CABE Journal - April 2013

Connecticut Associationof Boards of Education Inc.81 Wolcott Hill RoadWethersfield, CT 06109-1242

PeriodicalPostage

PAIDHartford, CT

w w w . c a b e . o r g

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Gun violence forum .............................. 2

See You in Court .................................. 5

School safety and crisis planning ........ 6

Day on the Hill lightlights .................... 8

Legal Briefs .........................................11

Media Message ..................................12

Homework and the Achievement Gap .13

CT population is growing! ..................13

Public Agenda parents and the reformmovement ...........................................15

Interview with Patrice A. McCarthyThirty Years at CABE

See INTERVIEW page 4

CABE Day on the Hill

Vol. 17, No. 4 April 2013

View fromthe Capitol

[Editor’s Note: CABE Executive Direc-tor Bob Rader sat down with PatriceMcCarthy, Deputy Director and GeneralCounsel, CABE, to get her views on howeducation and CABE has changed overthe past 30 years.]

Bob: Patrice, congratulations on thesethirty years and all the good you havedone for CABE over that time and forschool board members and publiceducation in general.

Board members, superintendents, administrators and students marched to the State Capitol in support of public education. See morephotos on pages 8, 9, and 10.

As committees sprint to finish theirpublic hearing process, legislation isbeing further refined before it leavescommittee – and perhaps travels on toseveral others. One major stop for mostlegislation is the Appropriations Commit-tee, which is grappling with the 2013-15state budget. A number of the proposalsrelated to school safety and security arecontingent on the availability of someadditional resources, as well as flexibilityin the use of existing resources.

By the deadlines for the Education(April 3) and Appropriations (April 23)committees to report out legislation, the“view” of legislation will be somewhatclearer.

Patrice A. McCarthy,Deputy Director and General Counsel, CABE

What interested you back in 1983 inworking for CABE?

Patrice: I had become certified toteach while I was in college but then de-cided I would go directly to law schoolwith the idea that I would somehow beable to combine my interests in law andeducation. The position at CABE, when Ijoined the staff as a Staff Attorney, wasreally the perfect way to make thatconnection.

Bob: Can you describe how CABE haschanged over the last thirty years?

Patrice: I think the challenges thatschool boards face have continued toincrease and, therefore, the need forCABE to provide support and assistanceto districts in a whole host of areas con-tinues to expand. Our work in the areasof policy, in professional development forschool board members and advocacy hasgrown each year as the needs of districtshave grown.

Bob: Over the thirty years you musthave had some great mentors. Who arethey and what did they teach you aboutyour role or about helping school boardsin general?

Patrice: Pat Lukewas my originalsupervisor when Icame to CABE andshe became amentor and a friend.She had served onthe New BritainBoard of Education,as CABE Presidentand on the NSBABoard of Directors

ConnecticutAfter School

Network Report

See CONNECTICUT page 4

The Connecticut After School Network,of which CABE is a participating member,recently released the report “SupportingStudent Success in Connecticut – ABlueprint for Expanded Opportunities.”The goal of the Network is to ensure thatall students make best use of after schooland summer hours to complement andstrengthen what they are learning inschool, to build social skills they need tosucceed, and to explore new opportuni-ties. The Network sees after schoolprograms as an important componentsupporting student success in meeting

Lydia Tedone

2 The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education • April 2013

PRESIDENT COMMENTARY

CABE Board of DirectorsEXECUTIVE COMMITTEELydia Tedone .................................................. President, SimsburyRichard Murray ............................. First Vice President, KillinglyAnn Gruenberg ........... VP for Government Relations, HamptonStephen Wright ............. VP for Professional Development, TrumbullRobert Mitchell ............................ Secretary/Treasurer, MontvilleDon Blevins ........................................... Immediate Past PresidentJohn Prins ........................................................... Member at Large

AREA DIRECTORSSusan Hoffnagle ....................... Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterMari-Ellen (Mimi) Valyo ........ Area 1 Co-Director, WinchesterDaniel Santorso ........................... Area 1 Co-Director, PlymouthBecky Tyrrell .................................Area 2 Co-Director, PlainvilleSusan Karp .....................................Area 2 Co-Director, GlasbonburyDon Harris ........................................ Area 2 Co-Director, BloomfieldLaura Bush .................................................. Area 3 Director, VernonDouglas Smith ...................................... Area 4 Co-Director, PlainfieldSteve Rosendahl .............................. Area 4 Co-Director, WoodstockGavin Forrester ................................... Area 6 Co-Director, StratfordElaine Whitney ................................... Area 6 Co-Director, WestportSheila McCreven ........................... Area 7 Co-Director, WoodbridgeJohn Prins ............................................ Area 7 Co-Director, BranfordPamela Meier .............................................Area 8 Director, MadisonGail MacDonald .................................... Area 9 Director, Stonington

ASSOCIATESEileen Baker ........................................... Associate, Old SaybrookSharon Beloin-Saavedra .......................... Associate, New BritainGary Brochu ........................................................ Associate, BerlinRobert Guthrie .......................................... Associate, West HavenCal Heminway ................................................... Associate, Granby

COMMITTEE CHAIRSElizabeth Brown ............................ Chair, State Relations, MontvilleBeverly Washington ....................... Chair, Federal Relations, GrotonBecky Tyrrell ....................................... Chair, Resolutions, Plainville

CITY REPRESENTATIVESJacqueline Kelleher ......................... City Representative, BridgeportMatthew Poland ................................. City Representative, HartfordCarlos Torre ................................... City Representative, New HavenPolly Rauh ......................................... City Representative, StamfordCharles Stango ............................... City Representative, Waterbury

STAFFRobert Rader ...................................................................... Executive DirectorPatrice McCarthy ................................ Deputy Director and General CounselBonnie Carney ........................................... Sr. Staff Associate for PublicationsNicholas Caruso ............................................ Sr. Staff Assoc. for Field Service and Coord. of TechnologySheila McKay ............................ Sr. Staff Associate for Government RelationsKelly Moyher ......................................................................... Sr. Staff AttorneyVincent Mustaro ..................................... Sr. Staff Associate for Policy ServiceLisa Steimer .............................. Sr. Staff Assoc. for Professional DevelopmentTeresa Costa ............................... Coordinator of Finance and AdministrationPamela Brooks ......................... Sr. Admin. Assoc. for Policy Ser. /Search Ser.Terry DeMars .............................................. Admin. Assoc. for Policy ServiceMelissa Dickinson ........................... Admin. Assist. for Membership ServicesGail Heath ...................................... Admin. Assoc. for Government RelationsWilmarie Newton ...................................... Admin. Assoc. for Labor RelationsCorliss Ucci .............................. Receptionist/Asst. to the Executive Director

The CABE Journal (ISSN 1092-1818) is published monthly excepta combined issue for July/August as a member service of theConnecticut Association of Boards of Education, 81 Wolcott HillRoad, Wethersfield, CT 06109, (860) 571-7446. CABE member-ship dues include $30 per person for each individual who receivesThe CABE Journal. The subscription rate for nonmembers is $75.Association membership dues include a subscription for each boardmember, superintendent, assistant superintendent and businessmanager. The companies and advertisements found in The CABEJournal are not necessarily endorsed by CABE. “PeriodicalsPostage Paid at Hartford, CT.” POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to The CABE Journal, CABE, 81 Wolcott Hill Road,Wethersfield, CT 06109-1242. Email: [email protected] can find the CABE Journal online at: www.cabe.org/userlogin.cfm?pp=84&userrequest=true&keyrequest=false&userpage=84

Appreciation all year . . .

Each month we will print a quote on the mean-ing of LEADERSHIP. Send us your definition ofleadership to be printed in the CABE Journal.

“ Leadership of anything meansmission first and your

self-interest last, . . . That’s the verydefinition of what it means to lead.“said Michael Useem, Director of theCenter for Leadership and ChangeManagement at the University ofPennsylvania’s Wharton School.

“Leadership”

School board members are a highly valued and import-ant part of our communities’ social fabric. More andmore, however, our work as advocates for our childreninvolves time outside of our district, as much as the workwe do in a myriad of meetings throughout the regularwork week.

Whether participating on panels, in symposiums, com-munity conversations, or testifying before legislativecommittees – we are valued and respected as educationalleaders on our own boards, in our communities, at theState Capitol and in Washington.

Recently, Bob Rader and I had the opportunity to at-tend a town hall meeting “Moving from Tragedy toAction: The Power of Community.” Looking through thelens of Newtown, panel and audience members spoke onideas on how communities can come together to trans-form concerns, emotions, ideas and resources, throughcombined civic involvement.

More importantly, I came away with a renewed senseof appreciation from comments from three students. Aneight grade student who lost her aunt in the massacrespoke of inspiring fellow students to follow random actsof kindness, not just when tragedy strikes.

