As made clear by educators, parents, and community members in attendance, the District’s involvement in Hartford Partnership for Student Success (HPSS) is working well as a solid investment with significant returns for students and families in seven under-resourced community schools.  But if you attended the last Board meeting (or watched the video online), you might not know whether the Board understands how HPSS works in HPS’ favor. 

Despite ultimately unanimously backing continued funding for community schools through HPSS, such an outcome was not clear during what was at times a heated and confusing conversation.  That discussion centered on payment approval for the already appropriated $95,000 in Title 1 funds for HPSS, which opens HPS up to nearly half a million dollars and many times more through in-kind partner support.  So the question remains: does the Board buy in to this strategy meant to address challenges created by poverty?

Vice Chair Tiffany Glanville opened up with the series of questions about the District’s support of HPSS.  Board Member Michael Brescia challenged the salaries and benefits of the Hartford Partnership for Student Success (HPSS).  He questioned the “independent evaluation” cost of $101,000, but HPSS Partnership Director Tauheedah Jackson explained that only 17 percent of those evaluation costs are paid by Hartford.  The seven schools receive some $458,000 in partnership funds, which are leveraged by some $95,000 in federal Title 1 funds coming to Hartford, she said.

Board Member Craig Stallings questioned how the surrounding community has benefited from community schools, looking toward churches and community organizations.  With the community wanting to provide perspective, he said, something is amiss, in terms of reaching “that other layer” of community involvement.  HPSS Partnership Director Jackson recommended a Board workshop with full disclosure as to every school budget.  Lead agency partners in the presently seven community schools do understand the value of scaling up to even more schools, but that will be up to the District, a founding partner of HPSS.

Board Member Julio Flores asked whether the value of the HPSS services could be quantified.  Given the scope of the wraparound services provided families across dental, health, mental health, and other services, he asked, “Do we have a way of showing how much money we’re saving?”

For community residents, parents, and educators in attendance, the answer was clear.  After seven years of community schools work, the impact of their wraparound services is hardly a mystery.  When designed and supported well, it works.

A staff member from Asian Studies at Belizzi spoke Tuesday in support of the dental and mental health services his students receive.  Their time-saving access to medical appointments right at the school, he explained, buttresses both their health and educational progress.  Confusion over the value of community schools Tuesday was surprising, he said in a follow-up interview.  “Tonight seemed like an information traffic jam.  The questions were kind of strange.”

The Bottom Line

It is good that Hartford is grappling with how the Hartford Partnership for Student Success might be restructured to better take on poverty challenges.  Parents, community members, and educators in attendance at the Board meeting all appeared to get this.  They don’t see schools as just classrooms, but as havens where vision, health, and other obstacles to learning can be addressed.  Board Member Tiffany Glanville even called for consideration of how the community school model might be “fully actualized” including attention to gaps in services such as before- and after-school care.  The services are, however, customized to each school’s needs.

Does the model need to spread to additional buildings or should we double down on this strategy at fewer schools?  We, for one, remain a steadfast supporter of the community schools strategy and think we need to double down at current schools.  We want to see the strategy expand to include teacher training regarding adverse childhood experiences and youth development.  Deepening the connections to family engagement strategies at the school also is a continuous improvement goal, as is providing the services characteristic of full service community schools.

In the coming months, Hartford Public Schools will face two major decisions that will have a huge impact on student learning and the direction of HPS: (1) choosing a new permanent superintendent (reflecting on the past revolving door) and (2) finalizing a new budget (during one of the worst budget crises the city has faced … ever).  Is there a vision to guide these and other decisions board members need to make?

Another Year, Another Search for HPS Superintendent

Hartford has had a bunch of superintendents over the past 25 years (so many that only the scholars can name them).  Today, every Hartford child, parent, and educator knows the importance of stability, whether at breakfast at home or by a conversation in the classroom or principal’s office.

City leaders like Mayor Bronin have publicly emphasized the need to find a replacement superintendent who is either already local or with a clear long-term commitment to HPS.

At this point, six candidates reportedly are under serious consideration for the position.  Local candidates include HPS Chief Operating Officer José Colón-Rivas, former Classical Magnet School Principal and CREC’s current assistant superintendent for Operations Tim Sullivan, and Acting Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez (in alpha order), who all have deep city roots.

Each of the half-dozen candidates now seeking to be the next permanent superintendent of the Hartford Public Schools will be interviewed by the first week of February.  And, according to Search Committee Co-Chair John Motley, the time frame for final selection will depend on whether the process results in a clear choice … or a need for further deliberations.  In any case, it appears that two finalist candidates ultimately will emerge from the interviews for further public vetting this winter, or in the early spring.  Here is the Courant coverage of the process.

