especially in the humanities track, are just as good as those found in the private schools. Others talked about the need for the person to have a high level of emotional intelligence, empathy, the ability to manage relationships, be trustworthy, honest and have a sense of humor.

An open letter to The Region One Report 1

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The phrase, inside baseball   is usually used in politics, where the inside-baseball business includes the sorts of things political strategists think about but which the public is not necessarily privy to or interested in. We think this is what our BOE members seem to think about the proposed changes to educational funding in Region 1.  They think the details are too technical or uninteresting for most of us to appreciate and that we will stand by and let them do whatever they want.

Well maybe we will.  However, if we do, we will be complicit in:  endorsing the creeping regionalization of our local elementary schools by allowing the ABC Committee to employ the superintendent for all the local elementary schools without a favorable vote by each of those districts/towns;  penalizing the smaller towns (Sharon, Cornwall and Falls Village) by forcing increased costs on them;  and, most importantly, turning long-standing practices of the Region 1 Board over to the ABC Committee.  History tells us that most of the German people were not ardent Nazis, but they stood by and did nothing, they were complicit.  Will you be complicit in this power grab by Superintendent Chamberlain?

In December 2006, Regional School District #1 revised the 7000 Series Policies. When printed out it comes to 24 pages, but many of those pages have only 3 or 4 lines of copy so it is a pretty quick read.  Even the most cursory reading makes it clear that the role of the ABC Committee is to “recommend” not to rule.  In one of its most detailed sections (7321), it lists 33 policies and services that “shall be kept current by amendments”.  It is hard to believe, but in the past 8 years, there has not been a single amendment to the 7000 Series Policies.  Now Region 1 attorney, Gary Brochu, submits a Draft Agreement Governing Shared Services for Regional District 1 that turns governing and financing of Region 1 on its ear and there is an incredible rush to pass this with little or no public exposure or explanation.

Yes, there is an “informational” meeting set for Wednesday, January 21st at HVRHS at 7pm. Have you seen the agenda? The first thing you might notice is that it is time-limited – just 90 minutes to let citizens know how their children’s schools will be governed going forward. Then there is time (not specified) for a presentation by the Board’s attorney; where is the time for a presentation by opponents? Then you will see that they issued an Amended Agenda that instead of simply listing “Questions and Answers” has been amended to “Questions and Answers – Public, Board Members, and Committee Members”.  WOW!  Were they really planning to conduct an informational meeting for the public and not have questions from the public? Sure looks like it.

 

Where will you be on Wednesday, January 21st at 7pm? It is time to decide whether you will speak out – or be complicit.

 

Asher Pavel

West Cornwall

 

Joanne Wojtusiak

Cornwall Bridge