A high school student mentioned the importance ofcivic connections as acts of goodwill through her in-volvement with the Unity Project though Newtown HighSchool. A local college student requested a seat at thetable, where personal experiences of young adults re-garding mental health can be voiced. [Editor’s Note: alink to the television program on the town hall meetingcan be found at the CT-N website.

CABE’S Day on the Hill offered us the opportunity tothank Governor Malloy for the leadership he has demon-strated in supporting public education. From the Year ofEducation Reform to providing additional funding inthese difficult economic times, the Governor continueshis commitment to public education. As we marched tothe LOB, our mantra chant “Support our Future” washeard loud and clear.

Meetings withlegislators addressedissues facing districts;students presented bytheir Representatives onthe House Floor deliv-ered key messages“celebrating success”their individual schools.

The student forumrevolved around conver-sations pertaining to HB6505, An Act ConcerningParameters for Fees forExtracurricular Activities at Public Schools.Measures of success were demonstrated in their criticalthinking as they debated relevance from real experiencesat their high schools at the same time discussions center-ed on how to improve ways education dollars are spent.

Several students summed up their observations of theday, “Hearing the Governor and Legislators speakbroadened my understanding on issues education isfacing. Interacting with other students allowed me tocompare and contrast our school’s problems andsolutions. By speaking with Legislators, I was able tovoice my opinions. I feel fortunate I was able to go.”

Another student commented,” Very informative day;the question and answer session by the Governor of-fered great insights to his thoughts on education. It wasfantastic for me as a student to ask him a question re-garding the new Evaluation Process. It was very encour-aging as a student to see so many people who are in-vesting in our future.”

Finally, acknowledgement must be given to your ad-vocacy efforts on behalf of your continued support inprotecting and sustaining education priorities facing ourdistricts, We are appreciated by our school systems. Ourchildren are counting on us.

Gun violence forumKelly Moyher,Senior Staff Attorney, CABE

On February 21st CABE President Lydia Tedone and Irepresented CABE at the Gun Violence Forum hosted byU.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphyand U.S. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty. The Forumwas by invitation only to public officials, educators,stakeholder groups and individuals and others fromaround the state of Connecticut and families of thevictims in Newtown were invited as panelists as well asspectators. The Forum featured many prominent andknowledgeable professionals in their fields who spokeabout gun violence, mental health and school safetyinitiatives and concluded with an address from VicePresident Joe Biden.

Held at Western Connecticut State University, thefour-hour Forum featured two panels: the first addressinggun violence and reform to the country’s federal laws;the second addressing mental health and school safetyinitiatives.

The first panel consisted of Captain Dale Houriganof the Connecticut State Police Department, City ofHartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, Chris and LynnMcDonnell of Newtown, New Haven Detective StacySpell, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs of ‘ThirdWay’ Matt Gennett, and Dom Basile, local sportsmanand gun advocate.

The first panel was in agreement that there is aresponsibility as a state and as a country to our childrenwho are currently growing up in a world where it is‘scary’ to attend school. Regardless of positions onguns, panelists agreed that this atmosphere is unaccept-

able for children to grow up in, is damaging to thepsyche and will damage their views of the world unlesschanges are made.

The first panel also brought forward valuable informa-tion to the group. For instance, the group learned that 9out of 10 gun violence crimes each year are not commit-ted by the actual owner of the gun and the crime isusually not committed in the state where the gun isoriginally purchased. There are also currently nobackground checks for ammunition purchases in thestate. The panel also discussed the need for muchstronger penalties as much gun violence occurs at the

(please see GUN page 15)

Robert Rader

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The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education • April 2013 3

Students say “Nobody Cares”!One of the saddest perspectives I

heard following the Newtown shootingstook place at a meeting, sponsored by theClifford Beers Clinic, between mentalhealth care experts from Bridgeport andNew Haven and experts from the NationalChild Traumatic Stress Network in NewHave including a woman with directexperience in the Oklahoma bombingincident and the NCTSN’s terrorism anddisaster expert. The Clinic provides a“programs and services for families withchildren affected by trauma and stressthat includes complete wraparound care.”

Beers “uses a trauma-informed ap-proach to care as it strives to ensure thatthe children and families it serves livehealthy, successful lives supported by astrong community.” John Prins, a memberof the Branford Board and the CABEBoard of Directors, is the Clinic’s Directorof Human Resources. He invited us tojoin the meeting which was arranged tohelp provide someperspective to thehorrific events of thatDecember day inNewtown, whereseveral Beersclinicians had beenassigned as a crisisresponse team

A mental healthprofessional from one of our big citiesshared that students in her inner-cityschools could not understand the degreeof attention on the students in Newtown.Shootings occurred around their schoolall the time and no one seems to notice. Itwas just expected. They were notlavished with teddy bears or toys ormedia attention from anyone.

I’ve thought about those comments alot since December.

To me, it’s not about comparing themagnitude of the Newtown tragedy towhat we see in our cities. It’s not aboutthe other social, racial and other differ-ences between what happened in New-town and the cities.

Of course, all of these play a role. But,what is so striking to me is that too manyof our kids feel undervalued – that no onecares about them and what they experi-ence daily.

We have to ensure that all of our stu-dents feel valued, no matter their race,creed, gender, sexual orientation, color,religion, economic status, disability orwhere they live.

The students’ comments could be a cryfor help or an indication of hopelessness.But, students need a feeling of worth,respect and recognition of their value.Those without a feeling of worth find itvery hard to concentrate on school. Theyare much less motivated to do well in asystem that they feel from the beginningis stacked against them – and thatnobody even cares.

This attitude may permeate their wholelives, resulting in not taking advantage ofopportunities to move up in society. Weall lose because those who might havemade great progress in any aspect of so-ciety, were unable to move beyond wherethey were.

Talk with the ExpertsThinking about these issues, I turned

to the experts at Clifford Beers Clinic whoreport:• No shooting – regardless of an indivi-

dual’s background or status – is nor-mal. The 12-year-old girl shot in frontof her urban school is no less tragicthan any one of the 20 children taken atSandy Hook.

• Mental health must be a bigger factorin how we assess our students, andmental health services must be readilyavailable… the Clinic reports that thechildren it treats show quantitativeimprovement within three to six monthsof receiving therapy, as evidenced by areduction in anger; improved relation-ships with peers, and; a healthier andbetter connection to family members.Patrice McCarthy and I worked with a

class of secondary school education maj-ors at the University of Hartford andbrought up the issue: how do we ensureall students feel valued? Their answerswere instructive:• More interaction with peers with a

focus of respect would help.• Students whofeel marginalizedoften have self-esteem issues.They often haveunique character-istics that theymay be havingtrouble coming toterms with. They

need to value the parts of them that areunique. Materials are available thatcan help them better understandthemselves.

• Often, the work of other students of aninspirational nature can help them.Posting them in a class or elsewhere ina public area of a school may behelpful.

• Especially while thinking about issueslike what the students might have beenthinking after Newtown, the studentsmay need more internal supports. Theyneed to focus on the support of peoplethey know, rather than those theydon’t.Some other suggestions from the Beers

Clinic:

• Ask families in the district what theyneed.

• Make sure someone is available to talkto if a child needs to and make sure allthe conditions are right for that to hap-pen when it needs to happen.

• Make sure that adults in the buildingare modeling appropriately, i.e.,actually doing themselves what theysay is the right thing.

• Create policy/policies that establishprofessional development as a priorityto ensure that staff are educated ono types and symptoms of mental

health problemso modeling behaviors that minimize or

eliminate stigma associated withmental illness

o leading staff in creating caring com-munities within their buildings.

• Ensure that trauma-informed mentalhealth professionals are integratedinto the general school environment.

• Develop procedures for addressingpotential problems, including –o working first with parents and basic

classroom interventions, o having regular meetings with teach-

ers about children with difficulties, o informing parents when and why

the school psychologist is beingbrought in,

o inviting parents to participate inmeetings and evaluations, and

Harvard Associate Professor ofPsychology Dr. Gil Noam, who I met ata safety clinic sponsored by the NewYork State School Boards Association,made these points about how schoolscan best handle children who feelundervalued:

• Treat any such situation withproper respect and dignity. Makesure all students feel respectedand honored.

• Invest in support teams fromoutside the schools when a tra-gedy has occurred.

• Make sure there are links betweenafterschool programs, mentoringand middle schools, so that theywork together more effectively.

• Students need positive adultrelationships in the schools. And,adults must LISTEN. This has the

highest benefit.• Ensure every student is known

and relevant information is sharedbetween teachers, administrators,etc.

• There must be productive student/teacher relationships, fostered byschool leaders and superinten-dents.

• Coaches are also helpful to ensurethat teachers are sensitive to themental health needs of theirstudents.

Dr. Noam developed the Program inEducation, Afterschool, and Resiliency(PEAR), the mission of which is “tocreate and foster school and afterschoolsettings in which all young people canbe successful.”