Having a clear process, we posit, is not enough.  Having a clear plan for what this leader must do is required.  And this plan must move away from the persistent and troubling neglect of Hartford’s North End.  Absent a plan being presented by existing HPS leadership, the onus appears to rest on the current candidates for HPS superintendent to articulate their visions for the school district.  We look forward to helping our leaders articulate a vision.

A Search of a Different Kind: Budget Priorities (and Cuts) for the 2017-18 School Year

Coming into the new year, we all know that hard budget decisions will have to made.  Hartford’s uniqueness, in teetering on the edge of insolvency, also warrants close consideration, as discussed in the Courant today.

The Fiscal 2018 budget process is just beginning, but a projected $20 million gap clearly will entail extremely tough decisions at all levels – and will require robust participation from all segments of the school community, Acting Superintendent Torres-Rodriguez reported Tuesday (at the 55:08 mark of this video).  A special public meeting on the budget is slated for January 23^rd at Bulkeley High School, she announced, and four follow-up community meetings are planned.

Concerns about priorities and possible cuts are causing anxiety across the city.  This worry was only magnified by recent news reports of anywhere from 60 to 200 teacher cuts as a possible outcome of the budget process.  Layoffs will be a measure of last resort, the acting superintendent said, referring to media coverage of recent “illustrations” discussing the possibilities.

Echoing Dr. Torres, Board Member Craig Stallings said his Finance Committee merely received a presentation on layoff possibilities last week, but is just beginning the process.  In addition to the District’s enhanced outreach regarding the budget, the Finance Committee of the Board will be more intensively involved in the development of the budget this year and looks to hear from every School Governance Council and every union, Committee Chair Stallings emphasized.

The Bottom Line

The City and Board budget woes need answers – plans, not just processes – that will significantly change the way money is spent.  If Hartford continues to spend money and choose leaders the same way, all we will do is continue to come up short.

As the process for making those two decisions moves forward, we believe that the next superintendent must have a strong relationship to the North Hartford community, as school consolidation will happen there.  In addition, the next superintendent will have to WANT to do this (not try and avoid it or do it begrudgingly) and will have to WANT to stay here in Hartford to see his/her vision and plan through to completion.

The Hartford Board of Education has had two empty seats for months, with appointed member José Colón-Rivas having shifted over to become the District’s chief operating officer and elected member Beth Taylor having moved from the city.  What does it mean to have two unfilled seats for an extended period of time?

It’s problematic.  With five mayor-appointed and four elected seats to carry the load – and one of each left empty for months – the Board is not at full capacity.  This, at a time when the fiscal pressures and community needs are at an all-time high.

For his fifth appointment, Mayor Luke Bronin is now identifying potential candidates and considers it a priority to fill that post, Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff and Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist Alex Beaudoin said in an email today.  There is no specific time frame for that appointment, she added.

Some, including us, have called on Mayor Bronin to step in personally to join the Board, as previous mayors in times of crisis have done – despite any campaign promises the mayor may have made, reasoning that the needs of the school district and the city during a crisis trump political promises made during a campaign.

The procedure to fill the empty elected seat (previously held by Beth Taylor) was originally controlled by the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) and related to the November 2016 election, for which there was a time crunch, Chairman Marc DiBella said today.  “Because of the timing, the party was unable to get another name on the ballot,” he explained.  Given the time constraints, he added, he and his colleagues instead are working toward the fall 2017 election of four Board members.

Any recommendations they have for temporary Board members during the interim will be informal, he said.  “The Board does not have to take our recommendation.”

While a seat on the Board could be appealing to young people who want to be politically active or to specialists, the time required of a Board member – with no pay and some amount of aggravation – could be a disincentive, he reflected.
“There’s always going to be somebody who finds a flaw in your pick,” he pointed out.  “It’s a constant struggle.”

[clickToTweet tweet=”Nonetheless, Chairman DiBella said, the Board, not the DTC, has appointing authority for the intervening months” quote=”Nonetheless, Chairman DiBella said, the Board, not the DTC, now has the appointing authority to fill the vacant elected seat for the intervening months, if it so chooses. “]  Here is the relevant City Charter provision, with this language in Section 5 (c):

In the event an elected position on the board of education becomes vacant, it shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining members of the board until the next regular general municipal election, if any, at which a successor shall be elected for the remainder of the vacant term and shall assume office at the first meeting of the board following the certification of the results of the election. If the vacancy occurs too close in time to the next general election for the process of nomination to be completed in accordance with the General Statutes, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of the vacant term. Any person so appointed by the board of education shall be of the same political party as the departed member [emphasis added].

Here is the 2016 elected membership listing of the Democratic Town Committee.

The Bottom Line.

Is anyone available for this pro bono, temporary, and perhaps thankless Democratic seat on the Board for the remainder of the year?  If so, take a look at the current complement here and email any of the Board members.  We will have more commentary on this soon.