Robert Rader,Executive Director, CABE

A Professor Weighs In

(please see STUDENTS page 15)

“We have to ensurethat all of our

students feel valued.”


Interview withPatrice A. McCarthy Thirty Years at CABE(continued from page 1)before joining the CABE staff. She ledCABE’s Government Relations effort, andI learned a great deal about workingeffectively with legislators from her. I alsolearned a great deal about associationmanagement, working in coalitions andconnecting with other organizations atthe state and national level.

Bob: What are some of your mostmemorable moments at CABE?

Patrice: One is the role CABE wasable to play in the development of schoolfunding formulas over the years. While attimes very frustrating, it’s also veryexciting to help board members under-stand the funding system. Also, throughmy work at CABE, I’ve had the incredibleopportunity to serve at the national levelas the Chairman of NSBA’s Council ofSchool Attorneys, working with col-leagues throughout the country whohave vast expertise in school law and areso generous in sharing that expertise. Asan evaluator of international schools forthe New England Association of Schoolsand Colleges, I have been able to look atschool governance issues around theworld, providing support and assistanceto those schools and also learning agreat deal that is applicable to our workin Connecticut.

Bob: How has your job as head ofCABE’s advocacy efforts changed sinceyou got that position?

Patrice: As a greater focus has been puton education at both the state and federallevels, advocacy for public education has

become a year round activity. The numberof task forces and commissions that meetin the interim between legislative sessionsis a full-time job in and of itself. It’s no longera matter of being sure you are at the Legis-lature when the Legislature is in session,but equally important is being at the table,or at least in the room, when the discus-sions take place throughout the year.

Bob: What do you see as the future? Isit just going to get more and more harriedand difficult?

Patrice: I think in the immediatefuture, yes, it will, because the implemen-tation of the multitude of educationreforms, both in Connecticut andnationally, will require intense focus byboard members, educators and CABEstaff. The focus of legislators is going toremain on public education.

Bob: So, with your experience and skillat working at the local level doing retreats,roles and responsibilities workshops andother events, what would you suggestCABE members and their superintendentsdo to strengthen public education?

Patrice: It’s extremely important thatboards and superintendents are focusedon their respective roles and responsi-bilities at the local level, because thathas a significant impact on publicconfidence in their schools. They shouldrealize that they are not in this alone andthat they don’t have to reinvent thewheel. They should use the resources,such as CABE, that are available to themto get guidance and input before theytake an action.

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(continued from page 1)the Common Core requirements.

In 2010, 7 out of 10 Connecticutchildren ages 6-12 had all available parentsin the labor force. Many of these childrenwere home alone or unsupervised whiletheir parents were at work.

A study by the National Institute ofChild Health and Human DevelopmentStudy of Early Child Care and YouthDevelopment (SECCYD) has made thefollowing preliminary conclusions aboutafter school activities:

• Positive short-term effects of highquality programs on studentacademic and social outcomes

• Positive long-term effects of highquality programs on school atten-dance and task persistence

• Positive cumulative afterschooleffects for student grades, mathachievement, and work habits and

• Evidence of after school activitieseliminating the achievement gap inmathematics achievement.

The report outlines seven recommen-dations for investing in the future:• Increase access to expanded

learning opportunities• Support expanded learning

opportunities to address summerlearning loss

• Incorporate expanded learningopportunities in the state educationreform strategies

• Increase alignment betweendifferent systems and funding

• Use expanded learning opportuni-ties to rethink relationshipsbetween time and learning

• Strengthen the statewide systemfor quality and accountability

• Continue to improve existingprograms.

The complete report can be found atwww.ctafterschoolnetwork.org/docu-ments/CTAfterSchoolNetwork.pdf

Patrice A. McCarthy,Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

Connecticut After School Network Report

CABE Executive Director Robert Rader interviews Patrice McCarthy, Deputy Director andGeneral Counsel.

(continued from page 2)hands of repeat offenders. Of particularinterest to the group was the question ofwhy guns play such a large role inAmerican society. The panel expressed aneed to change our culture and addresswhy people feel the need to protectthemselves and/or settle differences witha firearm.

The second panel addressing mentalhealth and school security included Dr.George Sugai of the UCONN NeagSchool of Education, Dr. Kathryn Seifert,author of ‘Path to Violence’, Dr. PhilipWang, Deputy Director of the NationalInstitute of Mental Health, Dr. MarkBenigni, Superintendent of MeridenPublic Schools and Dr. Steven Girelli,President and CEO of Klingberg FamilyCenters.

The panel first discussed that mentalillness and violence are often twodifferent constructs and the vast majorityof mentally ill are no more at risk forviolence than anyone that was in theroom that day. One risk factor that doesinfluence mental illness is lack of treat-ment. On average, a person usually waits100 weeks from their first experience withmental illness to seek help. Mental illnessis often not a trigger for violence, butrather a person becomes violent when amultitude of issues form a perfect storm.

In looking at schools and school agechildren, the panel agreed that more family

and community resources are needed tohelp schools engage the entire family andlook at the mental and physical health ofthe child and family members. Unfortu-nately, when a district faces budgets cuts,resources like social workers, schoolpsychologists and behavior experts areoften the first to go.

The second panel also looked toAmerican culture and focused on the ideaof reaching out to families while alsoteaching or ‘reteaching’ social skills andalternatives to violent behavior just asacademics are taught. Pop culture andexposure to violent media and games wasalso discussed.

After hearing from Governor Malloyand U.S. Secretary of Education ArneDuncan, Vice President Biden spoke ofhis history working on issues concerninggun control and stated he has never seenan array of officials who are as committedand talented who have been called to thetable to address these issues as he hasseen not only in the country right now,but particularly in the state of Connecti-cut. He reiterated the sentiment that theissues and questions the state and thecountry are facing do not have a singleanswer, but rather there are a multitude ofthings that can and must be done toassure safety in our schools, resourcesfor mental health issues and safe andlawful gun use.

Bob: And would you say one of theirmost important roles is advocacy?

Patrice: Absolutely. At the local level,advocacy involves building and main-taining community support for education.As the largest group of elected officials inConnecticut, board members also have aresponsibility to communicate withlegislators at the state and federal levelsabout the need of the students and theirschools.

Bob: What else should board membersand other readers know about your work atCABE and about you?

Patrice: When I came to CABE thirtyyears ago I was excited and challengedby the position and that remains truetoday. I didn’t necessarily expect thatthis would become my career and mylife, but it continues to be an honor anda privilege to work with volunteerschool board members who are commit-ted to making a difference in the lives ofchildren.

Bob: Wonderful, thank you and here’sto another thirty years!

Gun violence forum

See You in Court – The Nutmeg Board of Education

The Nutmeg Board deals with bad weather and maybe canceling April vacationThomas B. Mooney, Esq.Shipman & Goodwin


A Practical Guideto Connecticut

School Lawby Thomas B. Mooney, Esq.

Shipman & Goodwin

The Guide comes with a CD which provideshyperlinks to many cases and statutes

and will permit word searchesas a supplement to the Index.

New to the Seventh Edition:Bullying, Background Checks,

Child Abuse Reporting, Discrimination Issues,Educational Reform, FERPA,

Freedom of Information,State Aid for Educationand much, much more

The 7th edition is now available from CABE.Call and order your copy TODAY at 860.571.7446 or 800.317.0033

Seventh EditionNow Available

The Nutmeg Board of Educationmakes many mistakes. The latest imbro-glio created by the board will be report-ed here each issue, followed by an ex-planation of what the board should havedone. Though not intended as legal ad-vice, these situations may help boardmembers avoid common problems.

It has been one problem after anotherthis year, with storms and cancellations.It is only the beginning of April, andalready the last day of school for theNutmeg Public Schools this year isscheduled for June 25. Bob Bombast,veteran member of the Nutmeg Board ofEducation, is worried that one more bigstorm could push the last day of schoolinto July, which is not allowed.

Accordingly, Bob was consideringsuggesting that the Board cancel Aprilvacation to create a buffer. However,before he did so, he wanted to get someinformal parent feedback, and Bob sentout a survey on his personal email on hishome computer to 200 of his closestparent friends, asking for input.

Bob was shocked at the vehementresponse against his proposal. Of the 120

responses he received, over 100 wereopposed to canceling any part of Aprilvacation. Bob was disappointed,because he felt that there was no reason-able alternative to assure that thestudents would get their 180 days ofschool.

Therefore, Bob decided after somereflection to keep quiet about the surveyand go ahead and propose cancelingApril vacation.

Given that the Board agenda for themeeting last night already included theitem School Calendar, Bob was all set tomake his pitch. As soon as the Boardreached this agenda item, Bob’s handshot up, and he announced, “Mr. Chair-man, after hearing from our constituents, Ithink that we should bite the bullet andcancel April vacation to make sure we canend the school year on time.”

Mal Content, Bob’s nemesis on theBoard, was ready. “Is that a motion, Bob?If so, I am surprised. Some parents toldme about your survey, and they musthave told you what they told me –cancelling vacation at this late date is aterrible idea. Aren’t you going to shareyour survey results with us?”

“Well . . . .” Bob responded uncer-tainly, “That survey was on my home

email, and it had nothing to do with theBoard. The issue is the school calendar,and we should cancel April vacation sothat we can finish the year on time.”

Mal was quick to respond. “I will voteagainst the motion. Bob is overreacting.It is still early. We will probably be finewith the weather for the rest of the year.

And if need be, we can either hold schoolon Saturdays or get a waiver. We mighteven do double sessions to make up thetime.”

The other Board members had nointerest in disappointing students andparents alike by canceling April vacation,and they were relieved to hear Mal shootdown Bob’s proposal. Indeed, Bob’smotion did not get a second.

However, there was one calendar issuethat the Board members did address. Ms.Superintendent explained that the Boardwould soon have to put down its depositfor the venue for graduation, and sheasked for a motion fixing a graduation dateof June 25, come hell or high water. Themotion passed unanimously.

If extra school days are needed, willMal’s ideas work?

School districts throughout the statehave been challenged to make up schooldays this year, and we should all hope fora quiet spring. The statutes provide thatall school districts must hold at least 180actual school sessions each year, andthose sessions must be held prior to July1, which by statute is the start of the newschool year.

Some years ago, the General Assemblyeliminated the concept of a minimumschool day of four hours. That changemade sense. Before the change, superin-tendents would feel pressure to delayearly dismissals to get in the four hourminimum day even as the weather wouldworsen.

Now, there is no minimum number ofhours for a school session, and schooldistricts must simply offer 900 hours ofactual instructional time (450 for kinder-garten) to students. However, schooldistricts cannot count more then sevenhours in any day. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-16. Thus, Mal’s suggestion of doublesessions is questionable.

Even though the minimum school dayhas been eliminated, 180 school sessionsare still required. This requirement isvirtually absolute, with only the possibil-ity that the State Board of Education canwaive this requirement, an unlikelyprospect, as discussed below. Conn. Gen.Stat. § 10-15.

The statutes impose further restrictionson rescheduling school days. Section 10-16 expressly states that “[w]hen publicschool sessions are cancelled for reasonsof inclement weather or otherwise, therescheduled sessions shall not be held on

Saturday or Sunday.” School districtsthus must schedule all 180 schoolsessions Monday through Friday prior toJuly 1 or obtain a waiver.

The State Board of Education viewsthe granting of a waiver as a last resort.In Circular Letter C-9, Series 2010-2011(January 21, 2011), the Commissioner of

“. . . a public official, and any email he sends out orreceives that relates to the business of the NutmegPublic Schools is a public record. . . . whether Bob useshis home computer or his personal email address.”

Education stated:“When closures due to inclement

weather occur early enough in the schoolyear (such as in the winter months), localboards will have sufficient time through-out the remainder of the school year,through June 30, to make up lost days.

Therefore, the State Department ofEducation (SDE) ordinarily will notsupport waiver requests for snow days.As a result, boards of education shouldanticipate that the SBE will not ordinarilyconsider waiving the 180-day requirementthis year due to school closures as aresult of inclement weather.

Therefore, school districts shouldcertainly not count on the State Board ofEducation to grant a waiver so that theycan avoid difficult choices. Beforegranting any such waiver, the State Boardof Education will ask what efforts thedistrict has already made to reschedulethe days, including by using vacationdays or holidays.

In addition, the State Board wouldlikely require a plan to make up the time inthe following year.

The action taken regarding graduationstands on a different footing. After April1, boards of education may schedule afirm graduation date as long as thecalendar then provides for a year of atleast 180 days of school from that dayforward. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-16l.

However, if subsequent cancellationswould result in fewer days by the date ofgraduation, the graduating seniors mustbe invited back to receive the full 180school sessions for the year. See CircularLetter C-9, cited above.

Finally, Bob created a potentiallyembarrassing problem for himself when hesent out his survey. Bob is a publicofficial, and any email he sends out orreceives that relates to the business of theNutmeg Public Schools is a public record.Such is the case whether Bob uses hishome computer or his personal emailaddress.

If Mal really wanted to cause Bobtrouble, he could make a Freedom ofInformation Act request for copies of thesurvey results, and upon receiving thatrequest Bob would be legally obligated toprovide those records to Mal.

Attorney Thomas B. Mooney is apartner in the Hartford law firm ofShipman & Goodwin who works fre-quently with boards of education.Mooney is a regular contributor to theCABE Journal.


A policy perspective on school safety and crisis planningVincent A. MustaroSenior Staff Associate for Policy Service, CABE

Districts must be prepared to respondto a multitude of potential emergencysituations in order to protect the safetyand well-being of students and staff andto create a safe, secure, and positivelearning environment. This responsibilitymust be the first priority of all boards ofeducation.

The Newtown tragedy has refocusedAmericans, especially those within theeducation community, on the question ofhow to best protect children in ourschools. Board members’ interest andconcern for information about schoolsafety plans and policies have beenraised.

Attention needs to be given to whathas been done or should be done inschool districts to ensure that plans andprocedures are in place to provide a safeschool environment. Prevention effortsare a priority. Violence remains one of themost difficult issues facing all schooldistricts.

More individuals, including schoolchildren, have access to dangerousweapons and are using them at analarming rate. Connecticut schools, wehave sadly learned, are not exempt fromviolent episodes and the loss of lives.

However, we need to keep in mind thatschools remain the safest place forchildren, and today’s schools are consid-erably safer than they were twenty yearsago. Over the last decade, the number ofschools reporting an incident of violentcrime fell by more than 20 percent.

However, despite successful efforts byschool districts to reduce gun violence inthe schools, each year 3,000 children andteens are killed by guns and 15,000 areinjured outside of schools. Therefore, thesolution to preventing the killing ofinnocent youth cannot be solely theresponsibility of the school community.

More attention and resources toimproving school safety must be thought-fully considered and sustained over time.All children have the right to live andlearn in a safe and nurturing environment.Research demonstrates that learning isenhanced when children feel safe andtheir physical and emotional needs aremet in a safe and healthy school environ-ment.

The effects of violence include risingfear among students, a feeling of loss ofcontrol by teachers and administratorsand calls for action from the community.

School leaders seek to reduce the risks tostudents and staff, but recognize thatthere is no fool-proof solution to thisever-growing problem. No single solutionwill keep children safe in schools.

However improving school securitymeasures, educating students, staff, andparents/guardians on school crisis plans,periodic drills, and an increase in respon-sive mental health services are essentialto progress.

School boards may not be able to solvethe underlying cause of violence but arein a unique and influential position to dealwith violence. Boards are responsible forensuring students, teachers, staff andvisitors that the schools are safe places inwhich teaching and learning can occur.

Instructional programs designed toeducate students about alternate,nonviolent means of dealing with theirproblems can be implemented. It isappropriate and necessary to audit thedistrict’s safety and discipline policiesand procedures to see if they are up-to-date, modified as necessary, and under-stood by all. Additional community inputmust be a part of the review, modificationand implementation.

However, we must also face the realitythat tragic violence may not be prevent-able by school actions. Such violence isoften the result of a complex mosaic ofpossible factors. Our awareness level ofsuch factors can be raised. While thevalue of many intervention strategies isstill questionable, school staff andstudents will have to treat security issuesand threats of violence more seriouslythan previously.

School boards must address violencebefore it occurs. An effective safety andcrisis response program, linked to aneffective education program for bothstudents and staff, can help preventviolent incidents and lessen their impact ifthey occur. A number of key policy areasshould be reviewed in board efforts tocombat violence.

Connecticut boards of education havepolicies and procedures related to variousaspects of school security. Emergencymanagement plans should be developedwithin the four phases of emergencymanagement: prevention-mitigation,preparedness, response and recovery.

In addition, schools should collaborateclosely with police, fire and emergencyservices personnel and communitypartners, including public and mentalhealth professionals, who can assist with

The third edition of the PolicyUpdate Service publication hasbeen mailed to the districtssubscribing to this service. Thisedition is considered a “specialissue” related to a single topic:school security, safety and crisismanagement.

The Newtown tragedy hasrefocused our attention on thequestion of how to best protectthe children and staff in ourschools. This 103-pagepublication contains updatedsample policies and administrativeregulations pertaining to security,building access, videosurveillance, crisis management,emergency disaster preparednessand other related topics.

Normally the Update ServicePublication is available only tosubscribing districts. However, aone-time exception is beingmade due to the nature of thetragedy and the fact that thesubscribing districts to theservice have already receivedtheir copy.

Copies of this publicationare now available to all CABEmember districts at a price of$100. This fee includes thepublication, a CD to facilitate localuse of the contents of thepublication and all shipping andhandling charges.

The publication may be orderedby contacting the CABE PolicyDepartment at [email protected] [email protected]. Pleaseprovide a purchase order numberat the time of ordering.

NOW AVAILABLESpecial Edition of

Policy SecurityPublication

Ellen Camhi, a member of the StateBoard of Education since 2011, diedrecently. She served on the StamfordBoard of Education for 12 years,including several terms as president.During that time she also served on theCABE Board of Directors.

A tribute issued by the State Board ofEducation indicated “she cared deeplyabout students and their success andabout the teachers and administratorsentrusted with their care…she caredabout the people of the state ofConnecticut and she worked tirelessly toinsure that those in office provided theleadership required to protect the rightsof all.”

Pat Luke, who served with Ellen on

Ellen Camhi,Life-Long Education Advocate, Passed Away

the development of plans that address awide range of crises. Such collaborationmust be maintained in the drills to practicethe plans and any necessary modification.

School emergency management plansmust be developed embracing an all-hazard approach, to include appropriateemergency responses to such potentialemergency situations, including but notlimited to: fire, bomb threats, gas orchemical leaks, hazardous material release,weather-related emergencies, medicalproblems or school accidents, suicide,bus accidents, and violent actions.

It is essential to bring togetheremergency services personnel, communitypartners and school-based staff to form adistrict wide crisis response team as a keystep in developing a strong plan.

Schools and school districts need tocoordinate their emergency managementactivities, plans and resources withfederal, state, and local agencies to ensurealignment with and compliance to certainpolicies, initiatives and programs.

Schools and school districts need toensure that their emergency managementplans are aligned with the U.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security’s NationalIncident Management System (NIMS).NIMS is a unified response plan used byfirst responders to prepare, coordinate,and execute responses to all types ofemergencies.

In addition, as part of the emergencymanagement plan development process,schools and school districts shouldestablish an Incident Command System(ICS). The ICS is the response infrastruc-ture designated under NIMS to facilitateeffective and efficient incident manage-ment.

A comprehensive, multi-hazardemergency management plan shouldinclude district policies for a variety ofincidents and potential emergencies. Theaim of such policies is the fostering of asafe and nurturing school climate condu-cive to learning.

Also, more staff training, with astronger component on crisis prepared-ness, is needed. Policy, by itself, will notprevent the tragedy of Newtown. It is themanner in which district policies areimplemented which provide the bestopportunity for an appropriate response.

Policy Implications: School districts haveto be aware of and take action to preventforeseeable dangers and to have a planfor those that are unforeseen and mitigatetheir effects as much as possible. Theentire education community must beinvolved in the efforts to protect staff,students and district facilities andresources.

Through policy related to safety andsecurity and the actions taken to imple-ment them, boards can take the importantsteps to ensure that their districts areprepared for a variety of potentialemergencies. Policies must be appropri-ately disseminated and the implementa-tion actions practiced and modified asnecessary. Crisis and emergency planningshould be driven by policy directives in anumber of areas.

A single policy, pertaining to justschool security, is not the advocatedapproach. Many policies, starting with adistrict’s mission statement, can speak tovarious issues pertaining to safety. Thekey ingredient is the manner in which thepolicies are thoughtfully implemented.

Awareness and planning help toensure the safest possible environment.Emergency and security plans must be

collaboratively developed, easily under-stood, sufficiently detailed to be quicklyimplemented, practiced and periodicallyreviewed.

The board through policy states itsdesire for a safe, nurturing environmentand appropriate response to a multitudeof potential emergency situations. Theadministration must develop the neces-sary plans and protocols to implementthese policies.

As previously stated, a comprehen-sive, all-hazards approach to safety,security and crisis management isrecommended, based initially upon boardpolicy. This approach starts with adistrict’s mission statement which speaksto the board’s goal to provide a safe,secure, drug-free and welcoming environ-ment for all students and those profes-sionals who serve them.

CABE’s most recent Policy UpdateService publication contains policy andadministrative regulations pertaining toschool security. In addition, a listing ofother policies which should be consideredin light of an “all-hazards” approach toschool safety and school climate issues isincluded. Contact CABE’s Policy Depart-ment to secure a copy of this publication.

both the State Board of Education and theCABE Board of Directors, said “I metEllen Camhi when she was a member ofthe Stamford Board of Education and wasactive in CABE. Ellen was determined tomake much needed changes happen onher board and in her schools. She justwouldn’t give up and nothing and no onecould make her back down. She lookedlike an angel, but she was tough! She hadthat rare combination of toughness andcompassion. Ellen was a woman whoknew power and used it for the greatergood.”

CABE extends its sympathy to Ellen’sfamily.

Patrice A. McCarthy,Deputy Director/General Counsel, CABE


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Day on the Hill – Speakers

CABE Vice President forGovernment Relations AnnGruenberg (Hampton)welcomed everyone. CABE President Lydia

Tedone (Simsbury)

CABE Executive Director RobertRader

CABE Senor Staff Associate forGovernment Relations SheilaMcKay updated participants onlegislation before the GeneralAssembly.

CABE Deputy Director and GeneralCounsel Patrice A. McCarthy talkedabout school safety legislation, evalua-tion, school transportation and funding.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy spoke toparticipants and then answeredquestions from the audience.

Senator Toni Boucher spokeabout pending legislationand took questions from theaudience.

Representative AndyFleischmann spoke aboutmandates and trying not toadopt any that are unfunded. Granby Superintendent Alan Addley

asked a question of the Governor.

CABE First Vice PresidentRichard Murray (Killingly)thanked Governor Malloyfor making public educationa priority.


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Day on the Hill – Highlights

Cal Heminway, Chair, Granby Borad of Education and Associate Director,CABE, being interviewed by NBC Channel 30.

Members of the Alliance Districts met and discussed flat funding, Those in attendance were:Waterbury, Windsor, Hartford Killingly and Vernon. Also attending were: Robert Rader, ExecutiveDirector, CABE; Lol Feron, CREC; and Debra Kurshan, Connecticut State Department of Education.

Students who participated in Day on theHill attended the Student Conversation anddiscussed a number of issues, e.g., pay-to-play and school uniforms.

Approximately200 boardmembers,superintendents,administratorsand studentsfrom around theState gatheredat The Bushnellfor the morningbriefing session.

CABE Resolutions ChairBecky Tyrrell (Plainville)asking a question ofGovernor Malloy.

Union Superintendent of SchoolsJospeh Reardon asking a questionof Governor Malloy.

10 The Journal – Connecticut Association of Boards of Education •April 2013

Day on the Hill Highlights – Student Participation

Students from Canton Public Schools alongwith Superintendent Kevin Case.

Students from the CREC MetropolitianLearning Center in Bloomfield

CREC students and Hartford Representative Matthew Ritter at the Legislative OfficeBuilding as part of CABE’s Day on the Hill.

Students from CREC along with Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Representative DougMcCrory at the Legislative Office Building.

Students from CREC’s Academy of Aero-space and Engineering and the PublicSafety Academy.

Members of the Connecticut PTA alongwith a student.

Cal Heminway, Chair, Granby, accompa-nied students from the Granby PublicSchools.

Students from the Killingly Public Schools

Killingly board members,superintendent andstudents met withSenator Donald E.Williams, Jr., SenatePresident Pro Tempore.

Robert Mitchell and a student from theMontville Public Schools

Becky Tyrrell, CABE Resolutions Chairaccompanied students from the PlainvillePublic Schools.

State Representative BettyBoukus, Becky Tyrrell, Resolu-tions Chair and Plainvillestudents and board memberswith the sculpture of StateHeroine Prudence Crandall,which Rep. Boukus wasinstrumental in bringing to theCapitol.

CABE President Lydia Tedone, Chair,accompanied students from the SimsburyPublic Schools.

Students from the Stratford Public Schools

Students from the Waterbury Public Schools

Students from the Windsor Public Schoolsaccompanied by Superintendent Jeff Villar.

Branford Public Schools students along withJohn Prins, Area 7 Co-Director.


Alan BernsteinSenior Educaitonal Manager, K-12 Services,New England Regional Office,The College Board

The College Board helps with college and career readiness

What exactly does it mean to be col-lege and career ready?

It is hard to have a conversationabout public education these days andnot hear the term “college and careerreadiness” (or CCR for short). The termcomes up especially when we talk aboutthe new Common Core State Standards.

CCR is on the minds of most educators,but have we done enough to define andunderstand it? As educators, we talk a lotabout CCR, we set policy around it, butare we talking about the same thing? Toreally “unpack” CCR, we need a goodworking definition and a good measuringstick to know when students are trulycollege and career ready.

The College Board may be able to help.We know that there are many componentsthat make someone college and careerready, such as content knowledge, higherorder cognitive strategies, communicationskills and the like.

What’s needed is a good working de-finition of CCR and something that we caneasily measure. The College Board de-fines CCR as “the ability to succeed in atwo or four year postsecondary programwithout the need for remedial, develop-

mental, or non credit bearing course-work.”

So far so good, but how do we know ifstudents are CCR without having to waituntil they are in college to figure whoneeds remediation? It doesn’t do schoolleaders much good to discover it afterstudents have graduated. CCR informa-tion is needed while students are still inhigh school, and this is where the CollegeBoard can help. School leaders need aneasy-to-use measuring stick.

One way to measure CCR is with ourPathway assessments, which include SAT,PSAT/NMSQT, and more recentlyReadistep. For example, did you knowthat a composite score of 1550 on the SATmeans that a student would have a 65%chance (or better) of scoring a B- (orhigher) in his or her first year of college.To be clear, there are 3 sections of theSAT with each scored on a 200-800 scale.Getting a 1550 composite score is roughlya 500 on each section of the test: CriticalReading, Math, Writing.

Does it mean that a student who scoresbelow a 1550 is not college ready andwon’t be able to succeed in college?

Absolutely not, but scoring below 1550incrementally lowers the 65% probabilityof getting that B-, while scoring above1550 incrementally increases the probabil-ity. This is useful information for school

leaders because it gives districts ameasuring stick towards CCR. If, say, halfthe students are below the Benchmark,than schools know there’s work to bedone and can begin looking at ways toimprove CCR skills.

The elegance in the College Board’sCCR Benchmarks is that all of the Path-way assessments (SAT, PSAT, Readistep)align, have linked scales, and measure thesame skills. The PSAT and Readisteptests have their own CCR Benchmarkscales and this provides school leaderswith additional data to see if their stu-dents are on track for college success.

More importantly, school leaders cangauge CCR at each step along the way,starting in middle school with theReadistep assessment all the way throughhigh school with PSAT and then SAT.

How did the College Board came upwith a 1550 SAT Benchmark? Data wascollected from dozens of four-yearcolleges across the country (randomizedby size, selectivity, demographics, etc.)and students’ college GPA was trackedbackwards and connected to high schooltest scores.

This very sophisticated research de-sign enabled the College Board to predictthe likelihood of college success based onearlier test results from thousands ofstudents in the sample. Because all of the

Pathway assessments align and “talk toeach other,” the College Board Bench-marks can be used to measure CCR overmultiple grade spans beginning in grade 8.

Another way to measure CCR is bytaking an actual college level course inhigh school. The gold standard for col-lege course taking in high school is Ad-vanced Placement (AP).

The College Board offers AP in over 30subjects. AP is a strong measure of CCRbecause research shows that studentswho take AP (compared to their peers whodo not) have stronger college GPAs andhave better college completion and reten-tion rates.

Because the Advanced Placementprogram is a strong measure of CCR, it isimportant that the doors to AP should beopen to all high school students. Takingeven one AP course is a great way toensure CCR.

Combining Pathway with AP is a doub-ly powerful measure of CCR. If schoolleaders use the CCR Benchmarks andcouple that with the rigor of AdvancedPlacement, they will have a good measur-ing stick to know when students arecollege ready.

As an Educational Affiliate of CABE,the College Board is here to help. If youwould like more information about ourCCR Benchmarks or AP program, feel freeto reach out to the College Board.

Citizen SpentOwn Funds toOppose School Budget

An individual who allegedly acts onhis own when he advocates the defeat ofa municipal referendum may not be requir-ed to register a political committee or tofile an expenditure statement.

Phillip Penn filed a complaint with theState Elections Enforcement Commission,alleging that Martin Liutermoza was re-sponsible for lawn signs and a website,burlingtonbudget.com, that opposed theschool budget, and that Liutermoza failedto register a political committee or to file astatement of his expenditures with themunicipal clerk.

On May 8, 2012, electors voted on theschool budget at a referendum. MartinLiutermoza admitted that he was respon-sible for the signs and the website. TheState Elections Enforcement Commissionfound that he did not register a politicalcommittee or file a statement of expendi-tures with the municipal clerk.

Connecticut General Statutes §9-612(d)provides, “Any individual may makeunlimited contributions or expenditures toaid or promote the success or defeat of

any referendum question, provided anyindividual who makes an expenditure orexpenditures in excess of one thousanddollars to promote the success or defeatof any referendum question shall filestatements according to the same sche-dule and in the same manner as is requiredof a campaign treasurer of a politicalcommittee under section 9-608.”

The State Elections EnforcementCommission found that Martin Liuter-moza used his personal funds when hespent $469 on signs, $252 on a GoogleAdWords search and $42 on a website.Martin Liutermoza’s expenditures of $764did not meet the $1,000 threshold.

“Liutermoza, as an individual acting onhis own in making expenditures advocat-ing the defeat of the May 8, 2012 Burling-ton School Budget referendum,” wrote theState Elections Enforcement Commission,“was not required to register a politicalcommittee with the town clerk’s office.”Martin Liutermoza’s expenditures, addedthe commission, “did not exceed the$1,000 threshold for individual expendi-ture referendum reporting pursuant toGeneral Statutes §9-612(d).” ConnecticutLaw Tribune, March 11, 2013

State ElectionCommission rules onschool budget website

An email message that is neutral andthat directs voters to a website that relieson public funds and that advocates aparticular position on a referendum canviolate the prohibition in ConnecticutGeneral Statutes §9-369b against the useof municipal funds to influence citizens tovote in favor of referendum.

George Ruhe filed a complaint againstSuperintendent of Schools MichaelEmmett, alleging that Emmett’s schooldistrict used town funds to advocate theapproval of a referendum. An email tovoters stated, “All registered voters willbe casting ballots… on the WethersfieldHigh School Renovation Bond Referen-dum.

All polling places will be open from 6a.m. to 8 p.m.” The email included links tothe public school’s website. C.G.S. §9-369(b) provides, “[N]o expenditure ofstate or municipal funds shall be made toinfluence any person to vote for approvalor disapproval of any such proposal orquestion.”

Costs that are associated with a web-site or a server that is maintained by thepublic schools may qualify as an expendi-ture of public funds, pursuant to §9-369(b).

Public funds were used to maintain thewebsite, which contained information thatadvocated in favor of the referendum.Although the message itself did not ad-vocate a position, the website created bythe public schools included advocacymaterials.

“[T]he electronic mail message of April24, 2012, which notified certain Wethers-field residents of the referendum vote and,more importantly, referred them to theschool system’s website that includedmaterial advocating for the high-school-building project that was the subject ofthe referendum,” wrote the State ElectionsEnforcement Commission, “violatedGeneral Statutes §9-369b’s ban on the useof public funds to influence the outcomeof a referendum question.”

The Commission ordered Superinten-dent Emmett to comply with C.G.S. §9-369b in the future. Connecticut LawTribune, March 11, 2013

Legal Briefs Kelly B. Moyher, Senior Staff Attorney, CABE


CABE and Baldwin Media: Partners in Managing Communications

The Media Messagefrom Ann Baldwin, Baldwin Media Marketing, LLC

CABE-MeetingCABE-Meeting is a user-friendly, web-based service specifically designedto assist the board, superintendent and central office staff in preparing forand running board of education meetings.

An exciting feature designed for use by committees, in addtion to boardsof education, was recently added to CABE-Meeting. Now all your boardwork and committee information is conveniently located in one place!

“CABE-Meeting has been a great program for ourdistrict. We have saved time and money and in-creased our ability to disseminate informationquickly. I encourage Board members to considerthe advantages of CABE-Meeting.”

Becky Tyrrell, Member,Plainville Board of Education

Last month, many of you have seencoverage of CABE’s annual Day on theHill in the news. Day on The Hill is a dayfor school board members, superinten-dents, students and parents to cometogether to discuss the issues surround-ing public education in our state, and forlocal school districts to go to the Capitoland meet with their legislators.

This year’s event included remarks bylegislative leadership, as well as fromGovernor Dannel P. Malloy.

One of the television stations thatcovered Day on the Hill was NBCConnecticut. There were dozens of stu-

dents inatten-dancethrough-out theday frommore than15 dis-tricts andit was the“studentangle” of

A perfect example of how students can be great spokespeopleremarks, aswell as onsome of thebudget issuesthat they arefacing in theirlocal districts.While therewere so manygreat studentsat the event, itwas up to us

Windsor, and Kristen Regenauer ofSimsbury were all fantastic and did agreat job of representing not only theirown districts, but all of the publiceducation students in our state.

As part of your ongoing media plan,please take into consideration thatstudents have very strong and powerfulviews and a voice in public education.After all, it is the students who are thefocus of all of our efforts to improvepublic education.

I hope that you will take the time to goCABE’s Facebook page and view the NBCConnecticut news story and while you arethere, please don’t forget to “like” us!

Kevin Fitzgerald, Granby High SchoolJonathan Rush, Windsor High School

Kristen Regenauer, Simsbury High School

that NBC was most interested in. That’swhere public relations come in and the

reason for my article.As the public relations

agency of record forCABE, it is BaldwinMedia’s job to do mediaoutreach for an event suchas Day on the Hill and toensure that the reportersobtain what they need tocover the story. ToddPyro, the reporter, wantedto talk to three studentsand asked for their view

to select just

three!I want to take the opportunity to

publicly thank those students for a jobwell done. While I worked with each onebriefly about what theymay be asked by thereporter, we workedtogether on what theywanted their message tobe to the viewers. This iscalled “impromptu mediatraining” at its best and itwas a success.

These students, KevinFitzgerald of Granby,

the story

Jonathan Rush ofon the Governor’s

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Does homework widenthe Achievement Gap?

[Editor’s Note: This article was takenfrom the Marshall Memo, 466. Originallyentitled “Today’s Assignment” by LouisMenand in The New Yorker, Dec. 17,2012 (p. 25-26), www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/12/17/121217taco_talk_menand.]

In this New Yorker article, LouisMenand wades into the ongoing debateabout homework. He reports that Frenchpresident Francois Hollande announcedrecently that his government intends toabolish homework in all primary andmiddle schools.

Why? Because students with more-affluent and better-educated parents havean unfair advantage when their childrenengage in academic activities at home,and Hollande, being a good socialist,wants to level the playing field. (He alsoplans to divert more resources to schoolsattended by less-advantaged children.)

“Homework is an institution roundlydisliked by all who participate in it,” saysMenand. “Children hate it for healthy andobvious reasons; parents hate it becauseit makes their children unhappy, but Godforbid they should get a check-minus orother less-than-perfect grade on it; andteachers hate it because they have tograde it. Grading homework is teachers’never-ending homework. Compared tothat, Sisyphus lucked out.”

How substantive are the argumentsagainst homework? Menand shoots downtwo of them: that it has no effect onacademic achievement (in fact, it does,especially in the secondary grades); andthat American students are getting moreand more homework (except for a spikeafter Sputnik, the amount of homeworkhas remained the same since the 1940s –an average of no more than an hour each

weekday night).It’s striking that the homework

practices in two high-achieving countriesare totally different: Finland assignsvirtually no homework, and South Koreanstudents have a backbreaking after-school load, including “crammer” schoolsthat are sometimes operating after 10:00p.m. A country’s schools tend to do whatpeople want them to do – in Finland it’sbringing everyone up to the same level,and in South Korea, it’s enabling hardworkers to get ahead.

So what do Americans want fromschools? “Not to be like Finland is a safeguess,” says Menand. “Americans havean egalitarian approach to inequality: theywant everyone to have an equal chance tobecome better-off than everyone else.”

The problem, he says, is that economi-cally advantaged students have a definiteadvantage: “The educational system issupposed to be an engine of opportunityand social readjustment, but in some waysit operates as a perpetuator of the statusquo.”

But here’s the irony: the fiercestopponents of homework, says Menand,are affluent parents “who want theirchildren to spend their after-school timetaking violin lessons and going to TaeKwon Do classes – activities that aremore enriching and (often) more fun thanconjugating irregular verbs.”

Less-affluent parents tend to seehomework as a way of keeping theirchildren out of trouble. “If we providedafter-school music lessons, museum trips,and cool sports programs to poor child-ren,” Menand concludes, “we couldabolish homework in a French minute. Noone would miss it.”

For years, we have been told bydemographers that Connecticut islosing population. While we havebeen seeing that, as expected, in ourschools, Connecticut Magazinerecently published an article statingthat Connecticut is, in fact, growing itspopulation. This is good news in thatfor economic growth to occur, a risingpopulation is helpful; demand forgoods and services will grow; and new,creative ideas are more likely to occur.

According to the article, Connecti-cut’s population “grew by almost170,000 between the 2000 and 2010censuses (3.41 million to 3.57 million).It’s also projected… to keep growingover the rest of this decade, hitting3.74 million by 2020.”

In addition, Connecticut has alsogained in the 15-24 year old group.This is important because they havelengthy work lives ahead of them.

The article goes on to say that“these rates are modest, but still posi-tive – in short, we’re not losing anyone

Connecticut populationis growing!

here. In fact, we’re also drawingpeople from faraway places at a verygood clip.”

The population of immigrants grew31 percent in the first decade of the 21st

Century. They now make up “over 13percent of the state population withthose coming from Latin America be-ing the largest group at 41 percent.”

The population is graying and BabyBoomers will retire in the years tocome. The median age has moved from37 to 40 and our birthrate has “slowedsubstantially”, which, the article stateswill mean “we’ll eventually start losingpeople…”

“We’re just not quite there yet.”[Editor’s Note: Connecticut

Magazine’s story was from thefollowing sources: the ConnecticutEconomic Digest; the ConnecticutState Data Center at UConn, and theU.S. Census Bureau.]

Robert Rader,Executive Director, CABE

In her book Mindset, Dr. CarolDweck uses her decades of researchon achievement and success todescribe how having a growth mindsetrather than a fixed mindset makes inthe ability of individuals to grow andlearn. According to Dweck, fixedmindset leaders believe they aresuperior, and need to prove anddisplay superiority.

They use their subordinates to feedthis need rather than foster thedevelopment of their workers. Incontrast, the great leaders are notinterested in proving themselves.They just do what they love, withtremendous pride and enthusiasm.

Dr. Dweck uses multiple examplesfrom business, sports and education toillustrate the impact of having agrowth mindset. People with a growthmindset believe that their basic

abilities can befurther devel-oped throughdedication andhard work.

They demon-strate a love oflearning andresilience. In astudy, students,through discus-sions, weretaught study skills and shown how toapply the lessons of the growthmindset to their study and schoolwork.This one adjustment of students’beliefs seems to unleash their brainpower and inspire them to work andachieve.

While many of her findings seem tobe common sense, the book remindsboard members, educators and parentsof the role expectations - our own, andthose of the people around us - haveon our achievement.

Patrice A. McCarthyDeputy Director/General Counsel, CABE

Book ReviewMindset

Testimonyat Legislative

hearings

CABE Resolutions Chair Becky Tyrrell(Plainville) testifying at an EducationCommittee public hearing at the StateCapitol.

CABE President Lydia Tedone (Simsbury)testifying before the AppropriationsCommittee at the State Capitol.

CABE Area 8Director PamMeier (Madison);Senator RichardBlumenthal;CABE PresidentLydia Tedone(Simsbury); andCABE AssociateDirector EileenBaker (OldSaybrook) atWestern StateUniversity forumon school safety.[see page 2.]


CABE: Working for YOU!Individualized Workshops • Professional

Development Opportunities • Legal Services • Policy Services • Representing You Statewide and Nationally

Below are the highlights of activities thatthe CABE staff has undertaken on yourbehalf over the last month and a half. Wedid this:

➤ By representing Connecti-cut school boards on thestate and national level:

• Attended meeting of the Sheff Group.• Participated in meeting of the What

Will Our Children Lose coalition(CABE, CAPSS, CAS and CASBO)and teleconference on State budgetissues.

• Met with staff and board members ofthe Connecticut Association for theGifted (CAG).

• Participated in CT-N program, “FromTragedy to Triumph” about theaftermath of the Newtown tragedy.

• Participated in meetings of theEducator Preparation AdvisoryCouncil (EPAC) as it develops guidingprinciples

• Attended New York State SchoolBoards Association’s workshop onStudent Safety.

• Participated in meeting of the Con-necticut Coalition for Public Educa-tion.

• Participated in teleconference of theBig 6 Partnership (CABE, CAS, CBIA,Connecticut Council on Education

Reform (CCER) and ConnCAN) onteacher and principal evaluation andsupport.

• Participated in meeting of the P20Council.

• Provided testimony at numerouslegislative committee public hearings.

• Attended CREC Council meeting.

➤ By helping school boardsto increase studentachievement

• Provided Lighthouse training forKillingly, New London, Norwich andShelton Boards of Education.

• Attended the State Department ofEducation’s Schools of DistinctionBreakfast.

• Sent two issues of Policy Highlightsvia email listserv covering topics thataffect student achievement. Thisincluded security, advanced place-ment courses, Title I parent involve-ment, student records and FMLAleave.

➤ By providing servicesto meet members needs:

• Held CABE/CAPSS ConventionCommittee meeting.

• Held Convention Workshop ProposalSubcommittee meeting.

• Met with Dr. Steve Adamowski,special master for Windham and NewLondon Public Schools and DianaRoberge-Wentzell, SDE ChiefAcademic Officer on working to-gether.

• Taught classes at University ofHartford and Central ConnecticutState University for those in graduateand undergraduate classes who willbe teachers and administrators.Taught them about School Law andthe work of boards of education.

• Audited the policy manual of theGroton and Ellington Board ofEducation.

• Prepared Custom Update materials forNew Hartford Board of Education.

• Placed policy manual of the EastWindsor Board of Education onlineusing the Connecticut Online PolicyService.

• Prepared contracts for Orange andSterling Boards of Education to placetheir policy manuals online using theConnecticut Online Policy Service.

➤ By providing opportunitiesfor members to learn howto better govern theirdistricts:

• Provided CABE-Meeting training fora staff member in Bloomfield.

• Facilitated a Roles and Responsibili-ties workshop for Sprague andRegion #11 Boards of Education.

• Met with New Haven and NewtownBoards of Education on the superin-tendent search process.

• Provided policy information to 33districts, three out-of-state schoolboard associations through 45answered requests for information orsample policies, on 36 topics. The

topics of greatest interest includedschool security, attendance andtruancy, and issues pertaining to theuse of technology.

• Provided 2013 CABE LeadershipInstitute.

➤ By promotingpublic education:

• Participated in and staffed CABE’sDay on the Hill.

• Met with the Norwich Bulletin’seditorial board.

• Met with Ben Barnes, OPM Secre-tary, on State fiscal issues.

• Testified before Education Committeeon principal and teacher evaluationand support.

• Presented CABE CommunicationsAwards to the Wallingford Board ofEducation.

• Answered questions about thecurrent legal issues facing boards ofeducation. “HOT” topics this monthwere: Referendum pending, boardagenda, executive sesison privileges,teacher evaluation process, andstudent religious expression.

➤ By ensuring membersreceive the most up-to-date communications:

• Prepared Custom Policy Service,material were prepared for Avon,Columbia, Hartford, North Haven andWatertown Boards of Education.

• Mailed issue #3 of the Policy UpdateService publication to issues ofschool safety and security wasdistributed to 97 subscribing schooldistricts.

CAPSS Executive DirectorJoseph Cirasuolo and CABEPresident Lydia Tedone(Simsbury) discussed theGovernor’s proposed budgetand how it will impact schooldistricts across the state onFOXCT “The Real Story”. Youcan view this segment on theCABE website www.cabe.org.

Past Presidents of the Connecticut Society of Association Executives (CSAE) –Mary Ellen Dombrowski, President, Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce; MartyRotblatt, President & CEO, Association Resources; Sharon Bruce, ExecutiveDirector, Connecticut Association of School Business Officials (CASBO); LisaSteimer, Senior Staff Associate for Professional Development, CABE; Robert Rader,Executive Director, CABE; Peter Berry, Founder/Sr. Advisor, Association Resources;Don Dickey, Executive Director, Estate and Business Planning Council.


CABE’s Customized Policy Service tailors a policy manual for a subscribing boardof education that reflects the specific needs and priorities of that community.

The service includes:• Review and analysis of existing policies for relevancy and compliance

with federal and state statutes and regulations.

• Review of current contracts and student and personnel handbooks forexplicit and implied policies.

• On-site consultation for school board members and school administra-tors by CABE staff.

• Update of existing policies

• Legal referencing of policies:

- Connecticut and U.S. statutes

- Federal/state court decisions

• Development of needed policies and regulations.

• Use of CABE Codification System

• Printing of policies and arrangement in manual.

• Manual on CD

Fee is based on school district enrollment. For more information contact VincentMustaro at CABE 860-571-7446 or 800-317-0033. You can also email Policy Servicesat [email protected].

Does your policy manualLOOK LIKE THIS?

Then you are the perfect candidate for

the

CABE CustomizedPolicy Service!

Public Agenda examines the viewsof parents and the reform movement

Public Agenda, a nonpartisan publicopinion research and engagement organ-ization, has long published informationabout public education. Its latest public-ation, written together with the KetteringFoundation, is entitled, Will It Be on theTest?

The report examined how leaders of thereform movement and parents think aboutaccountability in our public schools.There was much interesting, easy-to-readinformation in the report’s 27 pages,which was broken down into the threesections outlined below.

I. Areas of AgreementThe research indicated that the reform-ers and parents had a number of goalsin common: both believe that thepublic schools need to improve andmost parents applaud the goals of theaccountability movement. They say themovement responds to some of theirgenuine concerns and welcome someof the changes it has instituted, suchas raising academic standards andpromoting students only when theyhave mastered needed skills.’

Still, most parents see it as sorelylacking in fundamental ways.

II. Areas of Tension1. As most parents see it, current

discussions on accountability inpublic schools overlook one of themost crucial elements – the parents’role. Schools and teachers can’t besuccessful, most parents say, unlessstudents are cooperative andmotivated and unless their parentsinstill and reinforce values ofpersistence and hard work. On thisscore, the parents say, parents needto be held accountable too.[Editor’s comment: This has longbeen one of the concerns of schoolboard members, superintendentsand others. They believe thatparents (as well as the community)must help students succeed inschool. Expecting that those whohave the students 7 hours a daycannot overcome what is happen-ing in the other 17. Three quartersof parents say that parents aremore important in helping childrenlearn than the schools.]

2. Many parents also indict the largerculture, depicting it as a force thatcontinually undermines parents andteachers in their attempts tomotivate children to work hard in

school. Holding schools account-able is useful, these parents say, butdon’t expect them to be successfulwithout broader social support.

Because of their “critique of thebroader society” many parents were“much more sympathetic to the factthat so many schools under-perform”.

3. Most parents say that there aremany factors to consider in judgingwhether schools are effective andfulfilling their mission. Standardizedtests are useful, most say, but theyare a limited measure of studentlearning – one that is now in dangerof being overused.

“Many parents believe there is toomuch emphasis on testing and thatthis may be distorting teaching andlearning.”

4. Most parents see local publicschools as important communityinstitutions and viscerally reject theidea that closing schools – eventhose that are persistently low-performing – is a good way toimprove accountability in education.

To most parents, closing school is“seen as a defeat and a loss to thecommunity; and most parents…simply do not understand whyleaders don’t do more to ‘fix theschools we have’” rather thanclosing them.

5. For some leaders, allowing parentsto choose which schools theirchildren attend is another form ofaccountability – in effect the par-ents will vote with their feet. Parentsappeared divided about whethermore choice is beneficial –most taketheir responsibility to send theirchildren to the best schools pos-sible very seriously. Even so, thereare warning signs that parents’views are evolving on this issue andthat many would prefer a traditionalneighborhood public school – justone that is very good.

While just over 50% of the parentssay that having more charterschools would be a very effective orsomewhat effective way to getparents more involved, the reportrecommended that the country havea discussion of whether our goal isto “have strong neighborhoodschools…or to give parents more

choices about their children’sschools.”

6. Most parents welcome the trend ofmaking more information aboutschools available to the public. Butgood communications means morethan transparency and disclosurefor most parents. It means beingconfident that a principal or teacherwill return your calls and treat yourconcerns and questions withgenuine care. Having more informa-tion about schools is helpful, mostparents say, but it doesn’t mean thatthe lines of communication areopen.[Editor’s Comment: it was obviousfrom the report that just gettingmore data would not be helpful toparents – especially if they don’ttrust the information they’regetting, and we would add, or thepeople supplying the information.]

III.Can the CompetingViews Be Blended?[This section contained questions forfurther discussion.]1. What should we do when some

parents don’t take the responsibil-ity for teaching their children tobehave and work hard in school.

2. Do we have to close failing schools,and if we don’t, what can we reallydo to turn them around?

3. How can we help parents raiseresponsible children in today’ssociety, when there are so manymixed messages in the media andthe broader culture?

The full report can be found on theKettering Foundation website, http://kettering.org/.

Robert Rader, Executive Director, CABE

CABE Area 6 Co-Director GavinForrester (Stratford) presented theAward of Excellence in theCalendar category to C.E.S.President Arlene Liscinsky(Shelton); C.E.S. Executive DirectorEvan Pitkoff; and C.E.S. PublicRelations/Marketing SpecialistJodie Orzechowski.

CABE Awardof Excellencepresentation

(continued from page 3)o recommending intervention

strategies and additional resources.

• Establish a crisis response team thatincludes mental health professionals andprovides for mental health prevention,intervention, and post-interventionservices.

Your RoleWe realize no one solution fits every

situation or child. However, we also havethe responsibility of ensuring that ourstudents have the self-confidence andmotivation they need to succeed.

Please think about these concerns.How we address them before, and thenwhen they arise, will determine a lot aboutour future.

[Editor’s Note: the statistics abovewere from the Strategic Advancement andDevelopment Department at CliffordBeers Clinic. Thanks to the Clinic, in-cluding John Prins and Sheryl McNameefor their assistance on this editorial]

Students say “Nobody Cares”!

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CABE Journal - April 2013

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